Portmarnock for the Non-Golfer: The Coast Road Day

Portmarnock sits on its own peninsula north of Dublin, and most visiting groups sleep in the city. That makes the obvious companion plan a morning of museums. We think it is the wrong one. The golfer will want dinner in Dublin that evening, and nobody needs two city days back to back.

So this day runs along the coast instead. A castle and botanic garden at Malahide, a fishing harbour at Howth, and a clifftop loop around the Howth headland, all inside twenty five minutes of the first tee and all reachable without a car. It gives the companion sea air while the golfer is on the links, and the city is still there at night.

Portmarnock groups usually take an early tee time to protect the evening. An early morning start with a caddie has the golfer back around lunchtime, and a drink in the clubhouse stretches it into the early afternoon. This companion day is therefore front loaded.

If the round is later, simply slide everything by a few hours. The Howth walk is lovely in evening light, and the harbour restaurants serve through the afternoon. The train makes it easy to meet in the city afterwards.

The DART, Dublin's coastal railway, runs from the city centre to both Malahide and Howth on separate branches. For this day you will want to go to Malahide first, return a few stops toward the city to change, and then take the Howth branch. It sounds complicated and it is simple in practice.

A Leap card, Dublin's reloadable travel card, makes it cheaper and quicker than buying tickets at each station. A taxi between Malahide and Howth is roughly fifteen minutes and saves the change if you would rather. Either way, you avoid driving and parking in two busy seaside towns.

Start at Malahide Castle, ten minutes north of the course, a castle that was home to the Talbot family for around eight centuries. Its gardens hold a botanic collection of several thousand species, many from the southern hemisphere, and the walled garden with its glasshouses is the part to prioritise.

Go at opening and you will have the walled garden largely to yourself. Allow around two hours for the gardens and the castle tour together. The parkland around the castle is free to walk, and the village of Malahide, a short stroll away, has good coffee and a marina.

Take the DART or a taxi to Howth, around the headland to the south. The west pier is lined with fishmongers and seafood restaurants facing the boats that land the catch. Lobster, crab claws and razor clams are the things to order, and the view of the harbour with Ireland's Eye offshore is the setting.

The harbour is touristed, especially at weekends, and the seafood is still the best within an hour of Dublin. Book for a weekend lunch. If you have time, the boat trip across to Ireland's Eye, a small uninhabited island with a colony of seabirds, runs from the pier in season and takes a couple of hours.

From the harbour, walk up to the cliff path that loops the Howth headland. The route past the Baily lighthouse takes about an hour and a half at a steady pace, with Dublin Bay and the Wicklow Mountains on one side and the open Irish Sea on the other. On a clear day it is one of the finest walks near any capital in Europe.

The path is uneven in stretches, narrow near the edge in places, and exposed in wind, so wear shoes with grip and keep children close. It is worth every step. Finish back at Howth village for a drink, or take the DART straight into the city to meet the golfer.

Stay longer at Malahide, which has enough indoors to hold a morning, then take the train into the city for tea at The Shelbourne rather than walking the headland in weather. The cliff path in heavy rain and wind is unpleasant and slippery, and we would not do it.

We would skip trying to fit the Book of Kells in as well. Trinity College deserves its own unhurried morning on a non golf day, booked in advance. Squeezing it between a castle and a cliff walk does justice to none of them.

Portmarnock is about fifteen minutes from Dublin Airport, which makes it the ideal arrival or departure round. Many of our readers play it on the first or last day and sleep at The Shelbourne or another city hotel. The companion day then works as a gentle start, or a last breath of sea air before the flight.

Pair it with The Island and The European Club further along the east coast if the group wants more links, or with Royal County Down, about ninety minutes north. For the companion, this is the one day of the trip with genuinely good public transport, so use it.