September, 2019
A couple of weeks ago I saw a documentary in The Netherlands, about the traindrive from Dublin to Greystone. Perfect for a daytrip! Until Bray you can travel with the DART and after you switch to the Irish Rail direction Greystone, which borders the impressive Wicklow Mountains. During my traintrip I start a conversation with a guy from Dublin. In Ireland it is easy to connect with people; they are not only very helpful, but also talkative. The man tells me, he will be meeting an old friend in Greystone for coffee and after, return to Bray via the cliffwalk. Although I read my tourist guide thoroughly, I have not heard of any possibility of hiking back. For sure, I will do the same thing and walk the loop over the cliffs. In Greystone, I decide to go first for a coffee and the mainstreet has enough possibilities to sit, relax and get your watersupply.
Greystone has lovely beaches, a small harbour and many sport opportunities. Such a pity that apartments are built right at the seaside.
The cliffwalk starts down at the lively Marine and after a few minutes hiking, you will leave the town behind. Here it is just silence, eyedropping views and now and then the train passing by deep down below. Along the path you can pick as many tasty blackberries as you like; it seems nobody does! In contrary with the cliffloop in Howth, here the path is safe and on most parts protected. It takes about 2 hours and is 7 km long. For the best views go direction Bray and not the other way round.
Once in Bray, you can walk over the extensive boardwalk, with on one hand the sea and on the other hand hotels, pubs, a bandstand and plenty of green. For the third time I meet my Irish “friend” and we decide to go for a beer, before heading out to the station. I have my first Rockshore and love it.
Although I just had a small pint, I notice upon arrival in Dublin, that I forgot my camera!!! (black camera on a black chair……). No clue which pub it was, so I have to google. From the pictures on the internet it seems it is The Mortello hotel, but nobody found a camera. I call the police station in Bray and they tell me their ‘lost and found’ department is closed until Monday. For the insurance I need also a form from the Police Station, so I decide I have to go back to Bray on Monday morning.
On the DART again and very quickly helped at the Police Station. No camera found, but I get a file number for my insurance company. I decide to walk back via the boardwalk to the pub/hotel where I lost my camera, before heading out to the station. It is not raining yet and many joggers are taking the opportunity to get some exercise. Suddenly I see the place where I was supposed to have left my camera; it is not The Mortello, but Ocean Bar & Grill!!! Same bar counter on the pictures and same black seating area……(later it turned out the venues also have the same owner!). I try the front door, but it is closed on Monday morning. Now what? I try the side door. Suddenly a delivery man arrives and he just pushes the door open and lets me go through. The cleaning lady is very understanding and starts investigating. Finally, it turns out they did find it on Friday and put it safely away. I can not thank them enough and feel totally embarrassed! Once I return to Dublin, I immediately call the police to tell them I found the camera. So greatful I get another staffmember on the phone, so I don’t have to explain him what happened……..