In the past two years we've all become a little more acquainted with the beauty and craic to be had right on our doorstep. The pandemic led us to appreciate our local coffee shops, parks and beaches more than ever, while travel restrictions meant that we all developed a grá for the staycation.
But one facet of our charming country we still don't make the most of is our thriving adventure industry – which is how I ended up rock climbing at 10am of a Monday morning recently.
I was invited by Fáilte Ireland to try out rock climbing at Dublin's Dalkey quarry, as part of their Keep Discovering campaign. Despite my last brush with rock climbing being on a 5th class school trip, I jumped at the opportunity with all the gusto of a woman who grew up playing Tomb Raider games.
For the sake of competition I brought my boyfriend along, and we headed off to Dalkey to meet with Ronan, who runs adventure.ie with his wife Cindy. Together they plan events, bonding adventure trips and challenges for corporate groups, stags, hens, birthdays, you name it.
With the sun already shining through the scant clouds in the sky, we got strapped into our harnesses and walked the short trail into the quarry.
The quarry itself is a sight to behold, unlike anything you'll find in Dublin, with sheer rock faces nestled into lush forests and facing out towards the sea. The quarry was first used to build Dún Laoghaire pier between 1815 and 1817, with large quantities of granite mined from its rock cliffs, before being ultimately abandoned in 1917.
The monumental work that went on there has left its mark, more than 100 years later. Walking the trails up to the cliffs you'll pass worn tracks in the ground, which were left by the funicular railway that carted up to 250 wagons of granite every day from quarry to the sea.
Our two and a half hours of rock climbing got off to a daring start, as we were led to our first challenge: a climb up a 13ft craggy rock face. Before my knees had a chance to start buckling, we were strapped into the belay, held fast by Ronan, and getting tips on how to balance properly when climbing 13ft into the air.
Our goal was to reach a strip of white rope at the top of the climb, so armed with nothing more than a helmet and delusions of grandeur, we dove in, one by one.
Finding the right foot and handholds with each step is enough to distract you from the fact that you're hanging onto a cliff, but the feeling of shimmying over rocks and hoisting yourself up over obstacles was deeply satisfying and a great buzz.
Before I knew it, I was at the top and couldn't help but let out a squeal for the 8-year-old me who guided Lara Croft to similar heights.
Once both myself and my boyfriend had taken our turns at the climb, we went in for a second go, this time with one belaying for the other. Cue jokes about catching each other when we fall, but it was a weirdly intimate experience looking after your fella as he climbs 13ft in the air. Would recommend for the surge of power alone.
Ronan was an ideal guide for such potentially nerve-wracking work, as his instructions came gently and confidently, spoken with the assurance that nothing would go wrong and even if it did, he'd catch it before you became aware of it.
Next, we followed the trail back up the quarry to the top of a massive rock face that descended down to where we'd started our rock climbing journey. This cliff was far wider, smoother and steeper, so naturally this would be where we'd abseil from.
As anyone who has tried abseiling before will know, that sensation of leaning back and lowering yourself over an open expanse below feels not only unnatural, but absolutely terrifying, so I can think of no compliment higher than to say Ronan put us both at ease instantly.
Once again hooked up to Ronan with ropes, he led us one by one to the edge of the cliff where we stepped down to a small ledge. From there, you're shown how to release enough rope from your end to let you shimmy down the cliff, all while he keeps a tight hold on the rope on his end.
While my breath was starting to catch during that stage, once I'd leaned back enough to feel the rope tugging me back I felt surprisingly at ease and my inner Lara Croft came out again.
Far from a freefall down the cliff, abseiling felt weirdly relaxing since all you have to do is keep your hands on the rope and slowly step your way down. Before long I was doing little hops off the wall and itching to go again.
Our two and a half hours flew by and before long it was time to surrender our helmets and harnesses, hands still shaking from the adrenalin and faces glowing from the early morning sun and self-satisfaction. It was a pleasure to experience such a unique pastime in a stunning location, especially when surrounded by fellow climbers out for a potter of a Monday morning, like ourselves.
A two and a half hour lesson in rock climbing costs €60 per person, and Dalkey Quarry can be easily reached via the bus or the Dart. Our climbing experience was covered by Fáilte Ireland for the purpose of review.
