Bray
Bray is the one of the prettiest coastal town in Dublin which is at a distance of 20 kilometers from the Dublin City centre. It can be accessed easily using the government’s electrified railway system that runs all over the country called DART. Most people who live in Dublin will tell you to go to Bray, and it’s undoubtedly worth the visit.
We took a DART to Bray that dropped us in about 30 minutes. The main reason of choosing DART was the breathtaking coastal view visible throughout the journey.
It was around 12 degree celsius and we could see an excellent blend of not so sunny, not so cloudy, and not so rainy weather. We walked straight for 7 minutes from the station, passing the level crossing to reach to the Bray seafront.
There comes the seashore welcoming us with its arms wide open and creating sounds of the splashing waves and clattering of pebbles. A perfect weekend by the beach!
We strolled around the mile long beachfront promenade decorated with yummy food stalls and restaurants.
The beachfront runs from harbour near Martello Terrace, the childhood home of James Joyce and ends at bray head,
the sugar loaf and the scenic Wicklow mountains. The promenade origins date back to Victorian Era when William Dargan, the man who brought the railway to bray. It was popularly built to make bray into the popular seaside resort it has become today. His work earned Bray the title ‘The Brighton of Ireland’.
Honestly, we didn’t know that Bray was not just about the beach, sea and pebbles. It also had this outstanding, never ending trek.
If you follow the path up from the southern end of the Promenade to Bray Head, there is a lovely hike up its peak that holds the most stunning Irish sea views showcasing impressive water hues, adding an extra flavour to the sunny picturesque scenery.
This place belongs to both, the lover of sea and also the mountains!
We started walking uphill, and the vibe just hit us so strong. The fresh smell of the aquatic life rejuvenated our senses and lush greenery around us was the cherry on top. As we walked further, a soothing violin music from somewhere nearby completed the heavenly frame.
The man playing it had such a bright smile on his face, caring least about the world and enjoying his own passion with all the love.
At the beginning, there were small benches fixed at some intervals along the trekking path.
We sat there to take some rest and had some snacks, which we bought from the restaurants down at the beachside. The enthusiastic trekkers walked across us. Some busy on their mobiles talking or clicking pictures, while others busy conversing with their partners. There were couples, families, and some loners, all of them about to create their little happy moments of their life. After a 20 minute break, we set the journey on again.
We walked and walked and walked. The earth’s rotation dimmed the sun’s light, and the hope of reaching our destination was also fading. We actually started really late, and then all the overwhelming vibes just delayed our hike altogether. We stopped in the midst cause our legs started hurting terribly. I mention again that this hiking was all of a sudden, so the exhaustion is definitely acceptable and not that we are getting old (Haha!).
We literally measured the distance with our eyes, and after seeing how long we had to walk further through those mountains, we decided to end it there.
We didn’t complete it, but I truly believe, although the destination makes you proud of your hard work, but the journey gives you experience that makes the whole trip worth reciting.
And that’s how that wonderful experience ended!