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| At the start of the Cliff Path on Howth Head Peninsula, sits one of the Martello Towers... |
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| It is one of a series of towers built at the start of the 1800s by the Duke of York as a defense against a Napoleonic invasion. |
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| The Cliff Path skirts the edge of Howth Head... |
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| ...guaranteeing great views for miles. |
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| This is Baily Lighthouse on the southeast corner of the peninsula, built in 1814... |
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| along with a house built for the lighthouse keeper. |
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| Getting to the shoreline wouldn't be safely doable, but this is where I wanted to call my first major section on the hike complete. |
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| So I got as close to the water as I could and called it a success. |
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| That island is called Ireland's Eye. I was curious how it got it's name, so I looked it up. Over 2,000 years ago the Celts called it Eria's Island. |
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| At some point, the name Eria was confused with another woman's name, Erin, so people eventually started calling it Erin's Island. Erin is the Anglicized form of the name Éireann, which is the Gaelic word for Ireland, so the island became known as Ireland's Island. The Viking's Norse word for Ireland is Ey, which is why we now call it Ireland's Eye. |
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| As it was getting late, and the view was spectacular, I was determined to find a place to camp nearby. I searched for a spot, but couldn't find flat ground. I climbed up the highest spot I could find and looked around. Below me was a spot that seemed like others had camped at before |
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| Surrounded by salt water, camping here would mean searching for fresh water, but the spot I found was actually next to a source, a 4-liter jug filled with 3 liters of water. (Don't worry, I filtered it.) At the site, I also found a lot of garbage and an unused trash bag. |
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| I don't believe in Karma, but I believe in living as though I do... |
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| So in exchange for the free water and the use of the land, I carried out a 20-gallon-sized trash bag full of garbage and left the site in perfect condition for the next hiker. |
