Killiney Hill

I first discovered Killiney Hill by accident. Well, that isn't strictly true given that my interpretation of the word ‘accident’ is: ‘an unplanned event that could possibly have been avoided.’ And my trip to Killiney itself was very much planned. And had been for several weeks! In fact I was thinking of nothing much else as the local train collected me from Lansdowne Road station that sunny Sunday morning and slowly began to wind its way along the increasingly picturesque Dublin Coastal landscape passing through eleven further stations, including the beautiful village of Dalkey, until I reached my destination.

As I stepped off the train at Killiney railway station and headed over the pedestrian bridge, I stopped momentarily and looked up at the majestic landscape overlooking this quiet part of South Dublin bay. It was then that the hill ahead drew me under its spell for the first time and in it's own way, beckoned me to walk towards it. Presumably just as it had seduced some of Kilkenny’s famous local residents like Bono and Enya who have subsequently chosen to live in its shadow. I guess the former really had found what he was looking for after all!

The brisk forty minutes climb to the hill summit is worth the effort, although unsurprisingly, the real beauty is to be found on a clear sunny day; For it is here that Killiney Hill reveals its piste de la resistance: stunning 360 degree views. The resplendent tall white obelisk acts as the compass to guide the naked eye to look out towards Dublin to the North-West; the Irish Sea (apparently inspiring Bono’s ‘No Line on the Horizon’ lyric); and the Welsh mountains to the East and South-East; and finally, the Wicklow mountains to the South. Without a doubt, it is the Emerald Isle’s very own Bay of Naples.

That first time I climbed the Hill I definitely had a spring in my step that day. The kind that only those in love can truly really feel; even if mine was back home in England at the time. And as I found my private sunbathing spot amongst the lush bracken, I felt very happy to be alive! Sadly, the female love later disappeared although I'm pleased to report that my love, for Killiney Hill, has remained intact throughout. And so, despite no longer living in beautiful Ireland, I try to return to the hill as often as I can to my private hilly ‘Idaho’. And each time I retrace my steps and take in those magnificent panoramic views, then the world always just seems a little bit more of a better place.