Little Caroline Travels The Big World: Bray: My Great Escape

There is no rest for a traveller.

Yesterday I went to Drogheda and today I went to Bray.

I went to Bray by myself. I invited Nina, but she had already been there. I couldn't really invite the other girls in my program because they had to work and they don't seem to like to travel.

Even though traveling by yourself is never the most fun, sometimes it has to be done. If you wait until you can go with someone, you will be disappointed. People will disappoint you time and time again. Don't wait around for other; do what you want.

So, this is the situation I found myself in.

I had heard from other people in our program that Bray was a nice place to visit.

I made up my mind that I had to go to Bray. During the Medieval times, Bray was controlled by both England and Gaelic chieftains. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Bray was a popular fishing town. Starting in the early 19th century, Bray became an escape for upper class families from Dublin. Today, Bray is still a weekend get away for families.

I wanted to go to the sea because I missed being near a beach. In the early afternoon I went to the DART station to catch the metro to Bray. I had gotten there early and had to wait some time. A metro came that I thought I could take, but I decided not to go on it just to make sure. I didn't mind waiting another 20 minutes. I was in no hurry.

When I was finally on my DART, it was a 40 minute ride to Bray. Bray was the last stop, so it was going to be easy to know when I needed to get off.

My first order of business when I got off was to find a bathroom. I had to use the one at the station and that turned out to be sketch. Oh well.

Next, I had to find the ocean. I knew that the main attraction of Bray was the ocean, so that is where I needed to go. But which way was the ocean?

I went to the front of the station and looked both left and right. There was no maps, so I had to just make a guess and hope I was going the right way. I decided to turn left for no other reason than because I saw other people going that way.

When I had walked a few feet, there was a sign for the beach. Score!

The beach was only around a 5 minute walk, if that, from the station.

It was so nice to be by the ocean! I was in heaven. Grant it, the beach didn't look like a California beach, but beggars can't be choosers. I was going to take what I could get.

The town did have a vibe like Santa Cruz; very beachy. There were some shops and restaurants near the beach. There was the beach and then a walk path where families were walking their dogs. Near this path was a small carnival with a variety of rides and games. Next to the carnival was a street and then the restaurants and shops. The "down town" area was busy with families getting lunch and a snack of ice cream.

I looked at a tourist map to see what I wanted to do. The main attraction of Bray is just to get out of the city and have a relaxing day. I decided that I was just going to walk along the beach.

I walked on the walk path towards Bray Head. Bray Head is this some-what steep hill and at the top of the hill is a cross that was erected in 1950. Nina said that I should hike up there. I decided why not. Who doesn't like a good hike.

Before I got to Bray I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to find Bray Head or any other stuff that I was interested in seeing. But I was able to find the hiking area just fine.

If one just keeps walking on the beach path it will lead them up the hill. The street will stop and the area can only be access by walking. I knew I had to climb up, so I just kept walking up. However, I got to a point where I seriously stopped and said "this is Bear Grylls status". The path had ended and in my way was this huge rock! Was this the only way up to Bray Head?

I decided not to go up that path. I didn't have the right hiking shoes and I was walking by myself. What if something were to happen to me?

Instead I did the Cliff Walk. The Cliff Walk is a popular walk that connects Bray to Greystones. Back in the day, they built a train through Bray and workers would walk between Bray and Greystones. The walk in total is a couple of miles.

I didn't do the whole walk. I walked for about an hour; just taking pictures and enjoyed being near the water. The views were amazing! It was so pretty!

I turned back to the start of the trails to Bray Head or the Cliff Walk. There is a grassy area with benches over looking the water. I sat down at a bench and read for an hour. There was families coming and going and it was nice to see that families around the world are mostly the same. They just want to spend time with one another.

One baby escaped from its mother and ran near me until it was out of sight. I stood up to make sure where the baby had gone was okay, but I wasn't able to see the baby. The mother finally came over and the baby was okay. Great parenting. Who lets their kid run really far in front of them?

After an hour I walked on the beach until its end near the harbor. The beach was covered in rocks. I miss sand. There was no one sun bathing and no one surfing. I was not use to this kind of beach.

Upon reaching the harbor, I decided that it was time to leave. There was nothing else really to see and it was getting dark.

I got on the DART and headed back to Dublin.

I loved Bray! Again, it was so nice to get out of Dublin and have a nice day out :). You really can't go wrong hanging out by the ocean, reading and having a nice walk!