Bray is the gateway to Wicklow with Enniskerry and Powerscourt House as its neighbour at the foot of the Wicklow mountains.

As the town crest says, ‘Feile agus failte’, hospitality and welcome. The fact is there is a lot to be enjoyed in the seaside town of Bray. The amusements and arcades on the seafront are obviously for the children but there are also 15 golf courses available in the vicinity, fabulous walks and a national sealife centre.

The name Bray means ‘hill’ or ‘rising ground’ probably because of the incline of the town from the Dargle river which runs into the sea at Bray. Its history dates to medieval times when it was governed by the English crown from Dublin Castle or the Pale as Dublin was then known.

The surrounding countryside was under the control of Gaelic chieftains such as the O’Tooles and the O’Byrnes. In the 17th century it was still a fishing village but the Dublin middle class began to move to Bray to escape city life.

Enniskerry’s Powerscourt House was built around this period. In 1834 the Dublin and Kingstown railway opened and ran to Bray making it the largest seaside resort in Ireland.
World War II brought lean times but in the 1950s tourists from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland flocked to it to escape rationing, would you believe.

Today it is a thriving town with a population of just over 28,000 governed by a town council and boasts fine hotels, guesthouses and shops. The DART now makes Bray easily accessible for a grand day out for Dubliners.

It is an ideal base for walkers and strollers of all ages, with a mile-long promenade on a shingled beach and a head 241 metres high at the southern end of the promenade.

A well-worn track leads to its summit. From the top the view is breathtaking as you look out to sea for as far as the eye can see and on up the coast to Greystones. Sin a Slainte (the healthy walk) covers 14 km (8.75 miles) and runs through urban and coastal areas and is fully signposted.

The cliff walk around the side of Bray Head to Greystones covers 4 miles of spectacular scenery. From the height of Bray Head on a recent visit there was a fine assembly of swans in the harbour.

Bray also happens to be home to quite a few celebrities. James Joyce once lived there in a house now owned by Liz McManus of the Labour Party. Also Mary Coughlan and in the 1980s Bono of U2 actually used to own the Martello tower itself.

Neil Jordan and his then-wife, Beverly D’Angelo lived there. Eamon de Buitléar and broadcaster Brian Farrell and Dave Allen the comedian lived there too. Bray is also the home of Ardmore studios, Ireland’s only film studios.