WALKING:AS THE rain cut streams through his garden in the gully of Howth Hill, Carsten Acherfeld was surprised when two figures knocked on his door after staggering through a downpour so heavy it was almost horizontal.
"It was getting dark and they were lost and wanted to camp in our garden," says a bemused Acherfeld (37), originally from Germany, who now lives off Windgate Road, up on the summit.
"They were a father and son from Belgium doing the Howth walkway." State-of-the-art compasses, walking boots and maps couldn't save the pair, who had negotiated the entire Wicklow Way without mishap. But the knobby humpback of Howth hill proved too much.
The pair set up tent in the garden, happily accepted a hot flask of water, and moved on in the morning, when conditions were better. Like hundreds of others, they were enjoying a series of loop walks around Howth. And like many, they got lost.
Now signs have been set up around the peninsula to help people find their way, and guide them along four stunning looped walkways that meander across the scenic area.
These signposts will guide locals and tourists along trails that run beside the sea and over hills strewn with tightly packed purple heather, yellow gorse and the occasional ancient burial mound or dolmen.
"We're the green lung of Dublin," says Kevin Rickard, from Howth Walkways, a volunteer group which helps to clear the pathways.
The volunteers fought their way through thickly grown briars and bushes to locate the old walking tracks that were once used by locals as they went shopping or to Mass. The trails then fell into disuse, and now have a new lease of life for visitors to the area.
This week, 55 recycled signs went up to flag the routes along the peninsula, which vary from one to four hours.
The area has long been an inspiration for cloud gazers, ramblers, bird-watchers, visitors and romantics. Here you can take an evening stroll along the tree-lined paths tucked alongside Howth Castle. Look up at the lichen-hued rocks and think of Molly Bloom in James Joyce's Ulysses as she recalls Leopold Bloom's proposal: "The day we were lying among the rhododendrons on Howth Head in the grey tweed suit and his straw hat, the day I got him to propose to me yes." It's hoped the improved access will attract school groups and others who can enjoy a hike along Howth Head. It's a guaranteed tonic for the soul, says Rickard (56) who, along with local man David Caulfield, helps co-ordinate the group of about 20 volunteers who clear the walkways.
Discover Ireland is posting information about the four looped trails on its website, and the local authority has put up €40,000 for the project.
Meanwhile, the hardy Howth volunteers, who have hacked through years of ferns, briars and stubborn bushes to free up access for walkers, are still on the case.
"We'll keep the paths clear for as long as people want to use them — we feel it's important to keep up public rights of way," says Rickard, whose grandparents lived in a small cottage tucked into a hollow in the East Mountain near the 500ft crest of Shielmartin.
For information on the four main walks - the Tramline, Bog of the Frogs, Blacklinn (also known as Masts) and the Coastal Loop - see Discover Ireland.ie