On a recent trip up the mountains I decided, with my family to visit the infamous Johnnie Foxs pub and stroll around Pine Forest.

In my youth, I took many adventures up the Dublin Mountains to go tobogganing in the soft powdered snow, all those years of sliding down the slippery slope, trying to stop ourselves from breaking our necks at the end of the ride. This time round there was not an inch of snow, only rain but we decided to head for the hills and visit Johnnie Fox’s pub and take a short stroll through pine forest.

Jonnie Fox’s was established in 1798 and is one of the oldest and highest pubs in Ireland. We walked in to find antique chairs and tables with big open fires, as it was bitter outside, this was a warm welcome.   The floor was covered in sawdust and the bathrooms had big old fashioned cabinets with old medicine bottles and bars of soaps.  Along the walls hung photographs of very famous movie stars and presidents such as Mary Robinson and Barak Obama.  Even Daniel O’Connell visited this local haunt.  We managed to get a table and the kids ordered spaghetti bolognaise while the adults tucked into fish and chips.  The menu offers a wonderful choice of food and they even pride themselves on having their own bakery, with a daily choice of fresh bread.  The staff were hospitable and brought our order quickly, which was lucky as the kids were starving.  I really enjoyed the ambience in this very quaint public house.

Seven nights a week, Jonnie Fox’s provide Hooley Nights, with lots of craic agus ceoil. You can listen to live bands performing or watch the Irish dancers strutting their stuff to traditional Irish music.  A shuttle bus is provided to and from the city centre, so there is no need to worry and you can dance the night away!

When we left Jonnie Fox’s, we drove for five minutes and arrived at Pine Forest, which is approximately 320 meters above sea level and has an abundance of different pine. As we meandered through this wonderful forest, we stumbled upon zip wires and all sorts of outdoor activities hooked up for a kids camp, called the Pine Forest Art Centre.  It looked like really good fun and maybe when the kids are older they can try it out.  We had a little stroll around the forest and got lost in the plush trees.  A red squirrel even popped out from behind a tree to say hello.

I recommend Johnnie Fox’s, not just for the ambience but also for the food and entertainment.

Travel file:  Jonnie Fox’s is situated in Glencullen, Junction 12 just off the M50.