Mika Wesley, Arcadia Abroad Summer 2023
My favorite activity to do in Ireland was hiking and seeing the beautiful landscapes. Due to the higher latitude of the country, there is a lot more daylight in the summer. The sun rose at around five in the morning and it did not set until almost ten in the evening. The many hours of daylight meant there was a lot of time for outside activities. I could finish work at five on a weekday and still have time to go on a hike nearby because the sun wouldn’t set for another four to five hours. It was fantastic to see all the beautiful mountains and cliffs. My favorite hike near Dublin that I did was to Howth. Howth is a peninsula off the coast of Ireland. I walked all the way around the peninsula above the cliffs. On the way back I watched the sun set over the Dublin bay and got fish and chips. I hiked around Howth my first weekend in Ireland and would recommend it for anyone visiting Dublin area.
Other hikes I enjoyed included Bray, Ticknock Fairy Castle loop, Killiney hill, and Glendalough. At Bray there was a rocky beach. Ticknock Fairy Castle loop and Killiney hill both had great views of the surroundin area from the top. Ticknock Fairy Castle loop had a small stone structure or fairy castle I saw. On the way back I ran into two black cats that came right up to me and my firend. Glendalough is a park with historic structure and large lakes. I went to the lakes and then hiked up the mountain to see them from the top of the overlook. Another place I visited and walked around a lot was Dun Laoghaire. Dun Laoghaire had a nice food and craft market on Sundays. I also sat on the dock in Dublin bay. I walked along the boat pier to a lighthouse at the end of the pier. Another day, I went back to Dun Laoghaire to go paddle boarding and then swimming by the forty foot jump.
Other than hikes I went on, a couple of my favorite towns I saw in Ireland were Westport, Kilkenny, and Sneem. Westport is a coastal town in the Northwest of Ireland. Kilkenny holds a lot of medieval history including a castle, archaeological museum, and inn that used to belong to the first person ever convicted of witchcraft in Ireland. Sneem is a remote village in Killarney national park.
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