Fingal coastal walk

LeoB

Heard this was suggested a few years ago. Has anyone any info on it?

It would be fantastic. When you look at the area where you can walk it would be great if they could be linked up some way. At the moment you can walk from Loughshinny all the way round to Rogerstow estuary in Rush which is a fairly taxing walk with a few steep climbs Dont know how they would tackle the estuary. Can you walk from Balbriggan to Skerries? or Skerries to Loughshinny?

Bluetonic

LeoB wrote: »

Can you walk from Balbriggan to Skerries?

You can indeed but if you want to walk solely on the beach then your subject to the tides as at full tide Barnageera is impassable.

From Blackrock in Balbriggan to The Delvin, and on further to Ben Head (Meath) is a beautiful walk. A great mix of golden beaches, shingle beaches and rock face - the section at Cromwells Harbour is tidal but it easily passed via the old lane used by the carts which served the the harbour. From shipwrecks, to neolithic tombs, to old harbours and ruins of Lowther Lodge this coastline has it all.

LeoB

This is my point exactly. Here I am only 8 miles from Balbriggan and would not have a clue about the beachs there. Surely if Fingal C.C and various town councils along the coast they could have a series of walks to let people know more about what is at their doorstep. Good for tourism also

Bluetonic

LeoB wrote: »

This is my point exactly. Here I am only 8 miles from Balbriggan and would not have a clue about the beachs there. Surely if Fingal C.C and various town councils along the coast they could have a series of walks to let people know more about what is at their doorstep. Good for tourism also

I don't really think you need FCC or town council involvement to be honest. You just need to get out there yourself and explore. The less developed they are the more natural they remain. Just get out and get walking.

LeoB

I agree people like me need to get out and explore and they are better left unspoilt. But perhaps a walking festival like the have in Connemara, The Burren and Wicklow would actually make us more aware. The little signposts pointing the way. Also alternative route back to each starting point like they have in Glendalough. There are some nice inland walking routes where you can do a loop like Loughshinny and Mine Rd, Rogerstown estuary walk and a few out around the Naul.

Bluetonic

LeoB wrote: »

I agree people like me need to get out and explore and they are better left unspoilt. But perhaps a walking festival like the have in Connemara, The Burren and Wicklow would actually make us more aware. The little signposts pointing the way. Also alternative route back to each starting point like they have in Glendalough. There are some nice inland walking routes where you can do a loop like Loughshinny and Mine Rd, Rogerstown estuary walk and a few out around the Naul.

Not sure if the signs are necessary, simply follow the coast. The east coast from Rush and Lusk has the added advantage to having good access by train so you don't necessary have to double back, although the fares north of Balbriggan are expensive.

With Google maps its possible to work out routes, distance and estimated times for walks. Balbriggan to Ben Head and back is an 8 miles - 2 hour walk for me anyhow. Of course the good thing about the coast is that it's totally different at high and low tides, and every stage of the tide in between so two walks during the same couple of weeks are rarely the same.

hoser expat

Fingal has wasted a great opportunity with this kind of thing. Think of something along the lines of the Bray - Graystones walk....we should have one in Fingal.

I've tried to walk from Skerries to Loughshinny along the coast. There is a small trail along the top of the banks just out of Skerries that seems like it is going somewhere but it ends up running into fences of provate property. Part of it looks to have washed into the sea as well.

Walking from Skerries to Balbriggan pretty much requires you to at some point go along the road along that stretch near Barnageera....and there is no footbath so it can be quite dangerous with the traffic.

I'd love to get Fingal to develop this....it just makes sense!

The Hill Billy

A Fingal Coastal Walk would be great alright - for locals & also as a 'tourist attraction'.

I'd imagine that one of the reasons why Fingal Co Co may be reticent to even erect signage is that then there may be an expectation for FCC to construct & maintain proper pathways along the route.

A knock on of this would be that in order to construct them there would need to be CPOs of certain tracts of land, demands for disabled access, health & safety assessments, etc, etc, etc...

Probably best just to get out there & walk it & never mind the establisment of an 'official' route.

In relation to the Skerries to Loughshinny stretch - this is best walked at beach level. You miss a lot by doing it on top of the cliffs. Smugglers' Cave for example...

Unshelved

There should be a path along by Barnageera - the views are gorgeous but the road is quite dangerous. I never feel safe walking along there.

You can walk from Skerries to Loughshinny at low tide - don't forget to have a look at the Smugglers' Cave along the way.

Bluetonic

hoser expat wrote: »

Fingal has wasted a great opportunity with this kind of thing. Think of something along the lines of the Bray - Graystones walk....we should have one in Fingal.

There already is information on the costal walks available provided by FCC, they have already 'developed' some walks in the area, but personally I'd prefer to see them remain 'undeveloped' purely for selfish reasons. They are grand as is, been walking them for the guts of 30 years now and theres been no issues yet!

hoser expat wrote: »

Walking from Skerries to Balbriggan pretty much requires you to at some point go along the road along that stretch near Barnageera....and there is no footbath so it can be quite dangerous with the traffic.

From Curlew Cottage to Skerries it's possible to walk along the shore line or through the grass between the shore and the road.

LeoB

I suppose one can see problems with landowners who farm crops along the cliffs between Drummanagh and Rush and likewise along any stretch where people will walk along a headland and are tempted to bring home something fresh fopr Dinner.... But I think 99% of people are grand and just want the peace and quiet of the walk.

Its a pity there are so many rules about putting up signs or information boards. Red tape!! The reason I would put up the signs even without a path is to warn people of the dangers if they go along the cliff top. 2 people have died in falls between the North beach in Rush and Loughshinny in the last 15 months.

Bluetonic

Here's some photos I took sometime last year when out walking one day from Blackrock to The Delvin. I think they were taken on two different days, and are in no particular order as I just ripped them out of folder with loads more.

Bluetonic

And more (not arsed uploading them somewhere)

Bluetonic

And the last 5.

Alan Farrell

hoser expat wrote: »

Fingal has wasted a great opportunity with this kind of thing. Think of something along the lines of the Bray - Graystones walk....we should have one in Fingal.

I've tried to walk from Skerries to Loughshinny along the coast. There is a small trail along the top of the banks just out of Skerries that seems like it is going somewhere but it ends up running into fences of provate property. Part of it looks to have washed into the sea as well.

Part of the problem regarding walkways and routes all over the country is that if you walk across private lands you are legally trespassing which is now a criminal offence. Regardless of that, Coastal walkways are plentiful across the county and additional routes are planned particularly along the southern part of the county.

Hill Billy wrote: »

I'd imagine that one of the reasons why Fingal Co Co may be reticent to even erect signage is that then there may be an expectation for FCC to construct & maintain proper pathways along the route.

A knock on of this would be that in order to construct them there would need to be CPOs of certain tracts of land, demands for disabled access, health & safety assessments, etc, etc, etc...

A side effect of living in a litigious society I would imagine. While it highly unlikely that any Council driven routes will be built at present, you can always make suggestions as to specific routes to your local Councillors by following the link herehttp://www.fingalcoco.ie/YourLocalCouncil/LocalDemocracy/Councillors/

Upkeep and maintenance would be by far the biggest obstacles to non urban walkways for any agency but it doesn't make it impossible.

LeoB

Alan Farrell wrote: »

additional routes are planned particularly along the southern part of the county.



A side effect of living in a litigious society I would imagine. While it highly unlikely that any Council driven routes will be built at present, you can always make suggestions as to specific routes to your local Councillors by following the link herehttp://www.fingalcoco.ie/YourLocalCouncil/LocalDemocracy/Councillors/

Upkeep and maintenance would be by far the biggest obstacles to non urban walkways for any agency but it doesn't make it impossible.

I didnt expect any to be planned in this area. The northern part of the county has always been neglected IMO. The southern part of the county seems to get more than its fair share of anything thats going. A famous quote from the 70s come to mind especially about Rush " The forgotten town of Fingal".

Perhaps instead of looking for reasons not to do something we should be looking at the positive side of this.
The legislators have the power to bring in by-laws to help such projects ant they should take the bulls by the horns.

Carawaystick

Alan Farrell wrote: »

Part of the problem regarding walkways and routes all over the country is that if you walk across private lands you are legally trespassing which is now a criminal offence.

It's only a criminal offence if you don't leave when told to do so by the landowner.

There was some talk in the minutes of the co.co about making a pedestrian/cycle way beside the rail line from Malahide to Donabate, but it was a while ago and nothing ever happened on this as far as I know. There seems to be plenty of room on the Causeway on the west of the rail line for this, and I know adolescent idiots use the causeway to get from Donabate to Malahide at night.

If the same thing was done beside the rail line over Rogerstown to Balleally then you'ld have a continuous path over half the county.

LeoB

You would get a sickener if you were cycling along the bridge when it collapsed.;)

Any way this has me thinking and recently there were a series of walks launched around Howth. Coming home from London last night I had my camera ready and took this out the window as we were turning right on our approach to Dublin Airport. I think there are probably a few walks which could be tackled from Balbriggan, Skerries, Loughshinny, Rush, Donabate and Portrane.

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Maybe Fingal will look at it if they spoke to some locals. I dont think it requires a huge investment but if marketed properly among walking clubs, community councils, schools and other clubs it could be good for local economey.

They might even look at other threads here, Favourite North County Picture and build from that

Abstract Prude

Hi all, I know it's an ancient thread but it's the only one I could find which mentions walking from Loughshinney to Skerries along the coastline.

Thinking of trying this in a couple of weeks at low tide. Does anyone know if it's still accessible and if so how tough is the terrain - is it a lot of scrabbling over slippy rocks and the like?

Any pointers greatly appreciated.

Mark

The Hill Billy

There's plenty of scrabbling over rocks, but it is well worth it.

Bring a torch & check out Smuggler's Cave along the way.

Abstract Prude

The Hill Billy wrote: »

There's plenty of scrabbling over rocks, but it is well worth it.

Bring a torch & check out Smuggler's Cave along the way.

Cheers! Will do.

On a side note, any idea if the Martello tower in Loughshinny is still accessible? Used to be able to climb up into it when I was a kid. There was trail along the cliff side going up from the beach - can imagine some of that has crumbled over the years...

The Hill Billy

I've no idea about the Martello tower at Drumanagh.
Maybe one of our other posters will see this & let you know.

McAlban

As far as I know the Martello is on Private Land, so not sure about Right of Way. You may be able to walk up to it, but as a protected structure you should not enter it. Martello's are fairly common in Fingal but from a wider perspective they're an important heritage building. and Some of them (especially Balbriggan) have been badly effected by Vandalism and terrible planning.

expectationlost

Fingal Coastal Way progress via FCC transportation SPC July 2015 http://137.191.240.179/documents/s17831/MINUTES%20OF%20TRANSPORTATION%20SPC%206th%20JULY.pdf

Sutton to Swords Cycleroute (Sutton to Malahide) Drawings for Public Display currently being prepared by Atkins, Consulting Engineers
Skerries to Balbriggan Cycleroute Amendments to original Contract Documents due to be completed by MDM Consultants in July with a view to going on Public Display

Carawaystick

some more info in the NCL