A guide to replacing the touch screen on a Toyota RAV4 4th generation car (XA40, 2013-2018)

The problem. 

The touchscreen on my 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has become gradually less accurate and less responsive over the years until it finally stopped responding completely. This is, I have discovered, not an unusual thing to happen. I lived with it for a while, just streaming media from my phone via Bluetooth but I was finally prompted to try and do something about it when I got an incoming SMS message and the only way to remove the notification from the car’s screen was to turn the car off and on again.

I considered upgrading the head unit to something more modern with Carplay & Android Auto and there are plenty of units available, mostly Chinesium but from better known makes if you want to get spendy. Unfortunately trying to find one which will easily integrate with the car’s systems, particularly the reversing camera and steering wheel controls is a non-trivial exercise. It’s a confusing mess which will almost certainly require obtaining extra bits apart from a new head unit and Car Audio dealers are very happy to sell you 6” of wire with a couple of plugs on for £40 which might or might not work.

However while searching I discovered that replacement touch screen digitiser panels for the Toyota head unit (which is actually made by Panasonic) are available for less than £30. It seemed like that was worth a punt since I had little to lose.

I searched eBay for TOYOTA RAV 4 2013-18 HEAD UNIT SAT NAV TOUCH SCREEN DIGITIZER and placed an order from eBay seller siansmobiles (there were several other sellers too) which arrived within 48 hours.

User Remmerv on the rav4world.com forum has posted a guide to replacing the digitiser panel which I found helpful. It’s downloadable as a PDF.

Here I’m going to expand on that guide covering some other points and some issues that I came across while doing the job. I hope these notes will be of use to anyone carrying out the same task.

My unit is the version without a CD drive and with the navigation package, Toyota refer to this as Toyota Touch 2 with Go. The process for other head units will be broadly similar and in some instances simpler.

Tools required: 

• 10mm socket or box spanner. 
• Small Phillips screwdriver (actually the screws might be JIS but a Phillips works if you’re careful). 
• 8mm socket or ring spanner. 
• Spudger or thin flat screwdriver.

Optional tools: 

• Plastic car trim removal tool. 
• Small needle-nose pliers.

Removing the head unit from the car. 

The first task is to extract the unit from the car, you might even want to do that before ordering the replacement panel if you want to check the model number but I was confident that I’d identified the unit correctly. 

There are videos of varying quality on YouTube showing how to remove the unit, usually made by irritating Americans and mainly more about replacing the head unit with some oversized Android screen. It’s really not complicated to do though.

First task is to remove the long silver trim along the upper edge of the dashboard which has the Hazard Lights button and warning lamp panel behind it. This is held in by plastic retainers, just grip the trim panel with your fingers and pull it directly towards you, starting at the passenger door end and it will pop straight off.

Next remove the two air vents either side of the head unit. Again these just plug in to retainers and can be pulled/wiggled out with your fingers. I found pulling out the top a bit then the bottom worked best. If you don’t have strong fingers a plastic trim removal tool might be helpful.

Now remove the small hazard light switch & warning light panel above the head unit in it’s yellow plastic carrier, this is held at each end and just needs to be wiggled and pulled out. There is no need to unplug it, just flip it over and leave it on top of the dashboard.

You are now ready to remove the head unit. This is held in by four 10mm hex head screws, two at the top and two low on the sides of the unit. At least there are supposed to be four, in my case Toyota had economised by omitting the lower right hand screw at the factory. You will need a suitable 10mm socket or box spanner to reach and remove these screws. Be careful not to drop them when taking them out for if you do they will disappear never to be seen again.

 Place a soft cloth over the heater control panel to avoid scratching it and pull the head unit towards you to release it from the mountings. There is plenty of slack in the cables to allow the unit to come out far enough to be tilted down so that you can remove the wiring plugs on the rear. Remove all the plugs from the back of the unit except the two which link the two parts of the unit together which can be left connected for now. All the plugs have retaining catches which need to be pressed before they can be pulled out. All the plugs are different so they cannot be mixed up - they will only go back in the right places. I still took a photo anyway. On my car one socket was not in use, having the photo later stopped me looking behind the dash for a “missing” plug.

 You can now take the head unit out of the car to a bench or table to carry out the next steps.

Changing the touchscreen digitiser. 

With the head unit on the bench the first stage of disassembly is to remove the lower piggy-back unit if present - I think this is the “with Go” part. This is fixed to the side frames with four 8mm screws. These have hex + crosspoint heads. Two of mine were very tight indeed and they appear to be made of cheese. Seriously, use an 8mm socket or ring spanner, the cross point for a screwdriver will round out as soon as you apply any force.

 Disconnect the cables which connect to the main unit and the antenna cable on the front of the lower unit and put the lower unit to one side.

You now have access to two screws which need to be removed from the metal plate behind the front of the unit. One of these holds the socket for the antenna plug that you disconnected in the previous step. You will need to wiggle this socket out of its clear plastic holder along with its thin cable because it needs to be able to pass through the hole behind it later.

Six very small screws around the edges of the metal chassis plate hold the plastic front cover in place. Remove these and then carefully lift the four plastic clips, two at the top two at the bottom of the plastic front cover and easy the front cover away from the chassis. A spudger or thin flat screwdriver will help. Possibly two since the clips you undid will try to click back into place while you’re undoing the others.

Fold the front cover down away from the chassis taking care not to damage the two large ribbon cables connecting the front to the back of the head unit. All the ribbon cable connectors have a black hinging locking strip which can be opened by pulling it upwards with your fingernail going over the flat cable towards the connector. Disconnect the two large ribbon cables, draw the grey antenna cable through the hole in the chassis and place the chassis to one side to continue working on the front panel.

The next step is to remove the metal shielding plate which partially covers the printed circuit board. This is secured by four screws at the corners. Remove the screws noting that one of them also holds a small metal bracket with a screw hole in the top. Make a note of which way this bracket is orientated because it is about to fall off. Once the screws are out lift the metal plate away, you might need to gently lever the long edge up to clear the edge of the PCB.

With the metal plate off remove the ribbon cables for the side buttons and the digitiser panel. Undo the three screws that hold the left side button panel in place and remove it along with its rubber membrane. Ease the black antenna wires out of their metal hooks.

 Remove the four screws holding the metal plate carrying the PCB and the screen to the plastic front cover and lift the screen assemble away from the front cover. The digitiser panel is laid loose between screen and front cover so should remain in the cover but might with age be stuck to the screen and like mine will come out with it. Carefully separate the two and remove the old digitiser panel.

Remove the protective film from both sides of your new digitiser panel and lay it in the plastic front panel with the ribbon cable coming up. Spend a couple of minutes wondering why the panel won’t lay flat before you realise that the screen in the head unit is actually angled slightly towards the driver and the bezel that the digitiser is laying on is not the same depth on each side so not flat is actually correct.

Clean the display screen and replace the screen and PCB assembly on top of the digitiser panel making everything is lined up correctly and that the antenna cables are not trapped under the edge of the assembly before putting the four retaining screws back in.

Reconnect the digitiser ribbon cable ensuring that the slack in the cable does not interfere with the right hand side buttons.

Replace the left side button panel ensuring that the membrane is properly located. Reconnect all the ribbon cables and clip the antenna wires back into place. At least one ribbon cable will fight you because it’s in the nature of ribbon cables to do so, gentle persistence might be required. Reassemble the front panel to the chassis remembering to feed the antenna wire back through the hole.

Then reassemble the unit in the reverse order to which you took it apart, not forgetting to reconnect the cables linking the two parts of the unit.

Testing the repaired unit. 

Take the rebuilt head unit back to the car and reconnect all the cables making sure that the connectors click fully home.

Check that everything is working as it should before fixing the unit back in place and replacing the vents and dashboard trim. (Including the reversing camera otherwise you’ll be coming back out later to check because you suddenly remembered that bit half way through your cup of coffee.)

Once happy that all is functioning as it should push the head unit back into place on its mounts and fix with the four (ish) 10mm screws. Refit the hazard light switch & warning light panel. Refit the vents and then the top dashboard trim, both of which should just 'plug' back into place.

I did not need to enter any codes after reconnecting the head unit and indeed it had remembered the settings and phone book entries, messages etc. from before it was disconnected.

Marvel that your Toyota’s touch screen now responds to fondling again and you can even enter destination addresses into the years-out-of-date SatNav!

Then wonder where this was supposed to go 😀

 A PDF version of this guide is available here.

Walking the Capital Ring from Balham to Kingston Vale

31st May 2026

Bored waiting for a parcel to arrive that DHL appear to have lost instead I returned to Balham (Gateway to the South) to complete Section 5 of the Capital Ring to Wimbledon Park and then start Section 6 towards Richmond.

Finishing Section 5 

Leaving the railway station I passed under the bridge and back down Balham High Road to the large Art Deco block of flats, Du Cane Court where I turned right along Balham Park road. Balham Park Road was very long and straight and lined with large Victorian villas. Just after the postbox the road bent to the left and the Capital Ring turned left down an alleyway.

At the end of the alley I reached the first part of Wandsworth Common, a small wooded area alongside Wandsworth Common railway station called St James’ Triangle. A wide tarmac path led me alongside the railway and through the station ticket office to Bellevue Road which I crossed by The Hope pub to enter the second part of Wandsworth Common. Where the path turned towards the railway again I spotted a stinkpipe hiding in the trees so two points to me. 

A bit further on I reached the ponds on the common, which don’t appear to have a name. They did have one bench seat that was in the shade though so here I sat to eat my picnic lunch. I opened a packet of crisps and looked up to see every waterfowl on the pond now on a direct course to my location. A female Mallard came and stood before me staring hopefully up between my knees but eventually realised that no cheese and onion crisps or crab paste sandwich was coming her way and waddled off.

After lunch I carried on, crossing the common by the sports pitches to arrive at Trinity Road opposite the County Arms pub. Here I had my first déjà vu moment of the day. I recognize this place, I’ve been here before. I crossed the road and continued along Alma Terrace where I found the reason I’d been here before, HM Prison Wandsworth. No, I haven’t been inside but I have visited their occasionally-open museum in a building just outside the walls, on an Open House London visit in September 2022.

Today I skirted the prison and headed down the long straight Magdalen Road, taking the more interesting alternative path through Wandsworth Cemetery for most of the three quarters of a mile to Earlsfield Station.

More déjà vu here too as I passed beneath the green painted bridge and left into Penwith Road to cross the River Wandle which I’d followed on a walk in 2019. The Capital Ring does not follow the river though, instead passing along now sun-baked residential streets to Durnsford Road Recreation Ground. Here behind Wimbledon Farmers’ Market I found the only bench that was in the shade and sat down gratefully. So much for the weather cooling down a bit, it was 28°C.

I came out of the park into Wellington Road and turned right by the Wellington Works down an alleyway which brought me out opposite Wimbledon Mosque where I turned right along Durnsford Road and right again into Arthur Road. Here I took full advantage of the shops, getting an iced coffee and a Calippo. At the top of Arthur Road I reached the end of Section 5 at Wimbledon Park Station on the District Line.

Capital Ring Section 5 Photos on Flickr (opens in a new page).

The sensible thing to do here would probably have been to get on a train, so…

Starting Section 6

Section 6 starts outside Wimbledon Park Station and runs for 7.3 miles to Richmond. It seemed like a good idea to do some of that and then find a suitable break point, although none are given in the walking directions. I finished my iced lolly and crossed over the railway, turning right to follow the curve of Home Park Road to reach the entrance to Wimbledon Park. Viewed from the top of the steps inside the entrance the park was a bustle of activity. Tennis (obviously, although The Wimbledon Club is actually the other side of the lake), cricket, a busy kids playground and mass picnicking.

I made my way down the steps and through the park to the lake (via the well-kept loos) and picked my way along the lakeside path trying to avoid the worst of the goose shit. I’ll bet it’s like a skating rink when wet. I reached the end of the path by the lake and realised that I’d missed the right turn by the water-sports centre buildings so did a dog-leg to regain the route alongside the fence around the athletics track. from the corner of the athletics track I cut straight across to exit the park through the large gates into Wimbledon Park Road.

At the bottom of the hill I turned right into Queensmere Road which climbed fairly steeply past very expensive houses and apartment blocks to reach the A219 Parkside. 

Crossing at the lights a bit further to the right I entered Wimbledon Common. After a while the path seemed a little familiar and then I reached Wimbledon Windmill and yes I’ve definitely rambled this way before, in fact I would be retracing my steps for the rest of the walk.

I considered stopping for refreshments at the Windmill Tearoom. It had all the appearance of still operating under COVID restrictions, insisting on everyone ordering at an outside window covered by a sheet of Perspex with a small hole cut in it for contactless payment. The trouble was there was obviously nobody on the other side of the perspex actually taking orders. I have less patience with such nonsense than the two people already queuing so I gave up and moved on. Past the golf club the route turned right downhill along a straight and familiar track to reach the lake, Queensmere, currently all fenced off to prevent people or dogs taking a dip. Turning left up the steep hill I stopped to rest on a tree stump and was passed by a jogger heading up the hill. I say jogger, he wasn’t running any faster than I was walking and looked as if he might need an ambulance by the time he reached the top of the hill.

At the top of the hill I crossed the golf course (which reminded me of walking parts of the London Loop) and wombled on across Wimbledon Common, taking a very short detour to the War Memorial before carrying on along Stag Ride to meet the Beverley Brook by Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields. Now this was definitely familiar territory because in 2023 I walked along the Beverley Brook from West Wimbledon to its confluence with the Thames near Putney.

I crossed the Beverley Brook near the pavilion and crossed the next field to emerge from Wimbledon Common onto the busy A3 at Kingston Vale. It was five and twenty to six, still bloody hot, and I’d walked far enough (almost 7 miles as it happened). In case you're wondering no, I didn't see any Wombles.

I waited in the hot sunshine at the Vale Crescent/Robin Hood bus stop for a 265, trying to find shade behind the shelter but not wanting to miss seeing the bus come around the bend. Of course it was running several minutes late. At Shannon Corner I changed to the 131 which took me back to Wimbledon from where I had a train ticket home.

Not before I’d had a beer though. A pint of Guinness in The Hand & Racquet barely touched the sides so I ordered fish and chips which obviously needed another pint to aid the digestion. They were still in extra time when I left to get the train so I didn’t witness the undoubted dejection of the group of Gooners in the pub after the penalty shoot-out which ensured that the UEFA Champions League silverware remained in Paris.

Capital Ring Section 6 photos on Flickr (opens in a new page).

A Trip to Ireland, Epilogue.

A Trip to Ireland, Epilogue.

Summing Up

I enjoyed that. Would I go again? To Ireland yes. To Dublin? Not without a specific reason. I’m glad I went. I feel that I’ve seen what I needed to though. I’d be more likely to take a car across next time (should there be a next time) and explore the south and west of the country. Belfast and the north is another possibility.

The Irish people I met were largely welcoming and friendly. Food was good and the Guinness… well obviously that goes without saying. With the one particular exception it was reasonably priced too.

Getting around, particularly in the Dublin area was dead easy with the Leap Card. The train from Rosslare to Dublin was ridiculously cheap compared to a similar journey in the UK. The ferry experience was far less stressful than I thought it might be. I chose Stena Line partly because of timing but also they were considerably cheaper than Irish Ferries - by almost a third.

On the subject of money

From walking out of my front door to returning to it my spending was as follows:

My hotels cost £837.72

Transport costs (Ferry, Train, and Bus) totalled £261.13

Food and Drink came to £194.90 (no, that wasn't mostly Guinness 😜 )

I make that a grand total of £1293.75

Which looks like a big number (because it is) but of course that’s not all extra expenditure, I’d still have eaten and drunk if I’d been at home and almost certainly travelled by public transport or car too.

I could probably have taken a package holiday on an aeroplane to somewhere stupidly hot with a beach for less. Frankly I’d rather stick pins in my eyes. I’ve done the package holiday thing once, a week on the Algarve in August 2005 - it was her idea not mine. Too bloody hot for me although the place is nice enough. (Actually it's lovely)

The thirty Euros in notes that I brought back from Portugal have now been on a round trip to Ireland as well 😂

And Finally

Having trouble sleeping? Here are 260 photos from my trip for you to look at. 

Either here on Flickr (opens in a new page) or as a slide show below if your viewer supports it.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 5.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 5.

15th May 2026

With unusual foresight I’d arranged a late (until 1400hrs) checkout from the Beresford Hotel, thereby avoiding having to hang around the city haunting coffee shops or bars while awaiting the time to come to go to my ferry. So I had a lie in. Then I got up, showered, packed my backpack and checked the times of the number 53 bus to Dublin Ferry Port. Several times. Checked the weather forecast for both Dublin and Holyhead. Inconclusive. I went out and got something for lunch and something for later on since I was unsure what if anything would be open after eight in the evening in Holyhead.

About half past one I checked out of the hotel and walked across the road to the Busáras (Bus Station) and checked the departure boards for route 53. It wasn’t there. I checked the timetable again, it definitely said it went from Busáras. Slightly concerned I asked two Bus Éireann guys leaning against the office wall where it departed from. “Ah, that’ll be from outside, go back the way you came in, turn left, left again an’ sure you’ll see the bus stop.” I went out the way I’d come in, turned left, then left again and was relieved to find a bus stop. I was even more relieved after several minutes when “53 Dublin Ferryport” appeared on the upcoming departure display. TFFT. If you are looking for the 53 to the Ferryport although everything online says it departs from “Busáras” the actual stop name seems to be “Beresford Place, Busáras” and it’s at the junction of Beresford Place and Memorial Road. This has been a Public Service Announcement.

I got to use my Visitor Leap card on a bus just once and after half an hour that bus dropped me somewhere in the middle of Dublin Ferryport on a street called Alexandra Road Extension. I headed in what I hoped was the right direction and then spotted a “pedestrians” sign pointing through the barriers around some roadworks which led to the Stena Line Departures shed. I checked in for boarding around 90 minutes before departure, found a comfy seat in the Passenger Lounge and fire up my Kindle. A short while later two uniformed Customs Officers and a drug-sniffing spaniel came round. Fido found one passenger of particular interest so he was taken away, presumably for the full “Moon River” treatment, he then returned to pick up his case and vanished again, returning just in time for boarding. To the obvious relief and some amusement of his travelling partner.

Boarding once again was by bus so by the time the foot passengers were aboard and I got to the Stena Plus lounge (worth the £20 upgrade) those in their own vehicles had snaffled all the best seats, particularly those next to the large portholes. I settled for a comfortable tub chair within easy striking distance of the complementary drinks and snacks and got out my Kindle again. By the time our scheduled departure at 1630 hrs arrived it was apparent that we were already under way, slipping out of Dublin Ferryport and heading east across the Irish Sea. The Stena Plus Lounge was very civilised, helped by having a “no under 8s” policy. Judging by the snoring at least one person found the ambience very restful. A text message alerted me to the fact that my phone had roamed onto the ships ultra-expensive 5G so I connected to the onboard WiFi instead. It wasn’t fast enough to do anything useful but at least prevented the roaming charges. Faster WiFi was available obviously, if you paid for it. I had no need but there were a lot of laptops in use. Not everyone on board was on holiday.

Disaster at Sea! Both of the very fancy hot drink machines started playing up. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the crew in persuading them back into action a mutiny was avoided. Not that the coffee was particularly good - it was still mechanical coffee. Fortunately there was also every flavour of Tango in the fridge. Does Tango prevent scurvy? 😀

Blimey, are we here already? That voyage passed quickly!

Of course there was half an hour’s hanging around in a corridor waiting for a bus to disembark the foot passengers. While we waited some dimwit filled the time giving the third degree to the “drug spaniel’s best friend”. Who was very restrained considering how long the dimwit carried on and on about it. I thought, “you should fucking let it go before you end up with a thick ear” 🙄

Once off the boat I headed directly to the Travelodge - it was the only place available when I made my travel bookings. I say directly but the direct route would have been via the covered footbridge from the station but that appears to be permanently shut. Instead it was up one road, over the railway, back along the other side, and turn 180 degrees again to walk to the hotel. I checked in. I came out again in search of sustenance and walked into the town. Oh Wales! So much lovely scenery, so many grim towns. I popped into a pub which I’ll not name for a swift pint. While I waited to get served one of the “happy” clientele regaled me with, “My you’re tall isn’t it how tall are you but it’s a pint are you taller than me I think he’s taller than me what if I take my hat off?!” Dear oh dear, how come I find them wherever I go? I suspect Ynys Mon has a limited gene pool 😏

I couldn’t face going to the bar again so just had the one and then picked up a Chinese Takeaway on the way back to the hotel. £14.25. They only accepted cash. I couldn’t even offload any of the twenty-year old Euros I’d carried all round Ireland but never needed because everywhere accepted contactless. Fortunately I also had UK cash.

Back in my room I noticed that the unnecessary convector heated had a red flashing LCD display and read “ERROR 20”. The 21st century is overly complicated. I turned it off at the socket outlet. When I turned it back on in the morning it did the same thing. I left it flashing away merrily.

16th May 2026

Leapt out of bed and across the room to turn off the alarm on my phone because it hasn’t occurred to Travelodge that anyone might need a socket next to the bed. Or a bedside table for that matter, only a 6” x 4” x 8” niche. Made a cup of tea, had a shower, and packed. No hair drier but honestly after a week of soft Irish water my hair’s doing whatever it wants anyway 😳

I checked out - well chucked my card over the unoccupied reception counter - and took the zig-zag route back to Holyhead Railway station, this time finding the slight shortcut via the Stena staff car park.

Holyhead Station is split in two. Platform 1 is on the through lines that pass under the closed footbridge. Platforms 2 and 3 are in a long curved train shed and are terminating platforms leading straight into the ferry terminal. Platform 3 has no tracks, a fence along the platform edge and appears to serve only as a pedestrian access to the car park and bus stop outside. A large indoor waiting area links platforms 1 and 2 but is “locked until further notice”, which I think explains the closed footbridge too.

The long curved train shed is obviously designed to accommodate the long and busy “boat trains” of yesteryear. What turned up on this Saturday morning at 0923 was a two coach Class 158 diesel multiple unit.

Around ten or twelve of us boarded at Holyhead. I got a coast side seat at a table by a window. Winning!

By the time we’d stopped at the next two stations the train was full and standing. Several parties were on their way to Chester for a Saturday out out and the beer and Prosecco had been cracked open by 10 a.m. We passed through the station with the longest made-up-for-the-tourists name in the world and picked up even more passengers. People were struggling to board, the train guard could only move from one carriage to the other by getting off and walking down the platform and getting back on. Ticket checks? Not happening. Anyone wanting the toilet better be able to hold it in for an hour. What on earth do Transport for Wales think they’re doing? We arrived at Chester, the train emptied out. Two more carriages were attached and we left for Birmingham. Welcome to Normal Island.🫨

With a bit more space to move I brought out the vegan felafel wrap I’d brought with me from Dublin for lunch. Filled a hole but mostly lacking in flavour. I arrived at Birmingham New Street with plenty of time in hand to catch the 1400 CrossCountry service to Reading. I can’t ride on CrossCountry’s plastic toy Voyager trains in standard class and still have the use of my legs when I reach my destination. Also they’re hellish at the weekend, akin to the Welsh train to Chester. Fortunately I’d bagged a couple of 1st class singles, split at Banbury for a reasonable number of pounds so had a nice solo seat, albeit facing the wrong way, and nice young ladies bringing me complementary tea, pretzels, and cake. Alas no sandwiches at the weekend 😢

We arrived only two minutes late at Reading with half an hour until my train home departed. I arrived home at five o’clock.

Six days, two boats, eleven trains, one bus. One enjoyable adventure and less stressful than I’d feared.

The fridge is empty, better go shopping.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 4.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 4.

14th May 2026

Thursday dawned and I felt like getting out of the city. The weather forecast wasn’t that great but I decided on a trip to the seaside anyway so took a DART train south from Dublin to Bray. At Grand Canal Dock the station spans the water. This former dockland and gasworks where the Grand Canal joins the Liffey was very run down but has, like the Isle of Dogs in London in the 1980s, been transformed in the 21st century. Now it’s a tech hub, serving as a popular location for multinational technology firms such as Google, Facebook, X-Twitter, LinkedIn, and Airb’n’b as well as technology and consulting behemoth Accenture. I note that before the docks were built the area was associated with lepers. Make your own jokes.

Travelling south out of Dublin there were more blocks of flats and late 20th century buildings than I’d noticed travelling north the day before, though I was on the other side of the train. Just after Merrion the line reached the coast and ran all the way to Dun Laoghaire right beside the water. Through Booterstown the low concrete was separating the track from the water’s edge was continuously graffitied on the track side. That’s a hell of a lot of spray cans, though very little artistic talent displayed. Do better Irish Yoof.

I could see many ships out to sea, all heading north, presumably to Dublin’s docks. Through Dun Laoghaire and still beside the sea the sun came out - somewhat unexpectedly - and I got a view along the sweep of the coast backed by low mountains.

The sun was still out when I alighted at Bray Daly station and walked down the the seafront. It was also incredibly windy! It was a chill wind which meant my coat went back on very quickly as I walked along the promenade. Bray (Bré in Irish) is a proper seaside resort, planned in the 19th century, the railway from Dublin arrived in 1854. Foreign package holidays arrived in the late 20th century resulting in a decline in the towns fortunes but it remains a nice seaside town, not too big and brash. I could still see a queue of ships offshore. “We call that The Strait of Hormuz”, joked the man in the pink and white striped octagonal kiosk where I bought a coffee. We both hoped that the rain that was visible out there in the "Strait" wasn’t heading our way, he’d had to close up the day before due to the weather coming in through the hatches of the kiosk. I sought respite from the wind in a bunker like concrete shelter to drink my coffee.

At the far south end of the prom waves broke on the rocks of Bray Head and there was a brief rain shower. Most of the weather appeared to be staying out to sea and although a mass of dark cloud hovered inland behind the town it soon dried. I decided to follow the cliff top walk up and around Bray Head towards Greystones. So did about three score of noisy school students but they were headed up to the very top of the hill rather than along the cliff walk so soon there was just me. The sun was out, the views were extensive along the well made and mostly tarmac surfaced path and the seabirds plentiful. The Cormorants were sunning themselves on Seagull Rock, presumably clinging on tightly in order not to be carried off by the wind. Below the clifftop the DART trains ran in and out of short tunnels through the cliffs on their way to and from Greystones - just out of Visitor Leap card range alas.

I might have continued all the way to Greystones but after about a mile the path is closed due to significant safety concerns following a number of landslides. There is a big metal gate with warning signs on and many signs and stickers demanding that the route be reopened. There is a big metal fence. There is also a big hole in the fence and an arrow pointing along the very edge of the cliff. Nope, I returned the way I’d come back to Bray. I hope the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk does get re-opened, from the bit I saw it’s a lovely little trek and ideal with a railway station at each end.

Despite the good surface of the path it was still necessary to watch your step, for many people in Ireland clearing up your dog’s shit doesn’t seem to be a thing. Walking down the hill into Bray I passed three tents on the grass slopes above the town, evidence of the homelessness problem that affects Dublin and the surrounding area. I saw quite a lot of “bin divers” in the city too. The “Emerald Isle” is not isolated from the 21st century social problems of the rest of Europe, including sadly the all too familiar anti-immigrant campaigners 🙁

On a happier note the seaside chips that I had when I got back to the prom at Bray were actual real, fresh-cut not frozen, and absolutely delicious. The gulls stayed away too 😀

Bray had become busier. There were many tongues being spoken because I seemed to have picked a day when foreign school parties had decided it was time to visit Bray. I went to the Spar shop on the seafront to get a bottle of pop, it was a bit chaotic in there, for once I was glad for the self-scan checkouts. In spite of the big black clouds forming in the north I went for a look at the harbour. I got very wet.

I headed back to the railway station. The sun came out. Make your mind up Ireland!

Bray Daly station has an excellent set of murals along the southbound platform depicting the history of the station. I boarded the northbound DART train. Two score of teenage students boarded the train followed by two teachers. “I counted 42” “I counted 45” “Where are the others?” “No! Get on this coach!” “GET ON THIS COACH!” I got off the train and re-boarded at the other end where it was quieter. Except for the weird god-botherer sodcasting religious sermons from his phone.

I alighted at Sandycove & Glasthule, the southern of Dun Laoghaire’s two stations and walked to the harbour. Much of the seafront, around the Baths and harbour looks newly developed with a lot of clean smooth concrete. Development seems to be ongoing with apparently empty units.

I re-boarded the DART at Dun Laoghaire Mallin station and returned to Dublin Connolly, reaching my hotel room at about a quarter to four. A quarter of an hour later the windows were loudly battered by big hailstones for about five minutes. Ireland had produced all the weather today.

Later I walked down to Madigan’s in Earl Street for a last Irish dinner. On the way heads were turned by the sound of a bottle smashing on the pavement and two (or possibly three) drunks squaring up for a bout of fisticuffs. A crowd began to form as a strange circulating dance commenced, the protagonists throwing throwing punches which didn’t connect while shouting “come on then!” at each other. Peak Dublin and it wasn’t yet 7 p.m. 😂

By nine o’clock I’d headed back to my hotel through the dusk, full of Beef & Guinness Stew (and three pints of Guinness). There I backed up the day’s photos, watched some YouTube, had a cup of tea, and fell soundly asleep.

Despite the squealing trains.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 3.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 3.

13th May 2026

Following a good night’s sleep, a cup of tea, and a shower I went to the Dublin Bus office in O’Connell Street to buy a 3 day Leap Visitor Card. For €18.00 this would give me unlimited travel for my stay in Dublin, on Dublin City Bus services (operated by Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland), Luas (tram), DART and Commuter Rail in Zone 1. That’s quite a big area which would allow me to explore some places on the coast as well as the city itself. It also answered my “how am I going to get to the Ferry Port on Friday afternoon?” question.

My first trip was on the Luas Green Line tram across the Liffey to the stop at Trinity.

I made my way through the streets south of the river to Dublin Castle. A large part of Dublin Castle was closed in order to finalize preparations for Ireland’s hosting of the EU Presidency. From what I saw in the bits of the castle campus that were open those preparations involved men with brushes and rollers ensuring that the great and the good who will attend hundreds of conferences, meetings, dinners and cultural events will continue to believe that the whole world smells like new paint 😉

I got a coffee at the Silk Road Cafe in the Chester Beatty Library, which was in the part of the castle grounds which was still open, and drank it on a seat overlooking the Dubh Linn Garden with its sea serpent like patterns cut into the lawn. The lawn is either on or near the site of the original dubh linn or ‘black pool’. Here the Vikings set up a harbour and trading base. It was this pool that gave its name to the city of Dublin.

From the Dubh Linn Garden I walked to the colourful Temple Bar area, had a look around the free exhibition in the Photo Museum of Ireland. I crossed back over the Liffey via Ha’penny Bridge, got a sandwich for lunch and found a bench by the river. Of course that was when the rain showers arrived, accompanied by a chill wind. Trams being weatherproof I rode out to The Point on the Red Line. There were many visitors from the far east on the tram, all of whom seemed to want two seats each. Also a ticket inspector appeared and checked tickets and cards. It’s been a good while since I saw one of those in London. The Dublin North Docklands has been redeveloped with many huge office and apartment blocks but here and there short terraces of Victorian houses remain, dwarfed by the new buildings. The Point tram stop is surrounded by large buildings including a trendy hotel, a cinema, and the 3Arena a large live music venue tacked onto the rear of the facade of an old railway goods depot. An unpleasant vicious wind howled through the canyons between the new blocks. I got the next tram out of there and road back through the city to Heuston. By the time I got there the sun was out and the wind had eased. I paid a visit to Anna Livia, better known as The Floozie in the Jacuzzi, who has been relocated from O’Connell Street to Croppies Memorial Park near the river.

The Floozie’s former place is now occupied by a massive shiny spike which has for some months sported an unofficial Palestinian flag that the authorities can't work out how to get down 😂 Three cheers for whoever is responsible.

I took the opportunity given by the break in the weather to walk back along the Liffey, swapping banks at the bridges, past the Guinness Brewery and ending up again in Temple Bar.

Another torrential and horizontal rain squall had me looking for shelter and I popped into the National Photographic Archive Library in Meeting House Square, drawn by a large sign advertising a Live Aid exhibition. This told the story of the famous 1985 simultaneous charity concerts in London and Philadelphia organized by local (born in Dún Laoghaire) singer Bob Geldof and Scottish musician. The exhibition’s walls full of words and pictures feature the performers involved, and how the whole thing was organized. It really can’t be 46 years ago though. I refuse to believe it 😲

I went into the terrible tourist trap that is the Temple Bar pub really intending to do a Wetherspoon and just use their toilets but my resolve weakened I and stopped for a pint because it was raining outside again. Over £10 for a Guinness? WTAF?!. Should have stuck to plan A. It wasn’t even an exceptional pint and their awning leaked so it was raining “inside” too. At least I’ll know better if there’s a next time. Treat this as a Public Service Announcement.

I left Temple Bar and walked through the wet streets to Tara Street station, passing an unexpected ex-London Routemaster bus on the way. RM811 is now providing afternoon tea trips in Dublin, painted in a blue and yellow livery. At Tara Street I caught the 1600 DART train to Howth. I was struck on the train by the number of religious adverts displayed in the carriages, nearly as many as the gambling ads in the UK. Also lots of ads for flooring companies for some reason. Travelling northwards out of the city I noticed several terraces of single storey back-to-back cottages and then the houses got larger and the areas apparently more affluent.

The village of Howth on a peninsula to the north of Dublin has an active fishing harbour and a large marina for leisure craft. (The “ow” in the name rhymes with the thing you use to shoot arrows.) The West Pier is lined with fish restaurants and fishmongers. I walked to the end of West Pier but not East Pier because it was very long and the weather was looking threatening. I imagine Howth is a very busy place in high summer being easy to get to and with tourist boat trips to the island of Ireland’s Eye just to the north. I was shadowed around Howth by a large group of Spanish school students. Also a very large Greater Black Backed Gull - OK there might have been more than one of those.

Having had a good walk around the harbour I considered stopping for dinner but decided that would end up being a rather late return to Dublin so I returned to the station. I walked to the far end of the platform to avoid the noisy students. I arrived back at Connolly Station at 1820 with aching feet, grabbed a can of beer and a salad from the supermarket and spent the evening horizontal in front of the laptop and the TV - having now worked out that the antenna cable not being plugged in was why there was no signal. I now had 8 channels and the only thing on worth watching was Endeavour. No Eurovision of course (not that I’d have watched it) because Ireland and RTE had boycotted that because of the genociders.

I went to bed with a rough idea of a plan for the next day and a wish that the weather forecast was better.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 2.

A Trip to Ireland, Chapter 2.

12th May 2026

I had a wee lie in - it was a very comfortable bed - a cup of tea, a bit of time on the laptop backing up photos, then showered and packed. I checked out of the B&B by dropping my key in the box provided and miming a “thank you and goodbye” to Sue who was busy on a phone call. My train to Dublin wasn’t until 1250 so I had a couple of hours to occupy in Rosslare. First stop Supervalu to pick up some lunch for the trip. The clifftop path above the port where I’d eaten fish and chips the previous evening carries on south east past the RNLI cabin and since it was a sunny morning I decided to follow it and get some exercise before spending two and three-quarter hours sitting on a train.

It was breezy but warm enough that I soon had to take my jacket off. The cliffs tumbling down to the beach along Moran’s Bay were covered in bushes and flowers and populated by small birds. If I squinted a bit I could see Tuskar Rock out in the blue Irish Sea. I’d seen on the map that there was a memorial up here to the 61 victims who perished on 24th March 1968 when Aer Lingus Flight 712, a Vickers Viscount 803 named St. Phelim, crashed into the sea off Tuskar Rock. Despite a long investigation a firm cause for the crash was never established. I wasn’t sure quite sort of memorial to expect but it was so understated that I walked straight past at first without noticing it.

I walked as far as the outdoor gym on a semicircle of grass then turned and walked back towards Rosslare, putting my jacket back on as I was now facing into the chill wind. At the RNLI cabin I turned down the steep steps to the port road and then through the small car park and along the boardwalk to Rosslare harbour Beach. This long sandy strand was populated by just me and a couple of dog walkers. From the beach I made my way to the railway station via the Ferry Terminal building because that appears to have the only public toilets in Rosslare Harbour. I took a seat in the bus stop style shelter on the platform and read my book while waiting for the train. Which was nine minutes late arriving. There is very much not a lot at Rosslare Europort station, one platform, no benches other than the perch in the shelter, no information display, not even a bin bag blowing in the breeze 🙂

On the Iarnród Éireann website where I’d booked my ticket there is a seat picker but it doesn’t give a clue as to which way the train depicted is travelling. Like others before me I took a guess at what would be a forward facing seat on the seaward side of the coach and like others before me I was wrong on both counts. On the plus side my ticket from Rosslare Europort to Dublin Connolly which took over two and a half hours cost only  9.99€ (£8.64). For context a twenty minute ride from my local station to Reading costs between £7.60 and £9.10 depending on the time of day. 

Iarnród Éireann put your name in lights above your reserved seat - not sure how I feel about that - so swapping seats wasn’t really an option, especially as the train filled up as we progressed north and most seats were occupied by the time we left Wexford. The train slowed up considerably passing through the centre of Wexford, running right alongside the quayside and then it followed the River Slaney through Enniscorthy before swinging left to follow the River Bann.

The train did quite a bit of swinging as the line followed most of the bends in the rivers. Nice countryside views though. At Arklow the line turned inland to follow the River Avoca before returning to the coast at Wicklow so I was seeing quite a bit of south east Ireland and by the coast we remained, passing through Greystones, Bray, and Dun Laoghaire to arrive at Dublin Connolly at around ten to four, still nine minutes late. Apparently due to a bridge strike somewhere around Grand Canal Dock station which required a reduced line speed so it wasn't just our train that was delayed. It was only a short walk from Connolly to the Beresford Hotel which would be my home for the next three nights. I checked in and paid my £547.40 which included a late checkout on Friday which I’d forgotten that I’d arranged until the receptionist mentioned it. My room was on the second floor and was large, with a large bathroom containing both a bath and a separate shower. It looked out over a narrow side street called Frenchman’s Lane with Ryan’s bar right opposite and the Dublin Loop Line railway the other side of that at the same elevation as my room. I would get a view of every passing train. I would also know every time that a train passed because the wheels of every train squealed loudly on the curve 😀

Later on I went out for a walk and to get my bearings. In any new city I usually head first to the river so I found my way to the Liffey, walked along Custom House Quay and North Wall Quay for a way and then back into the city along Mayor Street.

It was time to find somewhere to dine. Somewhere not too fancy, where a lone diner wouldn’t be out of place, where good food and beer might be had without arranging a mortgage. By luck I wandered into Madigan’s inNorth Earl Street, an Irish pub with fantastic decor, all polished wood and stained glass and welcoming staff (Gerry and Jackie(sp?)). The food was good too, also the Guinness. Two pints of which and three large sausages with veg and mashed spuds was £30, quite reasonable and the pub was a nice place to spend an hour or two people watching. Even with the "owd fella" at the next table, evidently a regular, doing a fairly good Father Jack impression 😂

After dinner I went for a further explore, down Connolly Street past the famous GPO. However it had turned chilly and I was regretting not wearing a coat so I returned to the hotel via Abbey Street. On the way I popped into Lidl because I fancied some sort of cake. I thought better of it when I saw that the queue for the (self service only 😦) checkouts snaked all the way around the inside of the shop. I pushed my way out through the ‘in’ barrier setting off the alarm because there was no other way out, got a funny look off the security guard, thought sod you pal, and went to Supervalu instead.

Back at the hotel I caught up with YouTube on my laptop, had a cup of tea and a slice of something very sweet and turned in. Despite the fact that the trains were still squealing (fortunately they don’t run all night) I slept rather well.