North Coast and Malahide Castle

Quote of the Post: "Castle surrounded by pretty gardens and wonderful views from the Howth summit is the speciality of the tour." - Sachin Kumar Gupta

It was a mixed cloudy sunny day. It was not a planned visit. I was planning to visit the Dublin city as holding Dublin city VIP Pass, but in the meantime I changed my mind and asked the driver for the Dublin North coast and castle tour. As the bus for north coast and Malahide castle will depart within 10 mins.

Before visiting the Malahide castle our bus roamed around the city center with live comentary. In the way we saw some georgian designed houses and many historical and famous person's buildings.

Guided tour of Malahide Castle: It was both a fortress and a private home for nearly 800 years and is an interesting mix of architectural styles. The house is furnished with beautiful furniture together with an extensive collection of Irish portrait paintings, mainly from the National Gallery. It shows the lavish lifestyle of olden times. The whole area is surrounded by parkland and pretty gardens. The surrounding parks used for sports grounds, including a cricket pitch and several football grounds, golf course, tennis courts, and for modern children's playground.

Note: This tour includes the Malahide Castle entrance fee.

Coastal drive to the fisihng village of Howth: Then our bus moved to the seaside village - Howth, a fishing and yatching port. Following the Howth railway station, we reached the summit point known as Howth head, a huge rocky mass block, was our next stop. The panaromic views of Dublin bay and Wicklow mountains can be seen from here. The view is renowned as one of the world's great seascapes. A tiny island known as Irelands Eye can also be seen from here and just a boat trip away from here. I remember! I make all travellers wait for a while. Thanks God! I got another route back to the bus before the lady guide who went to search me.

North Bull Island: While returning back to the Dublin city center, we have glimpse of 5 KM long Bull Island. The island connects to Dublin city by a wooden road bridge. It is now a nature reserved and bird sanctuary area.

The whole tour was approx 3 - 3:30 hrs.

Tour Fee: Adult 25 Euros; Student/Senior 22 Euros; Child 12 Euros.

Daily 10 am and 2 pm.