Best walks in Ireland: Greystones to Bray coastline cliff walk

The two-hour Greystones to Bray coastline cliff walk makes for an excellent day trip for anyone staying in or near Dublin.

Getting to Greystones

As the Dart pulls out of the Pearse Street station and hurtles down the track, the car’s jolts and shudders seem to shake the city from me as we move further into the bright blues and greens of the Irish countryside. It’s Saturday morning. A friend and I have our backs to Dublin as we wind our way to County Wicklow for a bit of crisp sea air and a walk along the east coast’s dramatic cliffs.

If you are staying in Dublin and looking to get out of the city for an afternoon of fresh air and stunning scenery, the Greystones/Bray coastline cliff walk offers a great escape.

Both towns are accessible by bus or train. The latter, known as the Dart, is the easier way to go, and the journey is a real treat in itself. The Dart snakes along the edge of the east coast on tracks that merge with the strata of the cliffs, offering a new spectacular vista with every corner it turns.

There are three Dart stations located in Dublin’s city centre that will get you to Greystones: Connolly Station, Tara Street and Pearse Street (Westland Row). Trains run every half hour on the weekdays. Fewer trains run on the weekends, with one going about every 40 minutes to once an hour. Tickets for the Dart are purchased from automated machines on the platform. An adult day return is €8.20. For details, visit www.irishrail.ie. For a timetable, select your destinations and date of travel in the ‘journey planner.’ For fares, click here.

We embarked on our Saturday excursion from the Pearse Street station, located behind Trinity College. The journey from here to Greystones is 50 minutes. And dull it is not. The train is a great way to take in some of the east coast’s impressive scenery.

The Greystones Dart station is located on Church Road. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the station to the cliff walk’s path, and you’re going to need directions.

When you come out of the station, turn right and keep straight. Take the first right after passing The Happy Pear on your right, onto La Touche Place. Keep straight and bear left onto Trafalgar Road. Follow the road as it bears left again onto Beach Road. Shortly after coming onto Beach Road you will see a small ‘chipper,’ or fast food shop on the right. Turn right here and just keep following the path. This is the start of the walk.

The Cliff Walk

The journey unfortunately begins with a bit of an eyesore; the path’s access point begins at a bit of a construction site, which continues for about 300 metres. But we quickly found ourselves free from gravel as the path cuts through a grassy stretch, moving its traversers onwards and upwards.

The entire walk is approximately 7km (4 miles) long, and takes about two hours, depending on pace and breaks. I happened to be travelling with an avid bird-watcher, so there were quite a few stops on our excursion, but we still made it to Bray in just under two hours.

The path quickly begins to climb, and after about half an hour, we gained enough height for Greystones to become a perfect postcard vista behind us. Make sure to turn around and snap a photo.

From here on in, the views are consistently spectacular. This walk brings you around a hill, Bray Head. Its flora-splattered rocks remain on your left, and on your right, a hodgepodge of plant life separate you from cliffs that dive hundreds of feet to slice into the blue-green expanse of the Irish Sea.

This walk is of medium difficulty. The condition of the path varies throughout the journey. It begins as a flat and wide gravel surface, but this transforms into a wilder and narrower path as you move along. There are also steeper sections, with steps in part, but you get the challenging bits out of the way in the first part of the walk. Children should be strictly supervised and this walk is not recommended for young children.

After a bit of a climb (one that does not require quickdraws or even serious hiking boots, I might add), the slope gradually levels out at the highest point of the walk.

The Irish weather is very temperamental, and it is not uncommon to experience all four seasons in a single afternoon. Lucky for us, the sun was shining. Though the ocean waves carry a cold wind that meanders in and out of the cliff’s crevices, the air was warm. The sunshine warmed our skin and lit up the rocks, foliage and the water below. Brambles and moss-covered rocks line the path. We munched on wild, sun-kissed blackberries as we walked, picking them as we went.

Every few minutes we stopped to observe the wildlife and take in the striking scenery. Granted, the sunshine makes a huge difference, and I imagine the cliffs would be a wild and foreboding place on a grey and blustery day. But not this day. This day it was truly lovely.

We stopped for a little while to observe a peregrine falcon diving and soaring in some acrobatic dance over the sea, mobbed and pursued by fearless herring gulls that seemed to be enjoying a good heckling in the sunny afternoon. Later we saw a dorsal fin slice through the blue-green viscous water. A lone porpoise tore through the choppy surface, undisturbed by the colonies of noisy cormorants at the base of the cliffs. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Of the many twists and turns this path brings you on, you eventually turn a corner and the bustling seaside resort town of Bray comes into view. The path begins to descend once again. You eventually emerge onto a long paved stretch that sweeps along the side of Bray Head to leave you on Bray’s Victorian, mile-long promenade, the end of the walk.

Bray

Bray is the longest established seaside town in Ireland. From where the path leaves you, you can climb Bray Head. It takes about an hour to the summit and back. From there, you have great views of Bray to the west, with the Sugar Loaf and Wicklow Mountains on the horizon, and to the east, the Irish Sea stretches to Wales, which you can see on a clear day.

We hit Bray at the evening golden hour, that hour before sunset when everything becomes a picture-perfect vista, bathed in beautiful golden light. We made our way to the promenade to finish off the day with a walk on the beachfront. It being a gorgeous Saturday, many others had the same idea. The beach was dotted with families; children ran in and quickly out of the waves and dogs barked and chased frisbees through the sand.

On the promenade, remnants of Saturday’s picnic were tossed onto the footpath, which was then quickly inundated with opportunistic herring gulls. They mercilessly picked the cement clean before jumping back into the air and gliding away, eyes fiercely searching for the next abandoned crumb.

Of course after a bit of a trek, there’s nothing better than heading to a cosy pub to settle down with a pint or some pub grub. There are a good few restaurants on the beachfront (though many are pricey), and there are more options if you head to Main Street in the centre of town, a short enough walk from the promenade straight up Quinsborough Road passed the Dart station.

Bray’s Dart station is only about a five-minute walk from the beach. When you’re ready to head back to the city, take the road that runs parallel to the promenade (Strand Road), and walk away from Bray Head. Keep straight for a couple of minutes until you reach an intersection. Turn left onto Quinsborough Road and walk straight until you see the DART station on your left. Turn left onto Florence Road to access the DART. You’ll find several bus stops on this street as well.

After some fresh seafood overlooking the water, we headed over to the Bray Dart station. We waited only about six minutes for the next train, hopped on and rumbled our way back to Dublin in the dark, with a bit of mud on our shoes.

Extra Advice

This walk is well-known and often called the Bray-to-Greystones cliff walk, and, encouraged by the name, many choose to start their walk in Bray. We did not, and here’s why.

First, Greystones’ public transport is less frequent. You are better off travelling first to Greystones and walking to Bray where you will then have only a short time to wait before the next Dart comes along – you don’t have to plan, you can just show up. Remember, the walk takes different lengths of time for various people.

Second, arriving in Bray after a two-hour walk is more climactic than arriving in Greystones. The latter is a lovely town and well worth a visit, but the end/beginning of the cliff walk path in Greystones is located at a construction site. The scenery here is simply better to encounter at the beginning of the walk rather than at the end. Finishing in Bray, you come out onto the town’s stunning promenade.

If you have some time before or after your walk, or if you plan to journey back to Greystones, this small coastal town and seaside resort, named after the one-kilometre stretch of grey rocks along its coastline, is definitely worth a visit. The town’s main street, Church Road, boasts many quality restaurants and cosy pubs.

For more information on Wicklow County Tourism, visit www.visitwicklow.ie .

Summary

Location: County Wicklow, 50 minutes south of Dublin city centre by train

Distance: approximately 7km (4 miles)

Duration: This walk takes approximately two hours, depending on pace. Wherever you choose to start your walk (Bray or Greystones), head out at least three hours before sunset.

Level of Difficulty: Medium

How to Get There: We recommend the Dart (train), but buses are also available.

What to Pack: Bring a bottle of water, sunglasses (fingers crossed you’ll need them) and perhaps a snack or two, depending on how long you want to spend on the trek (there are no bins along the path, so carry rubbish with you until you reach Bray’s promenade).

What to Wear: The Irish weather can be temperamental and the best way to be prepared is to wear layers. This walk is along an exposed coastline and it can get chilly. Bring a weatherproof jacket and wear a good pair of walking shoes (wear hiking boots if you have them, but they are by no means essential).