The Adventure Up The Hill

Back in 2016 my husband and I made our first trip out of the country together. While he had traveled all over during his years in the Navy, this was my first overseas adventure. For years he talked about wanting to go back to places he’d visited. At the time, Ireland had never been on my radar of places to visit. Now it is one of my favorites. 

My husband has this story that he tells from back when he was in Ireland in 1996. Him and some of his shipmates were in Bray, Ireland. They were walking along the train tracks when they heard a train coming. Quickly, they made their way up a hill to get out of the way of the oncoming train. When they reached the top, there was a large cross. They took pictures and enjoyed the rest of their time in Bray. By the way he would describe it, the hill sounded interesting and the photos looked cool.

Since we were staying nearby at Powerscourt in Wicklow, we decided to take a trip to Bray and go back to the Bray Head Cross. The sky was overcast and the wind from the coastal breeze caused a bit of a chill. I kept on my new Irish wool sweater as we parked and walked along the road next to the beach. The hill didn’t seem so intimidating from a distance, but it didn’t seem as easy as my husband made it seem. After having a bite to eat at a small cafe while a one legged bird kept us company, we started our trek to the base of the hill.

While I was in jeans, a sweater, a top, and my favorite tennis shoes, I was not dressed for what was about to come. We reached the base of the hill and I realized that my husband’s description of this hill was a bit off and not at all what I imagined. Starting out, there was a paved path with benches on the side. This was very deceptive as the path didn’t go very far before it became rough dirt and rock. The area had many trees and was very picturesque, but the climb was not what I expected. I had to take several breaks on our journey up. The wool sweater quickly became a nuisance as I was overheating despite the cold air blowing.

As we grew closer to the top, the path split and you had two options, left or right. At the time, there were remnants from a fire that had happened not too long before as one path was burned while the other wasn’t as bad. I said to take the right, but my husband thought the left one looked better. (Later you’ll find out if that really was the better choice.) We took the left path which was very rocky and difficult to maneuver. Finally we came to a much smoother path and could see that we were close to our goal, the top of the hill and the cross. 

We powered through and made it to the grassy top of the hill and the massive cross. The views from the top of the hill made it worth the climb. You could see the entire town. I could even tell where we parked our rental car. I honestly couldn’t believe how far it really was and didn’t want to think about making the trek down the hill. We spent time taking pictures together at the cross. There were a couple of guys that offered to take our picture. I believe one of them was visiting from Spain. 

Once we finished enjoying the scenery and view, we began to make the trek down the hill. I can honestly say, my shoes were not made for this type of journey. We took a different path down that was smoother. Come to find out, it was the original path I wanted to take up to the cross. I laughed and told my husband he should’ve listened to me. On the way down, we told a couple of people to take the path on the right, not wanting them to endure what we did.

Overall, the journey was worth it. If I were to do it again, I’d make sure I’m better prepared. Different shoes, a lighter sweater, and more water are just a few things I’d do differently. I don’t regret doing it at all. It allowed me to experience another place my husband had been 20 years prior and the views were amazing. I would recommend the trek to anyone that visits Bray. It’s definitely an experience I’ll never forget. It’s just another reminder that sometimes the adventure may be rough, but in the end, it’s worth it.