Greystones

We had a job down in Greystones this morning, and the sun was shining, so we decided to make a day of it and had a nice little walk around the sea front. The main beach near the harbour is a big beach with big pebbles - not a good beach for walking, particularly with sandals. So, we headed towards the town on the sea front and discovered a big flat sandy beach. I had never been down that side of town (just at the back of the Dart station), and it was a surprise to find such a nice spot. Greystones is quite scenic, with Bray head on one side and the Wicklow mountains at the back, clear seas, and a quaint, old charm. It hasn't been developed much, and still looks like a traditional fishing village, quite a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of towns in Ireland. On a warm sunny day like today, the whole world looked beautiful. And to top it all, we had good old fish and chips, sitting on some rocks on the beach.

A pity we had not brought our camera with us (the picture above is from the Wikipedia entry). And if the information I have just read (see this website) is correct, the lovely views will soon be gone, as a major marina development has been approved, with the building of hundreds of apartments. What is wrong with this country? How can developers get away with this? Don't tell me that no money has changed hands to get something on such a large scale approved for a small sleepy town like Greystones?? If the pictures are anything to go by, the development doesn't look too bad (go to Clifden and you'll find 10 times worse!), but it's completely out of character - Greystones is nice because it is old-fashioned and quaint. Why make it into a posh, snazzy marina?