Discover Alone
“Airships? I saw a dragon.”
Malahide Castle. It’s not just a pretty face; it’s got 267 acres of parkland and bones from the 12th century. Richard Talbot landed in 1185, and his family stuck around until 1976, surviving even Cromwell’s little interruption. Then, plot twist: airships parked in the gardens in 1918 for anti-submarine work. I’d have dropped my tea and sworn it was a dragon. You get managed visits inside, but the demesne is public, so go wander. Look for the spots where those giant blimps once hung. It’s weird, it’s wild, and the trees definitely remember the noise. Check the tour times if you want the rooms, but the grounds are the real treat. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the ghosts. Or the airships.
Photo: Jonjobaker, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Then Tom went looking for the oddest places around it.
Stop 2 · Five minutes' walk
Casino Model Railway Museum
“Tiny trains, big ego.”
The Casino Model Railway Museum in Malahide is a thatched cottage with a secret: inside, whole Irish railway journeys have been shrunk until you can study them without missing the train home. Cyril Fry's handmade locomotives, carriages and miniature scenes are the stars, and I have already been warned that declaring myself stationmaster will not improve the timetable. Fry spent years making detailed railway models, a collection now housed in the carefully restored Casino cottage close to Malahide station. Fingal County Council restored and extended the building so the models could have a permanent home. The cottage itself is worth a look before you go inside; it is an unusual piece of local architecture rather than a plain box built for display cases. The railway story and the building each give the other a reason to be here. The museum uses displays and interactive elements to explain how trains shaped travel around Ireland. Look closely at the tiny engineering: wheels, paintwork and rolling stock reveal how much patient craft went into Fry's work. Children can enjoy the moving layouts, while adults may find themselves unexpectedly serious about a carriage no longer than a hand. Tom's own railway would have a buffet coach on every train, but he could never make one this precise. The museum is a ticketed public attraction, and its own site gives current visiting and tour details. It is a short walk from Malahide railway station and can be combined with the village or castle grounds. Check the day's opening before setting off, then allow yourself to linger. The best part of a model railway is that the journey can start again whenever you are ready.
Casino Model Railway Museum is recorded as a museum in County Dublin.
From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) n7256089573Photo: William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0
More about Casino Model Railway Museum →.jpg){kind=link}
Stop 3 · 5 minutes down the road
The Southern Cross Monument
“Beach runway, stone brag.”
The Southern Cross Monument in County Dublin celebrates a beach that was used as a runway, which sounds like something from a bad sci-fi movie. A pilot landed here in 1930 and now this stone star is doing the bragging instead. Grand place for a sulk or a snog, your call.
Recorded as: Monument.
From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) n937232531Photo: William Murphy, CC BY-SA 2.0
More about The Southern Cross Monument →.jpg){kind=link}
Stop 4 · A 10-minute spin away
teacher's house
“Hi to the gables.”
These teacher's houses in Townparks are semi-detached gems from 1890 with original sash windows that still have their ogee horns. One is now an office, the other a curate’s home. Say hi to the gables and tell them Tom said hello!
Pair of semi-detached three-bay two-storey national school teachers' houses, c.1890, with gables over central bays, canopies over entrances, and retaining original fenestration.ROOF: Double pitched slate roof with projecting eaves; timber barge boards…
From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 11335015Photo: Peter Gerken, CC BY-SA 2.0
More about teacher's house →
Stop 5 · Hop back in the car, 5 minutes
Airside Retail Park
“Airport with delusions.”
Airside Retail Park has a New Year's resolution to stop pretending it’s an airport and just admit it’s a big car park with aspirations. It’s got that smell of hot asphalt and regret, which is basically the national scent of County Dublin if you ask me, so enjoy it while it lasts. Tell the kids it's a castle. Close enough.
Airside Retail Park is recorded as a visitor information in County Dublin.
From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) n13230448716Photo: Darrin Antrobus, CC BY-SA 2.0
More about Airside Retail Park →The whole day on one map
See everything else around Malahide Castle →
Over a million places across Ireland and Britain, all free. Explorer Tom has a story for nearly every one.