BBC TravelJul 18
The train ride to Dublin's surprising coastline
Many visitors don't realise Dublin has a coastline. Now, a newly expanded rail trail makes it easy to explore the world's only capital city within a Unesco Biosphere Reserve.
Family-owned ice cream shop in Dún Laoghaire.
24 things in this story
- Temple BarQuarterKnown for pubs, Georgian streets, and literary legends.
- Dublin Coastal TrailTrailLinks 16 seaside communities by rail, expanded this year.
- Dublin BaySightWorld's only capital-city Unesco Biosphere Reserve.
- BalbrigganNeighborhoodNorthernmost point of the Dublin Coastal Trail.
- DonabateNeighborhoodIt lies within the local government area of Fingal.
- MalahideNeighborhoodTransfer point to the Dart for southern stops.
- KillineyNeighborhoodThe last stop on the Dublin Coastal Trail.
- HowthNeighborhoodPeninsula with four circular walks and dramatic cliffs.
- Ardgillan CastleAttraction18th-century castle with walled gardens in Balbriggan.
- North Bull IslandSightEcological heart of the biosphere with dunes and beach.
- Blackrock MarketTrailOpens on weekends with over 30 stalls and a Michelin restaurant.
- LiathRestaurantTwo-Michelin-star restaurant at Blackrock Market.
- Dún LaoghaireNeighborhoodIt is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown.
- Teddy's Ice CreamIce cream shopFamily-owned ice cream shop in Dún Laoghaire.
- SandycoveSuburbKnown for wild swimming at the Forty Foot.
- Forty FootPubChildren under 18 can only be on the premises between 8:00am and 9:00pm.
- Martello TowerMuseumFeatures in Ulysses, now home to the James Joyce Tower.
- James Joyce Tower and MuseumMuseumThe opening scenes of his 1922 novel Ulysses take place here, and the tower is a place of pilgrimage for Joyce…
- Bull IslandSightWedge-shaped spit whose dunes earned Dublin its Biosphere.
- Kish FishRestaurantServes fresh oysters and prawns in Howth.
- Booterstown Marsh Nature ReserveNature reserveBird sanctuary less than five miles from Dublin city centre.
- Killiney beachSightShore of wave-worn pebbles stretching for miles.
- SkerriesNeighborhood
- Blackrock Walking TrailTrail