Been planning to take a trip with these guys for a while so, as a treat, we booked three one-way…read moretickets to Howth. All the protocols were observed, hand sanitiser, masks etc. It was a very nice day so we perched on the deck for the entire trip. It took about an hour for the crossing, great scenery and a chance to see the city and environs from a different angle. We then had lunch in one of the myriad restaurants on the pier and took the Dart back to DL to pick up the car. Highly recommended for a different way to spend your afternoon.

The good: - The scenery is beautiful…read more- Very relaxing if you enjoy being out on a boat - It's easy to book through their website - You get to know a bit more about the coast of Dublin, Howth and Dún Laoghaire - There's a bar and a bathroom on the boat The bad: - It's hard to identify where the cruise is departing, they should have more signs around the pier. - The boat was late - and we were asked to be there half an hour before departure. The boat only arrived 15 minutes after that. - The crew was a bit too rude Don't do this if you get seasickness, it sounds obvious but a lot of people were very seasick and two even threw up. There will be waves, especially if it is a windy day.

Great way to spend a Sunday I must say!…read more 27 euro well spent. There are I think 5 different courses all together, so you could spend nearly a full day here if you wanted. They increase in height (though maybe not so much difficulty) as you go on, so if you only had a few hours, and aren't too afraid of medium-heights, I'd recommend starting half way through at least. My other recommendation would be to get up there as early as possible as the queues seem to build and build around the middle of the day, which is a bit of a buzz kill to be honest. It gets freezing too as it's so high up, so definitely bring lots of layers, and a hat, and gloves, and a definitely hot drink in a flask as they don't sell any there for some reason! Aside from all that, the instructors are all very nice and well versed, and the location is top notch. It's not very difficult, besides the very last one, so I'd definitely recommend it for all types and ages.

You'd think fear of heights would be good enough reason to stay away from a pursuit involving…read morehurling yourself from treetop to treetop, fifty feet above ground, along a piece of string. And, in theory, it definitely is, but here's a tip. Simply never look down. It genuinely works. Aside from that, the only group I'd advise against zip-lining is the infirm or very unfit. It does involve a fair bit of heft, and there are moments when you are painfully reminded that there is a large muscle group residing in your middle area, as you try to climb a net you've just bashed into, up to your refuge on a treetop platform. But for anyone in the young therefore naturally fit, or middle aged and reasonably fit, categories, this is an absolute must to try at least once. It is just so much fun, very exhilarating, and a great team or family activity. I suspect it's most exhilarating for those of us who aren't naturally inclined to hurl ourselves along a rope at a great height, but even for the less faint-hearted, challenges await, as there are five levels, the last one for over-15s only, and from what I could see from solid earth, it involves basically cycling across the face of the sun. On a tightrope. Or something like that. It's less than an hour from the city centre, in the beautiful forest of Tibradden, and the staff are great - very attentive, friendly, and clearly keeping a close eye (you are glad to know). You're safe at all times, and it is reassuring to know that you can not for a moment, due to your own stupidity, become unsafe, as you are double clipped on, and one of those is always locked. Give yourself plenty of time, especially if it's your first time (and this applies especially for kids who will be trying hard to put on a brave face), as it takes some getting used to, and confidence builds as you go, so best not to rush it. But for an injection of family togetherness, zip lining if highly recommended, as naturally you go through highs and lows and figure out the journey together, one in which you're destined to prosper. In fact, maybe zip lining is the positive life metaphor we're all searching for. Relationship coming apart at the edges? Fly from tree to tree together for a few hours and you'll be all fixed in no time. Worried your staff don't like you? Bring them zip lining and up to Johnnie Foxes afterwards and watch your popularity levels soar to treetop heights. It's very much a case of feel the fear and do it anyway. And what a high, in every sense, when you do. For to adults and two kids it works out around 90 quid, but you can stay as long as you like, so make a day of it, bring a picnic and enjoy. Small thing: Toilet facilities are not great, it's a portaloo job, and they could have been better kept. Tip: bring your own tissues.

Thank goodness for Millets!…read more At the end of our respective ropes in a desperate search for winter boots, my shopping party had an inspired idea to look here for decent waterproof footwear to tackle the snow. Not only was the store mid-sale, but the footwear department upstairs carried stock in size 8! Victory! We agreed a pair of marked down fur-lined snow boots (was €80, now €45) that have the look of life-long reliables. I was fairly impressed with the rest of the shop's offerings -ski suits, down jackets, climbing gear and more. What I wasn't delighted with were the prices on a few of those; a woolly hat whose matching scarf was marked down from €20 to 10 was still itself a massive €20. Strike one, Millets.., but you're still in the game.

This is the perefect time to go to this shop, the weather is freezing and the snow is ankle deep…read more Wellies might look nice in this weather but they are not the best when slippy ice is hiding beneath the snow ready to make a fool of you when you fall in front of oads of people. Hiking boots are the way forward! Millets do a great stock of hiking boots! and to go with those boots you can get a really wam yet fashionable jacket, one that is vital for going out in this weather. If youreally really brave or just pure mad you could get all sorts of camping gear here to have a real snow advneture. seriously though i would say if you really wanted to camping in the dublin mountains in this weather these guys could kit you out and give you things that woudl make you as comfortable as you would be at home in front of a fire.

If you are visiting Ireland and spending time in Dublin. I highly recommend visiting the Clontarf…read morePromenade. I personally have known this area going back to the 1970's. You get great views of Dublin , Dublin Mountains and you can see Bray Head on a clear day. Amazing place for running , walking and cycling.. Great restaurants, pubs and stores also in the vicinity of the promenade. Be sure to visit Veron Avenue and walk out to Bull Island. This promenade rates 5 stars and more. You definitely won't be disappointed. It should be noted I am from Washington DC and served with the United States Marines all over the World and traveled all over the United States of America. I definitely know a great promenade from all my travels and life experiences

I so love this promenade. Walking or running along here on a sunny day is one of those experiences…read morethat truly reminds you of the joy of life's simple pleasures. It's completely free and you can't help but feel better about the world afterwards. This is a fantastic running spot-it's flat, scenic, safe....and even more importantly-you get to run on grass. Pavement running can be tough on sensitive souls like me and it can be a struggle to find nice shock absorbing grass without ending up in a field full of cows and their excrement. Generations (probably) of runners have worn a little path into the grass all along the promenade so that it's both easy to run on and free of ankle-twisting potential. Just walking along is one of my favourite pastimes too. On a sunny weekend the place is buzzing with families, buggies, couples, walkers, runners, men with flags, picnickers....but doesn't seem crowded. The excellent cycle lane which extends to Howth means that there is no danger of being mown down. Benches and shelters along the route make it easy to stop and soak up the view. I love the weird yellow and orange exercise things. I plan on making use of them some day....when nobody is around to see! A stroll out to Bull Island is invigorating and it's very difficult to believe that you're still in Dublin out there. The only problem is having to come back over the bridge and back to reality :-(

One of my favourite harbours…read more It's peaceful, cosy and always something to see. The famous seals, seagulls fighting with them over leftovers from the fishermen, people buying their lobster for Sundays dinner, people relaxing... Or just watching the waves and enjoying the scenery.

Bulloch Harbour is one of a number of charming little harbours dotted along the coast of South…read moreCounty Dublin. Tucked away behind Bulloch Castle, Bulloch Harbour isn't crowded with tourists, despite it's proximity to the Dalkey Dart station. My first real acquaintance with Bulloch Harbour came late last year when I was looking for a location to shoot a short film. The locating of a location (ha! see what i did there?) for this film was fraught with difficulties, due to the fact that part of the action took place (a) in a boat, and (b) at night. A nighttime shoot in a boat, what could be more easy to organise? Nevertheless, the good folks who fish in Bulloch Harbour not only gave us a boat and brought us round in it (at nighttime, in the freezing depths of November), but also gave us the use of their little shack, offered to make tea... couldn't meet nicer people. And one of our key shots would have been ruined had they not provided us with an additional extension cord, so thanks a million lads. In non-filmmaking related points of interest, boats can be rented at Bulloch during the summer, and the harbour has a couple of resident tame seals. If Tony sees you with a camera out, he might get one of them to lumber up the steps to take a piece of fish from his hands. An overlooked little gem, just south of the city.

A lovely place. Great scenery on top with nice rocks. You can see the whole Dublin…read more Coming here mostly with a road bike. A good challenge to get up there. You may park at the bottom and walk up. Be prepared to sweat a little bit. There're at least two ways. I tried the other one and it was all gravel. No good for road bike. But nice walking experience.

Ticknock has up to 10 km of mountain and forest walks catering to seasoned hikers, mountain bikers,…read moreskateboarders, mountain runners, Sunday strollers and everyone in between with fantastic views from Dublin City to Bray Head. The forest has an extensive network of forest trails managed by Coillte and Ticknock is part of the Dublin Mountains Partnership which aims to improve the recreational use of the Dublin Mountains. The area comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. There are two trails specific to just Ticknock with the addition of the Wicklow Way Trail. The first trail 'Mountain Access Route' starts and finishes at the Ticknock Forest carpark. It meanders through the woodland paths before going straight up to the summit of Two Rock at Fairy Castle. This trail comes back down the same way. It's an 800m walk which takes about 20 mins. It's marked by Coillte and the Dublin Mountain Partnership as moderate and it seems to be used by runners a lot for training, as well as the occasional skateboarder on the lower part of the trail where it is tarmacadamed (I know this isn't a word, but you get what I mean!). I tend not to do this trail as it's a bit too short. The ground is partially forest walk, partially forest road and partially uneven mountain trails. It's a nice short, steep walk to the great views from Fairy Castle. The second trail 'The Fairy Castle Loop' starts and finishes at the same point but covers 5.5km and takes an estimated 1hr 45mins although as we took the wrong path for a little while on Sunday it took us closer to two hours, but hey, it was a lovely sunny day so no harm done The trail is also considered moderate. It's grand, a little uneven in places and some parts are a little on the steep side, but if you have any level of fitness you should be fine. This trail loops past Fairy Castle at the summit and passes Three Rock on the way back down (or up if you go in the opposite direction). Another thing to note is that the Dublin/Wicklow Way also runs through this part of the mountains, and so there are often other walkers coming from further afield. You can also extend your walk by heading along the Wicklow Way to either Tibradden Wood and joining the 'Tibradden Mountain Trail' or to Kilmashogue Forest which is another lovely walk. The Coillte and Dublin Mountains Partnership websites both have handy downloadable free maps which I would recommend taking if you're unsure of the trails and you don't want to bring an OSI map with you. The trails are well marked in places but not at every possible diverging fork. There is quite a lot of parking available at Ticknock as it is a very well used part of the mountains. Apparently the 44B is the closest public transport but I've had a look and it seems the closest stop might be at Lamb Doyle's.

The staff at reception (woman) was useless! and quite disrespectful and unsympathetic. Iam changing…read moremy gym!

I love it! It's my Gym for about 2 years now!…read more I wish I would be less lazy and go there more than 3 times a week The staff is always there to help! Not really using the swimming facilities- I should, hopefully when the weather will be a little bit warmer Classes are great- I hate spinning class, but I heard it's really good- I don't cycle at all. Zumba is great, Pilates, Yoga! Weights on the ground floor - packed on Monday to Wednesday evenings (6-8 pm) Thursday Friday better - weekends it depends. All good- most of the equipment is working. You can ask staff to show you how to use it. There is basketball-football court upstairs on the 2d floor - you can reserve it for the kid's party or football fun game - ask reception for the info! You can get your chart ( info.desk on the ground floor)- measure yourself (weight, height, etc.) And you can set your goal and go ahead- with the trainer or by yourself! I have never done it Keep it up guys for the summer bod

Such a nice place! People are friendly and super helpful. I'm from out of the country and came here…read morefor a quick session in between flights and had a fabulous time. The gear you can rent is really sturdy and the shoes are pretty new. You can rent shoes, chalk, and a harness for €20, or $24. NOTE: ALL CLIMBERS REGARDLESS OF CLIMBING ABILITY MUST GO THROUGH A QUICK BRIEFING OF THE FACILITY. Then again, this only takes about 15 minutes and is quite cool since you're introduced to the different climbs and floors. Overall a fantastic experience (and maybe some skin loss) but I had a great time here. Would highly recommend to any beginners, intermediates, or advanced climbers since there is such a diverse atmosphere of routes.

I got a groupon voucher for Awesome Walls, just to try something different out, and I'm so happy…read morethat I did. We got a taster session for two for one hour; which included climbing the high [60 foot!] walls and some 'bouldering'. I didn't know what that was (turns out it's climbing lower walls without a rope and a mat-good fun). We climbed five different routes each within the hour, all at different levels of difficulty using three different walls, and I didn't get bored for one minute. The instructor was really friendly, and eased our initial fears about leaning backwards off a 60 foot high wall and trusting him to not let us fall! The bouldering was great too, as although the walls were a lot smaller the routes were a bit trickier. We had a few falls, some rope burn and a lot of laughs. Membership to Awesome Walls is only €5 after your first session, which provides discounts for future visits, and I'm planning to go back very soon. Give it a try, even if like me you're not great with heights, you won't regret it! The place is a bit tricky to find within a large business park and Google Maps doesn't seem to know it exists once you get on the road, buut aside from that I can't fault the experience - can't wait to go back!