During my trip to Dublin in May, I went on a little excursion to the seaside town of Howth with a friend. (A few other photos are posted here and here.) The town was beautiful, and the weather was perfect for a casual stroll. After we walked along the harbor, we decided to head up into one of the townhouse-lined roads that cut into the hillside. We could see glimpses of a ruin here and there between the rooftops.
It was quite striking looking, but there wasn’t any obvious way to get up there. (At least not obvious from the street. Probably people with maps and/or guidebooks could find the way obvious. But it was more of an adventure to explore without these things.)
Soon enough, we came across this intriguing little stairway that climbed through a narrow canyon-like space between some stone walls. There were no signs that said where they led. On the other hand, there were also no signs that told us not to go that way.
The stairs led up to another road, or perhaps another bend of the same winding road, up higher on the hill. And a quick walk led to an overlook and entrance to the ruins and cemetery.
It was quite a beautiful and dramatic place to wander and photograph.
The moral of the story: Climb any intriguing stairways that are not marked with signs telling you not to.
—
This week’s friday foto finder theme is “ruin,” which gave me a nice opening to share these photos. To see what other ruins have been discovered, pay a visit to the fff blog!
collecting tokens 
Great photos!
Gorgeous pictures! I have family in Howth, oddly enough. There’s some connection with Phil Lynott (lead singer of Thin Lizzy) … he lived there or is buried there or something.
Sometimes it pays to wander and explore! :)
Oooh. Great photos of what is clearly a beautiful spot. It’s always fun to wander randomly in new places and see what you can find. :)