Howth Head
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Howth Head (Ceann Binn Éadair in Irish) is a headland north of Dublin City in the Republic of Ireland, near the towns of Sutton, Baldoyle and Portmarnock. Howth itself lies on the northern side.
Originally an island, it is connected to the mainland via a narrow strip of land, or tombolo. Howth Head forms the northerly bound of the great crescent of Dublin Bay, corresponding to Killiney Head in the south.
The earliest mention of the peninsula was on a map attributed to Claudius Ptolemy, where it was called Edri Deserta or in Greek Edrou Heremos. Here it was portrayed as an island, but it isn't clear if this was due to actual separation from the headland or inaccurate information available to the cartographer.
As one of the northern termini of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (DART), Howth is a popular destination for day-trippers from the capital. Hikers make for the ancient cairn on Howth summit, from where, on clear days, the Wicklow Mountains can be seen, with Dublin city below. Slieve Donard, an 852 metre peak in Northern Ireland may also be visible - a distance of 90 km. On rare occasions, Snowdon (1,085 m) in Snowdonia National Park in Wales can be seen - a distance of 138 km.
[edit] External links
- Yahoo! Travel:Howth Head
- Chapter XXXI from The Neighbourhood of Dublin (1920) by Weston St. John Joyce
- Chapter XVII from Dillon Cosgroves' North Dublin, covering Howth
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