Welcome to Bray!
Bray is served well by both bus and train services from Dublin. At the northernmost point between County Wicklow and Dublin, it was for years a seaside resort for Dubliners eager to get away for a break, and within distance of Dublin to allow a return journey without the need for overnight accommodation if necessary.
Top Hotels
Ramada Hotel Bray
Located on the coastal Dublin Wicklow border, just 20 minutes north in...
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Esplanade Hotel Bray
Located on the Dublin Wicklow seafront, this 94 bedroom hotel has all ...
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Royal Hotel and Leisure Centre Bray
Located on the Dublin Wicklow seafront, this 94 bedroom hotel has all ...
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. Now a large town, Bray still has a promenade running along its beach, just beyond the train line. The street running alongside the promenade has many attractions, including pubs, fast food restaurants, hotels and a children’s amusement centre and arcade. It has parking facilities along the promenade too, although the car park is busy and may be full. However, it’s a good place to stop your vehicle if your intention is to take a bracing sea walk.
The promenade is also home to a seasonal fun park, set up each year over the St Patrick’s Day festival and most of the summer. South of the promenade you will see Bray Head, and nearby, the last of the fun park attractions – a large big wheel – might be set up. Although critics may deem this a little garish, the view from the top of the big wheel itself will impress.
A little walk inland takes you into housing estates that seem more like forest walks, with plenty of greenery and park areas. While much of Bray is built up and unattractive today, with its main street often a traffic bottleneck that would stress even the most chilled motorist, there are still plenty of scenic routes to take around the town to avoid these strains.
Less than an hour away from Dublin by train, Bray has the good and ill fortune to still retain a whiff of tourism about it while now being a satellite and commuter town of the nation’s capital.
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Arklow Links
Abbeylands, Arklow, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course. Traditional Links was formed by Hawtree & Taylor in 1927.
- Tel: +353 (0)402 32492
- Email: arklowgolflinks@eircom.net
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Baltinglass
Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow
9 Hole Course.
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Blainroe
Blainroe, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course. Hilly terrain with extensive views of Irish Sea from all 18 holes.
- Tel: +353 (0)404 68168
- Email: blainroegolfclub@eircom.net
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Boystown Golf Club
Baltyboys, Blessington, Co. Wicklow
9 Hole Course.
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Bray Golf Club
Ravenswell Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow
9 Hole Course.
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Charlesland Golf Club
Greystones, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Coollattin Golf Club
Shillelagh, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Delgany Golf Club
Delgany, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Djouce Golf Club
Roundwood, Co. Wicklow
9 Hole Course.
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Druids Glen Golf Club
Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course. European Golf course of the year 2000.
- Tel: +353 (0)1287 3600
- Email: info@druidsglen.ie
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European Golf Club
Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Glen of the Downs
Coolnaskeagh, Delgany, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Glenmalure Golf Club
Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Greystones Golf Club
Whitshed Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Kilcoole
Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Old Conna Golf Club
Ferndale Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Powerscourt Golf Club
Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Rathsallagh Golf Club
Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Roundwood Golf Course
Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Tulfarris Golf Club
Blessington Lakes, Blessington, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Vartry Lakes Golf Club
Roundwood, Co. Wicklow
9 Hole & 18 hole course.
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Wicklow Golf Club
Dunbur Road, Wicklow, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Woodbrook Golf Club
Dublin Rd, Bray, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
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Woodenbridge Golf Club
Vale of Avoca, Arklow, Co. Wicklow
18 hole course.
Main Town Attractions
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National Sea Life Centre - Bray
Located in Bray, the National Sea Life Centre hosts over twenty fascinating displays, housing more than one hundred different marine species. Exciting close encounters with marvels of marine life, from shrimps and sharks to octopus and eels are guaranteed.
Wicklow Tourist Attractions
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Avoca Hand Weavers - Avoca
Located in Avoca Village, Avoca Hand Weavers is the oldest working mill in Ireland today and dates from 1723. Visitors are welcome to watch the whole weaving process and to examine the yarns. The adjacent mill shop houses the complete Avoca range of clothing and a wide variety of the fine Irish crafts.
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Avondale House and Forest Park - Avondale
Built in 1779 by Samuel Hayes, based on a design by James Wyatt, Avondale House is set in the spectacular surroundings of Avondale Forest Park at Rathdrum. Now a museum to the memory of one of the greatest political leaders of modern Irish history, Charles Stewart Parnell, who was born in Avondale on 27th June, 1846. Parnell spent much of his time at Avondale until his death on 6 October 1891. The House has been refurbished to the decor of 1850 and a specially commissioned video has been produced to introduce visitors to Parnell and Avondale.
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Glenroe Farm - Kilcoole
Located at Kilcoole, as both a real and fictional rural community Glenroe Open Farm appeals to young and old alike. In addition to being one of the principal filming locations of popular TV series 'Glenroe', the Farm offers close and easy access to a terrific selection of farm animals and pets.
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Mount Usher Gardens - Ashford
Located at Ashford, Mount Usher Gardens are amongst the loveliest in the country. They combine a long time famous collection of plants, gathered from all corners of the world, with a romantic garden planted in the tradition of William Robinson. Informal paths wander along the river Vartry, across grassy expanses patterned with bulbs, and on through light woodland and groves of eucalyptus and magnolias. There are 20 acres of flowers, trees, shrubs and lawns laid out along the river Vartry, comprising of over 5000 different types of shrubs and plants.
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National Sea Life Centre - Bray
Located in Bray, the National Sea Life Centre hosts over twenty fascinating displays, housing more than one hundred different marine species. Exciting close encounters with marvels of marine life, from shrimps and sharks to octopus and eels are guaranteed.
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Powerscourt Gardens - Enniskerry
Located at Enniskerry, one of the worlds great gardens, Powerscourt Estate is situated twelve miles south of Dublin in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains. The garden was begun in the 1740s and stretches out over 45 acres. It is a sublime blend of formal gardens, sweeping terraces, statuary and ornamental lakes together with secret hollows, rambling walks, walled gardens and over 200 variations of trees and shrubs.
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Russborough House - Russborough
Located at Blessington, Russborough House was built for Joseph Leeson, later Earl of Milltown, between 1740 and 1750. The architect was the German Richard Castle. Sir Alfred Beit bought Russborough in 1952 as a home for the Beit Collection of paintings. The collection is dominated by Dutch, Flemish and Spanish masterpieces, and includes English, Scottish, Italian and French paintings. The house, which is beautifully maintained, also contains fine furnitures, tapestries, carpets, porcelain, sliver and bronzes. The Maize is open every Sunday in July and August.
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Wicklow's Historic Goal - Kilmantin Hill
Located at Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow, this is a major new visitor attraction located in Wicklow town. There has been a Gaol on this site since 1702 and it remained active until 1924. During this time thousands of prisoners, young and old, men, women and children, guilty and innocent passed through its doors. The story of Wicklows Historic Gaol is their story. The exhibition covers such episodes as the 1798 rebellion, the famine, life in the gaol during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and transportation to the penal colonies of Australia.
Heritage Sites
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Dwyer McAllister Cottage - Derrynamuck
The cottage nestles in the shade of Kaedeen mountain at the top of a grassy lane off the Donard to Rathdangan road in Co. Wicklow. It is a fine example of a traditional thatched cottage built with local stone and whitewashed inside and out. It was from this cottage, in the Winter of 1799, that the famed rebel, Michael Dwyer, fought the encircling British groups and finally made good his escape over the snow covered mountains. The cottage was later destroyed by fire and lay in ruins for almost 150 years. It was restored to its original form as a monument in the late 1940's and again extensively repaired and re-roofed in 1992.
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Glendalough Visitor Centre - Bray
Glendalough Visitor Centre, close to Bray, stands at the entrance to Glendalough Valley, just beside the main part of the monastic settlement. The monastery was founded in the sixth century by Saint Kevin and survived up until the sixteenth century. The buildings which survive date from between the eighth and the twelfth centuries and include a well preserved round tower, a number of fine stone churches and various crosses.
