Gem and Jo Take Bray Head

So today we got up nice and early and went for a hike! We decided to climb Bray Head, which is in County Wicklow and is about 250 meters high. It's right in the middle of Bray town and on the seafront so when you get to the top the view is amazing!

While we had believed it was to be a fairly overcast day, it turned out to be very warm! Gemma was really glad she brought suncream with her! Here we are at the start of the hill!

The walk up is really nice, not too difficult and filled with beautiful scenery, we even saw lizards but they ran away before we could get any pictures! But he kinda looked like this guy:

photo: politics.ie

There is a gorgeous trail that leads all the way around the mountain and overlooks the Irish Sea, which looked incredibly inviting in the warm weather! The path was tough at times but mostly it was really pretty and filled with native plants and insects!

View from the trail!

There was a sad part to our hike though. A few weeks ago, during a bout of hot weather, we noticed that the hills visible from our house were on fire and today we realised it was Bray Head that had been burning! As we walked along the trail, most of the hillside was burnt to the ground and some was still smouldering! We were so shocked at the damage wild fires could do! If you're interested in how to prevent a wildfire or some safety tips, check out this website, they have tons of really helpful stuff! Here's a picture of one of the areas that was not too badly damaged:

With the smell of burnt plants still lingering, we walked further on and met some lovely people on the way, everyone was so friendly and there were a ton of tourists about!

Not only were the steep cliff sides beautiful but the skyline was fabulous too! And with Gemma being such a fan of clouds she took lots of photos of the sky! 

When we had finished the trek, we sat on the beach which is right in front of the car park where we had parked and enjoyed the sound of the waves! It was really nice to watch people having fun in the water in Ireland for once, it's usually freezing! 

It was a great day out and we really enjoyed getting active! If you're looking for a place to hike but aren't the most experienced, Bray Head is perfect for you! It's not too hard and doesn't take very long at all and there is no need for hiking gear unless it's been raining! Also parking is super cheap at only 30c an hour!! That's a steal! 

Why not visit Bray's website and have a look at the views for yourself here

Until next time!!