These squares were not just pretty parks, they were the entertainment multiplexes of their day, laid out with pleasure pavilions where theatrical and musical performances took place, and the wealthy could eat and socialise. Having an address facing or adjoining one of the squares conferred significant social standing, and such sites could be sold or leased at a significant premium over less desirable sites.

Today we take you on a whistle stop tour of Dublin’s Georgian Squares, most of which are easily visited from the Worldcon venues.

St. Stephen’s Green

Our first stop is not actually a Georgian Square, but actually much older. It takes its name from the House of St Stephen, a Leper house founded in 1192, and was originally an area of common land for animal grazing. By 1610, it was already enclosed by streets, and in 1664 it was taken over by Dublin Corporation and enclosed by walls. Land surrounding the green could be leased from Dublin Corporation for one penny per square foot.

However, many of the early developments were rebuilt during the Georgian period, and many of the buildings from the period still standing today, with very fine examples on all four sides, and an unbroken terrace of fine Georgian houses still running the entire length of the East side.

Among the fine buildings on the square is the Royal College of Surgeons, established by royal charter in 1784, it did not have its own premises until it acquired its site on Stephen’s Green.

The original walls of the park were replaced by railings in 1814, and it opened to the public in 1880.

During the Easter Rising of 1916, rebels led by Constance Markievicz took up position in Stephen’s Green and a pitched battle was fought for most of the rising. However, a temporary armistice was agreed to allowed the groundskeeper to feed the ducks. A bust of Markievicz can now be found in the park.

Parnell Square

The oldest of Dublin’s actual Georgian squares, Parnell Square was originally named “Rutland Square” and was conceived by two men, Dr Bartholemew Mosse and Luke Gardiner. Dr Mosse leased four acres to build a “lying-in” hospital for less wealthy residents of the city. To fund his hospital, he developed the square and sold plots around it.

At its height the square had its own orchestra, and the former entertainment pavilions were developed into the Gate Theatre and the Ambassador Cinema (no longer a cinema).

One of the finest houses built on the square was built for Lord Charlemont by renowned architect William Chambers, which is now home to the Hugh Lane Gallery. Next door to this is the Dublin Writers’ Museum, which is well worth a visit.

The hospital became the Rotunda Maternity and gradually expanded to take over much of the area of the square. A strip along the northern edge became the Garden of Remembrance. Originally this was dedicated to Irish Men and Women killed in the 1916 rising, it has since been rededicated to remember Irish citizens who died in all wars.

There are current plans for Parnell Square to be the centrepiece of Dublin’s new cultural quarter, with a new central library next to the Hugh Lane Gallery. Unfortunately these plans have run into funding difficulties, but hopefully at least the new library will get the go-ahead.

Merrion Square

Perhaps the finest and best preserved of Dublin’s squares is Merrion Square, originally laid out in 1762 when James FitzGerald, the Earl of Kildare (who later became the Duke of Leinster) selected to build his house, now Leinster House, on the south side of the city. Prior to this, the north side was the fashionable area, but many landowners followed him and by 1800, the streets around Merrion Square were amongst the most fashionable to live in.

Leinster House was was sold in 1815 to the Royal Dublin Society. In 1922 it was leased by the newly formed Irish Free State government, and eventually bought outright, and is still home to the Irish Parliament. Adjacent to it are the National History museum and the National Gallery (and around the other side, on Kildare Street, the National Museum and National Library).

The park was only open to residents who had a key until the 1960s, but has since been taken over by Dublin Corporation and turned into a public park. It is now home to a number of monuments, including a statue of Oscar Wilde (who previously lived across the road in number 1). Other famous residents include W.B. Yeats and Daniel O’Connell.

The south side of the square formally housed the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, where Erwin Schrödinger was employed from 1940 to 1958. Schrödinger, an outspoken critic of the Nazis, was fired from the university of Graz for “political unreliability”, and received an invitation to come to Dublin to head up De Valera’s new institute, which he accepted. He became a naturalised Irish citizen, though he retained his Austrian citizenship.

Mountjoy Square

While Merrion Square was attracting wealthy nobles south of the Liffey, the north side wasn’t going to give up without a fight, and in 1787 Luke Gardiner laid out a new square, a short distance from Rutland (Gardiner) Square. Originally called Gardiner Square, it was renamed Mountjoy Square when Gardiner became the 1st Viscount Mountjoy in 1795.

It is the only one of Dublin’s Georgian squares that is actually a square, with each side 140m in length. The houses are a uniform design, with the latest modern design features of the late 18th century, such as coal holes built into the pavement to allow coal to be poured into underground bunkers, minimising mess.

During the 19th century, many of the wealthier residents left, and many of the buildings were subdivided into tenements occupied by many families of lower social standing. Often these were poorly maintained, and the condition of the buildings deteriorated. A number of buildings were demolished around the square in the mid 20th century, particularly on the southern side where only three original houses remained. At one point it looked like large parts of Georgian Dublin might be set for demolition. Thankfully, thanks to the intervention of wealthy benefactors, the frontages of the demolished houses have since been restored, and the square restored to its former glory, even if the interior of many of the restored houses is not the original design.

Notable residents included playwright Sean O’Casey, who lived at number 35. All three of his Dublin trilogy plays were set in tenement houses, clearly inspired by the square.

Fitzwilliam Square

A short distance to the south of Merrion Square lies Fitzwilliam Square named after Irish Viscount Richard FitzWilliam. It was laid out in 1791 and received strong early interest. However, due to wars with France and concern about the impending act of union, only four houses were built by 1797, and it would take another 30 years to complete.

Despite this, the houses surrounding Fitzwilliam square are remarkably consistent architecturally. While smaller than the other squares, it is fully enclosed by fine terraced houses, and features some of Dublin’s finest Georgian architecture.

Perhaps the most photographed of Dublin’s famous Georgian doors can be found at number 46. Curiously, the door itself is not from the Georgian period, but is actually Edwardian, having been replaced nearly 100 years after the death of George IV.

The park itself is not open to the public (for a time there was a lunchtime food market on Fridays, but this isn’t currently running).

Artist Jack B. Yeats lived in number 18 from 1929 till his death in 1957. The Jameson family, famous for their whiskey, also had a house on the square.

Mount Pleasant Square

After the Act of Union in 1801, Ireland no longer had its own parliament or House of Lords, and many nobles no longer felt the need to maintain a house here. Many of those who still came to Dublin opted to sell their large properties and keep a smaller house that was easier to maintain. The suburbs of Ranelagh and Rathmines sprang up and became popular with the downsized wealthy class.

Mount Pleasant Square (which is not even remotely square in shape), was established by Terence Dolan, a glove maker from Chester, in 1807, and development carried on until the 1830s. Houses on the square are mostly two and three story houses over basements, built in the style of miniature versions of the Georgian terraces of the city centre.

The central gardens were originally built for the residents to enjoy, but proved two costly to maintain for the more middle class residents, and it was eventually sold. It now houses the Mount Pleasant Lawn Tennis Club. A small strip of of park remains on the eastern edge. This was threatened with development into a garage in the 1990s, but thanks to public outcry, the development was prevented and it is now a public park.

Planning your Worldcon trip? Check out this handy map showing every place Touring Tuesdays has visited.

James Shields is coordinator for the Touring Tuesdays blog, and is also working on the Children’s Programme team as well as producing the Hugo Awards finalists announcement video for Dublin 2019. Outside of conventions, James is a massive LEGO fan and a former LEGO ambassador for Ireland and a founding member of Brick.ie, the Irish Association for Adult Fans of LEGO.

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There are some remarkably pleasant walks, both urban and rural, within easy reach of Dublin City Centre and accessible by public transport. I recently had some unexpected free time in Dublin and did each of these walks as a day trip from the city centre for just a few pounds on the bus or train, making it an easy and relatively cheap way to see some of what the local area has to offer.

To find these walks I used the very handy “All Trails” app (a really great guide if you enjoy walking, with trails all over the world) and used some of their suggestions as starting points. I have included links to the page about each walk at the bottom of each description, though I didn’t always stick to the suggested routes. The maps for each trail generally show other footpaths in the area too, so you can easily pick a route that suits you. The “All Trails” app also has some great information about points of interest along the way. I think I’m a little bit in love, and will definitely be using it again in the future!

Phoenix Park

Inside the city, just a couple of kilometres west of the centre along the Liffey river, lies Phoenix park. At a whopping 1,750 acres in size it is one of the largest recreational spaces that can be found inside any European city. To get to it you can either walk along the river, or hop on the Luas tram to Heuston, less than 20 minutes west from the CCD.

Inside the park there are any number of paths (as well as a few roads – watch out for vehicles!) many of which are tarmacked making them suitable for walkers of all abilities and accessible for those using wheels too. As well as simply soaking up the lovely atmosphere of the park you can: visit the Victorian People’s Flower Garden, admire the Wellington Testimonial (which, at over 60m in height, is the tallest obelisk in Europe), visit a prehistoric burial chamber, check out a powder magazine fort from the 1700s, visit Ashdown Castle (actually a medieval tower house, right next to the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre which is also worth popping into), see the Phoenix Monument and the Papal Cross (erected to mark the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979), and stop off at the very lovely Tea Rooms for lunch. On top of all that, Phoenix Park is also the home of Dublin Zoo, so you can combine a visit there with a walk in the park.

With so many interesting sites only a short trip from the city centre, it’s not surprising that Phoenix Park is a popular destination and can get quite busy when the weather is good. However, Phoenix Park is big enough that you can always find a quiet spot away from the crowds if that’s what you’re looking for. You could easily spend days exploring all that Phoenix Park has to offer, without ever leaving Dublin, but even if you only have a few hours to spare it’s very quick and easy to get to and well worth a visit.

Ruggedness: Not at all – extremely civilised.
Distance: Totally up to you!
Food & Drink: Available in the park at the Tea Rooms near the entrance, or at the café at the visitor’s centre.
More Info: Phoenix Park Website” http://phoenixpark.ie, All Trails Phoenix Park Trail: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/ireland/county-dublin/phoenix-park-trail

Dun Laoghaire Harbour

The Port of Dun Laoghaire (pronounced “Done Leery”) is about half an hour south of the centre of Dublin on the DART train which can be picked up at Connolly Street Station, which itself is just a half mile walk, or 3 stops on the Luas tram, from the CCD (though if you are further south in the city the DART also stops at Tara Street, Pearse, and various other stations on its way through Dublin). The harbour is enclosed by two piers, either of which make a nice walk from where you can admire the sailing boats moored inside the walls, or the views along the coast outside them.

The East pier is more popular for walking and is very close to the Dun Laoghaire DART station, which is easy to find with mostly level concrete underfoot, making it fairly accessible (though if stairs are an issue, do check that the lifts are working at the relevant DART stations – several were out of order the day I went). It is also important to note that the area can get pretty busy during the holidays, especially when the weather is good. If you want a longer walk, or to avoid the worst of the crowds, you can hop off one stop early at Salthill & Monkstown and walk out along the slightly longer West pier before continuing around the harbour to the East pier. From there you can walk the second pier or continue down the coast, past Sandycove (where you’ll find many locals swimming in the sea if the sun is out – join them if you’re feeling brave!), out to the viewpoint at Forty Foot, and potentially on past Dalkey to Killiney Hill Park before getting the DART home again from whichever station you find yourself closest to. I only made it as far as to Forty Foot myself before seeking shelter in a nearby café when the rain came in, but I understand that the views further south are fabulous so I’m very much hoping to go back and find those.

Ruggedness: Pretty civilised if you stay around the towns, potentially a bit more of a moderate hike if you make it as far as Killiney Hill Park.
Distance: About 1.6 miles if you just go out along the East Pier and back, but you can easily extend the walk down the coast all the way to Bray and still get the DART home again if you don’t fancy walking back.
Food & Drink: Easily available in various cafes in Dun Laoghaire, Sandycover, and other small towns as you head South.
More Info: All Trails Dun Laoghaire East Pier: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/ireland/county-dublin/east-pier-dun-laoghaire, All Trails Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey & Killiney: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/ireland/county-dublin/dun-laoghaire-dalkey-and-killiney-loop-walk

Hellfire Club & Massey Woods

Set in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains to the south of the city, the ruins of Montpelier Lodge (which later became home to the notorious Hellfire Club, the name by which it is now better known) can be found atop Montpelier Hill. This is a little harder to reach by public transport than the other walks I did, but manageable by taking the number 15 bus from the city to the end of the line at Hunters Wood, then walking ~1.5 miles along country roads to the car park where the walk really starts. It’s all uphill on the way from the bus stop, but thankfully that means it’s all downhill on the way home! Although you do need to watch out for fast-moving cars on the windy country lanes, which are not paved. Alternatively, if you have use of a car there is a very convenient car park right at the bottom of the hill.

From the car park you can choose whether to take the longer, windier but less-steep path up the hill, which is well maintained, wide and gravelled, or to scramble more directly up one of the various goat-trail-like footpaths to the top. At the top you can explore the ruined building, said to be haunted by the ghost of an enormous black cat, or just admire the stunning views back towards the city.

The weather was somewhat blustery the day I went, and other than a few families making their way to the top at lunch time, I pretty much had the hill to myself. Having made my way more or less straight up to have a well-earned picnic lunch at the top, I then explored a few of the other footpaths which criss-cross the hill, enjoying the views all around on my way down again.

Just across the road from the car park you can find the entrance to Massey Woods, which were once part of the grounds of the estate and which are a very lovely (and much flatter!) addition to the walk, and very much worth including if you’ve made it all the way out there. The paths of Massey Woods are also a lot more sheltered, so a great option when the wind picks up!

The main path leads through the woodland and around on a circular trail which takes you gently down to, across and along the very pretty river, past the ruins of some old out-buildings, and through the ruins of the old formal walled gardens, before making its way back up to the entrance. Though much of this path is wide and well maintained with gravel underfoot, it does become considerably narrower and harder to navigate as it passes through the ruins.

As an added bonus, a small detour off the main path leads to a Bronze Age wedge tomb. The path isn’t well marked or maintained, and there are no signs to tell you what you’re looking at, but I think I found the remains of the tomb and stopped there to eat my packed lunch under the tree which stood over it, which was quite delightful. In the couple of hours I spent exploring the woodland I saw two or three dog walkers and a couple of people out riding, but the woodland was very quiet and extremely peaceful, a great get-away from the city!

Ruggedness: Not too bad if you stick to the main paths, but reasonable footwear advised, and can get very rugged and if you stray off path!
Length: Monpelier Hill Loop ~3 miles, Massey Woods Loop ~2.3 miles, plus an extra 3 miles (1.5 miles each way) if you also walk to/from the bus stop.
Food & Drink: There is a café a short distance along the road at the Timbertrove Country Store, but I didn’t try it.
More Info: All Trails Hellfire Club & Massey Woods: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/ireland/dublin-city/hell-fire-club-and-massey-woods-loop

Howth Cliff Loop

At the opposite end of the DART train line to Dun Laoghaire, about half an hour North of the city centre, lies Howth (pronounced ‘Hoath’), a charming little seaside spot where you will find a very quaint railway station, lots of lovely pubs and cafés, a pier that makes for a nice short walk, and the beginning of the Howth Cliff Loop.

In fact there are several loop walk options that begin in Howth, all very clearly signposted. There is a handy map just as you come out of the station that gives details of each option so you can decide what you fancy tackling, but if you plan to leave the area around the harbour and head along the cliffs at all, be advised that it gets pretty steep and pretty rugged very quickly.

The effort is well worth it, though, as the views from the cliff path are quite stunning. At times the cliff walks take you up for wonderful views, while at others, they take you all the way down to the water’s edge where some people were brave enough to take a dip (not me – the Irish Sea is cold!), so there is quite a bit of up-and-down involved.

I followed the longer, purple-signed “Bog of the Frogs” loop, which a chap at the station had informed me was closed, but I’m not one to let that sort of thing stop me! Sure enough, the usual purple-signed route back around the side of Shielmartin Hill was shut for maintenance, but there was a clearly signposted diversion in place going up and over the summit, which was closer to the All Trails suggested route which is slightly different to the signposted route in several places. At 163 meters high it was quite a climb, but the views at the top can not be beaten, and made it more than worth the effort. The diversion signs suggested that the works on the route around the hill will be complete on August 16th, just in time for WorldCon, but if you’re planning on doing the “Bog of the Frogs” loop and don’t want to include the climb to the summit I would double check that the main path is open again before departing!

On the way back down towards the station was the first time I lost track of the otherwise very clearly signposted path, and ended up wandering too far towards town rather than staying out towards the countryside. Though, signs towards the station were plentiful so it would be a gross exaggeration to say that I was lost. It was at this point that I also realised that the signposted purple route differs quite significantly here from the All Trails route, and that the latter was the one that went past Howth Castle, which I had seen in the distance from the summit and was keen to get a closer look at. Thankfully it wasn’t too hard to find a footpath that cut back towards the castle without adding too much distance (or climbing anymore hills!), so I included that as a little diversion and was pleased that I did. Part of the castle is a private residence so you can’t go in, but it’s lovely from the outside and several people were picnicking on the grass opposite. There is also a transport museum here which I didn’t go into, but which might be of interest.

Overall Howth was absolutely gorgeous, and if I had to pick one place out of town to visit while I was in Dublin this would be it. Though, I would say wait for good weather and go on a fine day if you plan on hiking, rather than just enjoying the town, as most of the route is pretty exposed to the elements. However, Howth was extremely busy, particularly close to the station – not surprising as it’s a very popular destination that’s easy to reach. Most of the tourists either turned back after a short distance along the cliff path, or took one of the shorter loop walk options, so it quietened down somewhat after those paths diverged. I still passed, or was passed by, other walkers fairly often, but spent at least some of the time walking alone and enjoying the peace and quiet. The “Frog of the Bogs” loop also passes through a golf course at one point, and crosses a fairway where you need to pay close attention to flying golf balls as they whizz across the path!

Ruggedness: Very Rugged! Lots of up and down on narrow rocky paths along the cliffs if you leave the area around the station – wear decent walking boots and bring a wind & water-proof jacket in case the weather changes on you as the path is pretty exposed.
Length: Between 3.5 & 7.5 miles for the cliff path, depending on the loop you pick, or just enjoy the town & pier near the station.
Food & Drink: Plenty of options in Howth itself, but nothing once you get out of town, so if you’re doing the longer loop walk take snacks & drinks!
More Info: All Trails Howth Loop Trail: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/ireland/dublin/howth-loop-trail

Dr Emma J King has a PhD in cosmology and has delivered science shows for the Royal Institution, before hanging up her lab coat to tour the world and save turtles. Next year she’s returning to university to turn her hand to Space Engineering. She’s been an irregular at conventions since the Glasgow WorldCon in 1995, and can occasionally be found at cons blowing things up, for science.

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We hope you have enjoyed them, but we have realised that it’s difficult to visualise where the different locations are, in order to successfully plan a trip taking in a few at a time.

That’s why we’ve created a handy map…

Click here for the full size version.

Now, when making your Worldcon travel plans, you can see what’s close to areas you intend to visit, and stop off to see them.

Plotting the places we’ve been has also made us aware of some of the places that we haven’t got to yet! We will be making a special effort in the next few months to fill in some of the gaps on the map.

We hope you’ve had nearly as much fun reading Touring Tuesdays as we’ve had writing it, and that it will give you some ideas for places to visit during your trip to Ireland.

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Anyone visiting Ireland for the first time will quickly discover that County Meath has a number of the most significant archaeological and historical sites in the country. Whether it’s the Hill of Tara, former seat of the High Kings, or Newgrange, the five thousand year-old passage tomb, or Tlachtga, the original site of Samhain and birthplace of Halloween, Meath has been the location of more than its fair share of Ireland’s heritage.

It also boasts the largest Anglo-Norman castle in the country. Less than an hour’s drive from Dublin, with a direct bus route from the city centre to the entrance of the castle itself, this is a must for anyone with an interest in history, architecture or who just likes big-assed castles. It was also one of the key locations for the film Braveheart.

Approaching from the main road, the castle is an impressive sight. Situated on the south bank of the River Boyne in the town of Trim, it was built over a thirty year period by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter as the home of the Lordship of Meath, after de Lacy was granted the liberty of Meath by King Henry II in 1172, hoping to keep that rebellious upstart, Richard ‘Strongbow’ de Clare in his place. The site was chosen because it was on raised ground overlooking a fording point in the river, during a time when the area was an important early medieval ecclesiastical and royal site and the Boyne was a major transport route.

There’s a lot to see from the outside, and you can get a good sense of its scale and some of the main features just from the view out on the road, or from the hill on the far side of the river. There’s an admission charge to enter the grounds, and you walk in through the arch of a gatehouse which gives you a dramatic view of the keep and curtain wall. There is a tour of this outer section if you choose to take it, but you are otherwise free to wander about. There’s plenty to see and kids love running around and exploring. If you want to go into the keep itself, you have to take one of the scheduled tours, for which there’s an additional charge that you pay for with your admission ticket. These tours are very popular during the summer, so get in early.

The extra couple of quid for the tour is well worth it, there’s a lot to see inside and the tour is excellent, giving you a superb insight into life in that era, the culture, technical advances, politics and strategic thinking that went into the construction of these buildings. It also helps you understand the awe-inspiring scale of operation it took to build one of these. There are so many interesting little features you are shown along the way: everything from how they built the stairs so that a right-handed swordsman was at a disadvantage fighting his way up, to learning that the bare stone walls we’re so used to seeing in films and artwork were often actually covered with a lime plaster, to which might be added a pigment to make the castle all more visible and intimidating from a distance. Trim was most likely white in colour, but some of the most fearsome Norman castles could be yellow or even pink.

Construction of the three-storied central keep began around 1176 on the site of an earlier wooden fortress. This huge twenty-sided tower, which is cruciform in shape, was cupped by a curve in the river and was further protected by a ditch, curtain wall and moat. Apart from the keep, the main structures consist of an early 14th-century three-towered fore work defending the keep entrance and including stables within it; a huge late 13th-century three-aisled great hall; a stout defensive tower; a smaller aisled hall; a building (possibly the mint) added to the east end of the latter hall; two 15th- or 16th-century stone buildings added inside the town gatehouse, 17th-century buildings and a series of lime kilns.

The tour takes you right to the top of the keep, and you can do a full circuit looking out at the land for miles around. The castle was a centre for administration in Meath in the 15th century and marked the outer northern boundary of the Pale, the area around Dublin, beyond which lived the wilder Irish tribes our civilised conquerors were reluctant to mix with. The castle would remain an important stronghold up into the 1600’s, including being occupied by the army of Oliver Cromwell (a right evil bastard, for whom the Irish reserve a particularly passionate hatred), but the site eventually fell into disuse and ruin.

The Office of Public Works began a major programme of works and conservation, costing over six million euro, including partial restoration of the moat and the installation of a protective roof on the keep. The castle was re-opened to the public in 2000. It is a beautiful, fascinating and hugely impressive site and if you only have time to see a few attractions in or around Dublin while you’re at Worldcon, this should absolutely be one of them.

Admission Prices (at time of writing):

Public car park close to the site (paid parking with a 2 hour limit).

You can find more details here: http://www.discoverboynevalley.ie/boyne-valley-drive/heritage-sites/trim-castle

Oisín McGann is one of Ireland’s best-known writer-illustrators, producing books for all ages of reader. He is the author of the Mad Grandad books, the Forbidden Files and novels such as Rat Runners, The Gods and Their Machines and The Wildenstern Saga. He is a winner of the European Science Fiction Society Award, the Bisto Book of the Year Merit Award and has been shortlisted for numerous other awards, including the Waterstones Childrens’ Book Prize in the UK, le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire in France and Locus Magazine’s Best First Novel Award in the US.

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Leaving the Giant’s Causeway behind us, we contintinued in a north-westerly direction along the clifffs. Soon we came to Runkerry House, an imposing building holding station atop the cliffs. It was once the home of Lord Macnaghten, who owned much of the nearby town of Portballintrae.

We were convinced the building must be haunted, though apparently it has now been converted into a number of apartments. Spooky apartments!

Past this, the clifftop gave way to a beach, and we joined the narrow-gauge railway line from Giants Causeway to Bushmills. This ran along the beach before turning inland towards the famous whiskey making town.

We left its path to continue around the coast into Portballintrae.

Crossing the river, the path took us through a golf club, under a pretty bridge that allowed the golfers to pass over.

We continued through Portballintrae, a sleepy little seaside village with some quite pretty old houses and some rather ugly modern ones.

After this, the cliff/side walk came to an end, so we had no choice but to continue on the road for the last couple of kilometres to Dunluce. There were still pretty views, but not of the same calibre as the clifftop walk earlier.

It was worth it, as we soon reached the fantastic Dunluce Castle.

There have been castles on the site at least since the 13th century, and possibly earlier. The current castle was mostly built in the 16th century, but like many structures in use for an extended period, was regularly revised and added to, keeping in line with castle building trends.

It’s not hard to see why it would be chosen as the location for a castle. It sits on a tiny rocky island, jutting out of the sea, with a bridge connecting to the mainland.

Although in ruins, the castle is fantastically preserved, and it’s not hard to picture how different parts were used during its life.

Helpful signs have been placed around the castle, depicting how an area would have looked when in use, and helping to piece together the history.

We arrived late in the day, and only had an hour before the castle was closing. It would have been easy to lose ourselves for several hours.

You can reach Dunluce by car or bus, if you don’t fancy walking quite as far as us!

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It was a bit of a gloomy August morning, with a hint of rain, as the bus dropped us off by Dunseverick Castle, the remains of a 6th century fort on the Antrim coast. It’s perhaps not the most impressive fort, as there’s almost nothing castley still standing, though it’s not hard to see why it would be an attractive place to build one. It’s basically a rock sticking out of the sea, easily defended from land or sea, and with a convenient, secluded bay.

We explore the remains for a few minutes. It’s a little challenging to get to, but not too dangerous. From the top of Dunseverick, we get our first glimpse of the fantastic views that will feature throughout the day, to our west, along the cliffs towards Giant’s Causeway, or to the east, where we can just make out the coast of Scotland.

We set off along the cliffs.

Northern Ireland Tourism have done a fantastic job of setting up an excellent cliff-top walk. From Dunseverick, it’s about 10km (6 miles) to the causeway, so not for everyone, but the terrain is pretty manageable, and the views are breathtaking. However, when they say cliff-top walk, it really is a cliff-top walk, so don’t expect new fangled inventions like handrails, or indeed, paths.

As we got closer to the cliffs we started to pass stacks of basalt, giving us a little preview of what was to come. It was really interesting to see the gradual change in the landscape as we approached.

During the whole clifftop walk we probably passed about three people, so it’s wonderfully secluded.

Eventually we came to a bench at Hamilton’s Seat with a great view of the Giant’s Causeway. It commemorates the recognition of Giant’s Causeway as a World Heritage Site. From this distance all the people on it looked like ants, so it really made us feel like giants.

The next phase of the walk contrasted with the first in that we met dozens of people. We made our way along the cliff till we come to a set of rough steps leading down to the causeway. There were handrails and signs warning us to take care.

The causeway itself is a fantastic experience. It’s certainly one of those places that words and photos really don’t do justice to, and you have to experience it to appreciate it. The basalt stacks are an amazing sight, having formed as almost perfect hexagons, and it’s hard to believe they are a natural formation, and possibly one of the most “alien” landscapes on Earth.

We had fun ambling around the different levels of the causeway. It stretches out into the sea, though there are people in high-vis jackets to tell you off if you wander too close to the waterline.

Afterwards we followed the road to the visitor centre. For most visitors, the centre is their first stop; since we had already seen the causeway, we felt we didn’t need to pay into the visitor centre. So we went for tea and cakes in the hotel next door instead. Very pleasant, and significantly cheaper than the visitor centre admission!

While a 10km cliff walk is a great way to experience the Giant’s Causeway, I know that won’t suit everyone. You can, of course, just park at the visitor centre. There are also several points the bus can drop you along the cliff walk, if a shorter walk would suit you. Finally, there’s a narrow gauge railway from the town of Bushmills to the Giant’s Causeway, which is a great way to experience it.

That was by no means the end of our day, but the rest of our walk and especially Dunluce Castle really warrant a post of their own, so come back soon for part 2!

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James Shields

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