Overview
If you’re coming out to Howth on the DART, this is the walk to do: the Black Linn Loop starts and finishes at the station, so you never need a car. It is 8.1 km with a 160 m ascent, marked by a red arrow on a white background, and takes most people about two and a half hours. Of the four colour-coded Howth loops, it is the one that buys you the cliffs and the summit views without committing to the full length of the longer purple route.
What you pass
- The cliffs and the Nose of Howth: a short climb from the harbour promenade brings you onto the cliff path, with Lambay Island and Ireland’s Eye offshore and the open Irish Sea below.
- Baily Lighthouse: the red-and-white tower on its outcrop was the last lighthouse in Ireland to be fully automated.
- Black Linn heath: in summer the yellow gorse across the open hillside gives off a distinct coconut smell that hangs in the sea air.
- Ben of Howth: the peninsula’s high point at 171 m, with a wide view over Dublin Bay, the Wicklow Mountains and the Irish Sea.
- The old tramline: the return leg follows the route of the electric tram that ran between Howth and Dublin from 1901 to 1959; you can still trace its embankments as you drop back toward the village.
Walking the trail
The loop is waymarked throughout, but the junctions with the other Howth routes are where people go wrong, so it helps to know the sequence.
- From the DART station, follow the red arrow onto the harbour promenade, then veer right onto Balscadden Road and climb to the Kilrock car park to join the cliff path.
- Follow the cliff path for roughly 3 km. Turn right where the sign takes you off the longer purple loop and up toward the Summit car park.
- Leave the Summit car park through the height-restriction barrier onto Bailey Green Road, downhill to the junction at the Summit Stores and pub, then left.
- After about 100 m on the tarred road, turn right onto a grassy path, cross Carrickbrack Road and climb Tweedy’s Hill; at the top join Windgate Road, turn right, and look for the gateway on the left onto the hillside.
- Cross the Black Linn heath and descend past the GAA grounds and Balkill Park onto the line of the old tram, which leads straight back to the station.
History
Howth Head has drawn settlers and writers for centuries – James Joyce put it into Ulysses, and the peninsula turns up in Norse records from the 11th century. The tramline section is the most tangible piece of the recent past on the walk, a working commuter line for the first half of the 20th century now walked for its views rather than ridden.
Practical tips and safety
- The cliff edges have no railings. Keep back, especially when you stop for photos or to watch the grey seals that haul out on the rocks near the harbour and Balscadden Bay.
- Wildlife: seabirds such as guillemots and razorbills nest on the cliffs from March to August – stay clear of the nesting faces.
- Summer overgrowth: in July and August some grassy stretches get overgrown with nettles and thorny scrub, so long trousers are worth wearing.
- Footwear and weather: the ground is rough in places and the wind off the sea can be fierce even on a mild day; boots and a windproof layer earn their keep.
- Getting there: take the DART. Trains run frequently from Connolly, Tara Street and Pearse; buses H3 and 290 also serve Howth. Parking in the village is very limited and gone early at weekends.
Nearby
- Aideen’s Grave – a dolmen up on the peninsula, wrapped in local legend.
- Howth Castle and gardens – back near the village, a gentler contrast to the cliffs.
- Howth Harbour – finish here for the fishing pier, seafood restaurants and boats out to Ireland’s Eye.
A downloadable trail map is available from Sport Ireland: Black Linn Loop Map.
Check the DART timetable before you set off – evening trains thin out, and the walk runs longer than you’d think into a headwind.