Overview
The thing to know before you plan anything: the Bray to Greystones cliff walk is closed, and has been since October 2022. Repeated landslides made whole sections unstable, some of them not visible until you’re on them, and Wicklow County Council has fenced off the route with no through path. Walkers who ignore the barriers are the reason the closure keeps being tightened. A March 2026 reopening was targeted but described by those running the project as very tight after nearly five years shut, so check bray.ie/cliffwalk or the Wicklow County Council page for the current status before you travel.
That is not the end of the day out, though. The Bray Head Loop covers most of the same ground and the same views, and it’s open. If you have a couple of hours and want the cliff-top scenery, that’s the walk to do.
What to walk instead
Bray Head Loop – the direct replacement. A moderate loop of about 5.5 km (or 9 km on the longer variant), it climbs from near Bray seafront up over the headland, taking in the sea views and the summit cross before dropping back down. It’s the walk most locals now do in place of the cliff path.
De Buitléar Way (Slí de Buitléar) – a 4 km circular trail on the headland, opened in 2014 and named for the wildlife filmmaker Éamon de Buitléar (1930–2013), who lived in Bray. It’s marked with red arrows and dotted with interpretive panels on the local flora and fauna, and it links to the seafront promenade. The gentler, more family-friendly choice.
The overland route – if you’re set on getting between the two towns on foot, the R761 road over Bray Head gives coastal views without the cliff path. It’s a road walk, not a trail.
What you’ll see
On a clear day the headland looks north across the Irish Sea to Howth and inland to the Wicklow Mountains. The summit cross, erected in 1950, sits at the high point with a wide view over Dublin Bay and the Great Sugar Loaf.
Bray Head is good for wildlife. The cliffs hold guillemots, razorbills, shags, cormorants, kittiwakes, kestrels and peregrine falcons; common lizards bask on the rocks on sunny days; and in the water below there are bottlenose dolphins, harbour porpoises and, in summer, the occasional basking shark.
A little history
The coastal railway and its accompanying walkway were built by the Dublin, Wicklow & Wexford Railway Company in the 1850s, reaching Greystones in 1855; the walk follows the line. A second tunnel was abandoned after a bridge collapsed in 1867. The WWII ‘Éire’ sign near the head is one of the coastal navigation markers laid out around neutral Ireland. A chairlift ran from the seafront up the head from 1952 to 1970.
Practical Information
- Route status – the cliff walk is closed; obey the barriers and notices, and don’t try to pick a way past them. Check bray.ie or Wicklow County Council for the latest before setting out.
- Distances
- Bray to Greystones cliff walk (closed): ~7 km, 2–2.5 hours when it was open
- Bray Head Loop: ~5.5 km (or 9 km), 1.5–3 hours, moderate
- De Buitléar Way: 4 km circular, moderate, approx. 120 m ascent
- Access & parking – the free Raheen Park car park is the usual start for the Bray Head Loop; there’s also parking along the Bray seafront. Both fill quickly on summer weekends, so come mid-week or before 10am.
- Weather & footwear – open year-round, but the descent from the cross and other steep, slippery sections need sturdy footwear, and coastal wind picks up fast. Keep dogs on a lead.
- Return by train – you can walk one way and take the DART back: services are frequent to both Bray Daly and Greystones.
Getting There
By DART – the easiest way. Bray Daly is about 40 minutes from Dublin, with Greystones roughly 10 minutes further; both stations are a short walk from the seafront and trailheads.
By car – from the N11/M11, follow signs into Bray and on to the seafront and Raheen Park. The Greystones end is reached via the R762, with limited roadside parking near the harbour.
After the walk
Both ends reward a stop. In Bray, the Harbour Bar has been pouring pints since 1872, and Teddy’s is the seafront ice-cream institution. Greystones has a south-facing sandy beach (South Beach) right by the DART station – the easy way to finish if you’ve walked south. Toilets, cafés and pubs are plentiful at either end.