Bull Island & Dollymount: the wooden bridge and the dunes

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

1. 01

   1

   Clontarf seafront and the wooden bridge

   Start along the Clontarf promenade, then cross the Bull Bridge — a single-lane wooden causeway from the 1820s that rattles under every car. Walk it, don't drive it; the planks and the view down into the lagoon are the proper introduction to the island. Built, oddly, to scour the shipping channel into Dublin port — and it accidentally grew the whole island.

   01

   Clontarf seafront and the wooden bridge

   Start along the Clontarf promenade, then cross the Bull Bridge — a single-lane wooden causeway from the 1820s that rattles under every car. Walk it, don't drive it; the planks and the view down into the lagoon are the proper introduction to the island. Built, oddly, to scour the shipping channel into Dublin port — and it accidentally grew the whole island.

   ◉Street View
2. 02

   2

   The salt marsh and the lagoon

   On the landward side, mudflats and salt marsh that fill twice a day with the tide. This is a UNESCO biosphere and one of Ireland's most important wintering grounds for wildfowl — brent geese from Arctic Canada, godwits, oystercatchers. Bring binoculars between October and March; this is the whole reason the island is protected.

   02

   The salt marsh and the lagoon

   On the landward side, mudflats and salt marsh that fill twice a day with the tide. This is a UNESCO biosphere and one of Ireland's most important wintering grounds for wildfowl — brent geese from Arctic Canada, godwits, oystercatchers. Bring binoculars between October and March; this is the whole reason the island is protected.

   ◉Street View
3. 03

   3

   Dollymount Strand

   Over the dunes to the seaward beach — five kilometres of firm sand, wide enough that cars are still allowed to park on it at the southern end. Walk north along the waterline, away from the cars, and it empties out completely. The swimmers and kite-surfers cluster near the bridge; the solitude is northward.

   03

   Dollymount Strand

   Over the dunes to the seaward beach — five kilometres of firm sand, wide enough that cars are still allowed to park on it at the southern end. Walk north along the waterline, away from the cars, and it empties out completely. The swimmers and kite-surfers cluster near the bridge; the solitude is northward.

   ◉Street View
4. 04

   4

   The dunes and the bird sanctuary

   The dune ridge running the spine of the island, marram-bound and shifting, with the bird sanctuary at the northern end fenced off for nesting terns and the wintering flocks. Stick to the beach or the marked paths through the dunes; the interior is fragile and partly off-limits to protect the colonies.

   04

   The dunes and the bird sanctuary

   The dune ridge running the spine of the island, marram-bound and shifting, with the bird sanctuary at the northern end fenced off for nesting terns and the wintering flocks. Stick to the beach or the marked paths through the dunes; the interior is fragile and partly off-limits to protect the colonies.

   ◉Street View
5. 05

   5

   The Bull Wall and the Star of the Sea

   The North Bull Wall — the granite arm built in the 1820s that, with the Great South Wall opposite, tamed the port — runs out to a statue of the Virgin on a globe, Our Lady Star of the Sea, set there in 1972. Walk out to it for the view straight back at the city, the chimneys, and Howth Head rising green to the north-east.

   05

   The Bull Wall and the Star of the Sea

   The North Bull Wall — the granite arm built in the 1820s that, with the Great South Wall opposite, tamed the port — runs out to a statue of the Virgin on a globe, Our Lady Star of the Sea, set there in 1972. Walk out to it for the view straight back at the city, the chimneys, and Howth Head rising green to the north-east.

   ◉Street View
6. 06

   6

   Back over the bridge to Clontarf

   Recross the wooden bridge — better still at the turn of the day, when the tide's in and Howth goes blue across the water — and return along the Clontarf seafront to the DART. The Happy Out kiosk and the seafront cafés near the station are the reward; sit with the bay in front of you.

   06

   Back over the bridge to Clontarf

   Recross the wooden bridge — better still at the turn of the day, when the tide's in and Howth goes blue across the water — and return along the Clontarf seafront to the DART. The Happy Out kiosk and the seafront cafés near the station are the reward; sit with the bay in front of you.

   ◉Street View