Dornden Park

The DART here follows one of the world's earliest railway routes — the Dublin-to-Kingstown line of 1834, which accidentally created Booterstown Marsh when its embankment cut off the tidal shore. That marsh is now one of Dublin's last urban bird sanctuaries, welcoming brent geese from Arctic Canada each winter. The residential streets behind the Rock Road are leafy and established, with period homes that benefit from their position between Blackrock village and the sea.