Greystones and the area

The town itself is a nice spot. Wall to wall coffee and eating places of course but proper shops and people too. It even has a coach service direct to Dublin airport as well as the Dart train service which apparently made the town when the original line was built. At the beginning of the 1800s it had a huge population of 93 people. The railway changed all that as did development of the harbour.

We did the lovely cliff path walk to Bray enjoying the sea views en route:

and found that one of the lovely buildings in Bray town:

had been turned into a McDonalds - shock, horror:

At least the trademark golden arches are hidden inside the courtyard area; see the top picture! We liked Bray and the seafront area a lot. Kind of an old fashioned seaside resort with all the good and bad points that brings. 

The trip back was by train (yes, we wimped out of doing the walk both ways in one day) and the one stop / 10 minutes back to Greystones was easy enough. The station at Bray has a beautiful set of mosaics depicting the history of the railway and some of the Irish political events. They are replicas of the original paintings that were decaying.  As the train arrived in mid photographic activity, we only managed to picture a few though starting with the 1916 uprising:

then the formation of the Irish republic:

Followed by the news of World War II from the perspective of a neutral country:

and then the 1950s complete with suitable braces:

The others are equally good by the way.

We had a Dart train trip along the coast and through Dublin to visit Malahide. No plans to stay there in the boat this year as it isn't accessible at low water, the time we would want to leave to head north! Meeting up with Andrew and Linda at the station who had berthed Zephyros in Howth, we wandered the town and admired the lovely seafront views. Stopping off at Donnybrook fair for an excellent coffee the captain witnessed a truly Irish exchange:

Customer: Has anyone handed in a handbag - I left mine in the conservatory area earlier on?

Male server: Can you describe the bag?

Customer: Of course, it's mine!

Pause, during which captain tries very hard not to laugh, snigger or let his eyes pop out of his head whilst suppressing the mirth.

Male server: What type of bag was it, what colour?

Customer: - launches into a description of sorts then looks hopefully......

Male Server: No, we haven't had any bags handed in today.

At this, the captain had to turn away briefly....