Grangemore Park

Explorer Tom Grange Church is a small rectangular building that would probably post about its limestone masonry on social media if it had Wi-Fi. It served as a chapel for tenants on a grange farm, so it’s seen more hard work than most of us. Go on a wet day, it suits the mood.

Explorer Tom This post box on Main Street is a sturdy little pillar from the early Irish Republic days. Made by St Johns Ironworks, it’s got that classic P&T motif looking very serious while waiting for your letters to arrive.

Explorer Tom Kilbarrack Cemetery is sitting by the sea, which means the wind is always trying to blow your hat off. I’d check if any of the headstones are wearing sunglasses; it gets pretty bright down there.

Explorer Tom Graveyard in Kilbarrack Lower was originally built right on the strand before they walled it off. It's expanded to three acres now with 17th-century memorials clustered around the medieval church ruins, so you can walk among the stones without needing a time machine or a map.

Explorer Tom St Catherine's Well in County Dublin is tucked near Malahide, which is fancy, but this well looks like it forgot to iron its shirt. It might be a wishing well for lost keys. Make a wish and keep moving!

Explorer Tom Holm Oak in County Dublin is surrounded by seagulls who are constantly telling it bad jokes and stealing its acorns. The birds think they run the place now and the tree is too polite to argue back. Have a look and decide if I was lying about the bird invasion.

Explorer Tom St. Anns Well in County Dublin sits at the base of a ridge in St. Anne's Park. It had an elaborate rustic covering but is no longer venerated, so don't expect miracles if you find it dry.

Explorer Tom Baldoyle Estuary Nature Reserve in County Dublin was probably built by a committee that drank exactly three thousand cups of tea before agreeing on a single mudflat. It’s got more wetlands than most people have baths, so don’t expect dry feet. Go back in winter, it's a different animal entirely.

Explorer Tom Dublin gave this park a river, a pond and a thousand ways to get distracted. St Anne's Park has a little river with a name worth saying aloud: the Naniken runs through it, and a diversion feeds the duck pond. The Guinness family began assembling this land in 1835 and filled their estate with gardens and playful follies. Dublin bought a large part in 1939, turning the old private ground into a public park. A thousand tree varieties? I can reliably identify a Christmas tree, and even that depends on December. Look for the Millennium Arboretum, begun with a thousand tree varieties. I could probably identify twelve on a good day, and several of those by the labels. The former great house is gone, but the avenues, garden buildings and rose beds still show how much work once went into arranging the landscape. There is room here for a long walk without paying to enter, plus paths and playing fields for people with more energy than me. Follow the Naniken for a while; it is a better guide than my sense of direction.

Explorer Tom Dollymount Strand in County Dublin is famous for the ridiculous smuggling story where someone tried to hide a whole van of cheese under the sand. It’s actually where most Dubliners learn to drive, which explains why half the city smells like burnt clutch and fear. Have a wander and a wonder, but keep an eye out for novices who are about to reverse into your foot.

Explorer Tom Portmarnock Beach in County Dublin is locked in a bitter feud with the rain, claiming it’s always winning the battle for dry sand. The clouds know better, but they keep showing up anyway just to mess with its head daily. Bring a flask of something warm and a story to swap.