I have wanted to visit Howth for ages, fascinated by maps showing this piece of land sticking out into the Irish sea north of Dublin and by the glimpses of it as I land at the airport. It was originally an island but is joined by a sand spit that is now Sutton. Just 13km from the centre of Dublin it is a beautiful spot with majestic views and is a popular (and pricey) place to live and to visit with the village of Howth on the northern side being a thriving visitor centre.

Howth Lighthouse, looking south

I didn’t visit Howth Castle but apparently it is one of the oldest-inhabited buildings in Ireland. There are lots of walks and hikes on the Head but you have to be a bit careful on some of the walks judging by the short one I went on – there are big drops. I was lucky to have great views and I was sure I could see Wales. Apparently this is possible even though Snowdon is 136km away so maybe I did see it!

The crystal clear waters of the Irish sea, looking down the cliffs from the summit of Howth Head

The only down side to my quick visit was the batter on the fish and chips I had at the harbour which was so hard I broke a tooth on it!

The yacht harbour at Howth Village

Howth Head is mentioned many times by James Joyce in his works and is where he proposes to Molly in Ulysses (which I still have not read) and is the setting for Finnegan’s Wake.

dublin, howth head, howth village, sutton