Bray is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about 20 km (12 mi) south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area within Ireland (at the 2016 census).
Bray was a resort town, and its proximity to Dublin make it a destination for tourists and day-trippers from the capital. Bray is home to Ardmore Studios, and some light industry is located in the town, with some business and retail parks on its southern periphery. Commuter links between Bray and Dublin are provided by rail, Dublin Bus and the M11 and M50 motorways.
Location
The town is situated on the east coast to the south of County Dublin. Shankill, County Dublin lies to the north, and Greystones, County Wicklow to the south. The village of Enniskerry lies to the west of the town, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. People participate in such sports as sailing, rowing, and swimming. The beach and seafront promenade are used by residents and visitors. While Bray’s promenade and south beach is to a Blue Flag standard, the north beach has been impacted by erosion and leaching pollution since the closure and sale of a municipal landfill in the late 20th century.
The River Dargle which enters the sea at the north end of Bray rises from a source near Djouce, in the Wicklow Mountains. Bray Head is situated at the southern end of the Victorian Promenade with paths leading to the summit and along the sea cliffs. The rocks of Bray Head are a mixture of greywackes and quartzite. There is a large cross at the summit.
Climate
Bray has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), similar to most other towns in Ireland, with few extremes of temperature and ample precipitation all year round and an annual average rainfall of 800 millimetres (31 in). Weather in Bray is very similar to that of nearby Dublin. The average annual temperature is 9.9 °C (49.8 °F).
Tourism
Bray is a long-established holiday resort with hotels and guesthouses, shops, restaurants and evening entertainment. The town also hosts a number of festival events.
In the town’s vicinity are an 18-hole golf courses, a tennis club, fishing, a sailing club and horse riding. Other features of Bray are the amusement arcades and the National Sealife Centre. It has a beach of sand and shingle which is over 1.6 km (0.99 mi) long, fronted by an esplanade and Bray Head, which rises 241 m (791 ft) from the coast, has views of mountains and sea. The concrete cross at the top of Bray head was erected in 1950 for the holy year.Killruddery House, an Elizabethan-Revival mansion built in the 1820s.
Bray is used as a base for walkers, and has a mile-long promenade which stretches from the harbour, with its colony of mute swans, to the base of Bray Head at the southern end. A track leads to the summit. Also used by walkers is the 7 km (4.3 mi) Cliff Walk along Bray Head out to Greystones.
In January 2010, Bray was named the “cleanest town in Ireland” in the 2009 Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey of 60 towns and cities.
Tourist sites
Tourist sites in the area include the Elizabethan-revival mansion Killruddery House (which is open to the public in the summer months), and the hill and headland at Bray Head (which has a number of walking trails). Raheen-a-Cluig, a medieval church which is catalogued as national monument, is located on the north face of Bray Head. Other religious sites and churches in the area include the Fassaroe Cross (12th century), the Holy Redeemer Church, Bray (1792), and the Gothic Revival churches of Christ Church (1863) and Bray Methodist Church (1864).
Festivals and events
The Bray St. Patrick’s Carnival and Parade is presented by Bray & District Chamber to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, and is a five-day festival of carnival events, parades and live entertainment.
Bray also hosts a yearly silent film festival, the Killruddery Film Festival in Killruddery Gardens. Bray Jazz Festival takes place annually on the May bank holiday weekend and includes performances by jazz and world music artists.
The annual Bray Summerfest takes place over six weeks in July and August and includes free entertainment, live music, markets, sporting events, and carnivals. Performers who have headlined include Mundy, Brian Kennedy, the Undertones, the Hothouse Flowers and Mary Black. In 2006, over 60,000 visitors attended the festival weekend in mid-July.
Hell & Back is an adventure race that takes place in Kilruddery Estates. The 10 km Cliff Run from Bray to Greystones is an annual run on the coast around Bray Head Mountain.
Pubs and restaurants
Bray’s pubs and restaurants include the first Porterhouse bar, who brew their own ales, stouts and beers.[31] In 2010, the Lonely Planet Guide ranked the Harbour Bar in Bray the Best Bar in the World and the Best off the Beaten Track Bar in the world. The O’Toole family owned the bar for three generations, but it was bought by the Duggan family in 2013.[33] The Duggans also operate two seafront premises, Katie Gallagher’s and the Martello, both include restaurants on site.
There are twelve fully licensed restaurants, several unlicensed restaurants and cafes, and fast food outlets in Bray. In 2015, The Irish Times published a study which analysed the presence of fast food outlets in Ireland. Bray was found to have the lowest per capita concentration of the ten towns and cities included, with just 0.09 stores per 1,000 people.
Culture
Film
Bray is home to Ireland’s oldest film studios, Ardmore Studios, established in 1958, where films such as Excalibur, Braveheart and Breakfast on Pluto have been shot. Custer’s Last Stand-up was filmed in Bray and the town was also used to film Neil Jordan‘s 2012 film Byzantium, part of which was shot in the Bray Head Inn. Neil Jordan’s 1991 film The Miracle is set in Bray.
The Mermaid Arts Centre is the only venue for cinema in Bray.
Theatre and literature
Bray hosts a number of theatre groups including the Bray Arts and Square One Theatre Group, in venues venue such as the Mermaid Arts Centre.
Authors who have lived in Bray have included James Joyce, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Molly Keane and Neil Jordan. Situated on Eglinton Road is a Carnegie Library dating from 1910. There is also another library serving the Ballywaltrim district on Boghall Road, at the southern end of the town
