THE beauty of a city break is that there's something to do all year round and the weather doesn't really matter. An early December long weekend found us combining the seaside delights of Howth, to the north of Dublin, with forays into the city centre for shopping and sightseeing. As it happened, the sun shone most of the time, but a biting wind frequently reminded us of the season. The village of Howth lies on a small hilly peninsula at the northern end of the Dart train line, just 25 minutes from the city centre (about 45 minutes straight through from Dun Laoghaire if you're arriving on the HSS from Holyhead as we did). It's described as a suburb of Dublin, but it seems like another world.
 The combination of a working fishing port, popular yachting centre and sleepy village (certainly at this time of year) makes for a charming atmosphere. Add to this bracing walks on the twin piers and the seafront, rambles along the cliffs or up the hill to take in the view across Dublin Bay, and the intriguing sight of Ireland's Eye - a craggy island just offshore - and you've got plenty to tempt you away from the city's attractions. The area's also a haven for golfers, with half a dozen courses nearby and a huge golf shop in Howth itself. But Howth's crowning glory is the superbly fresh seafood served in an array of pubs and restaurants - not forgetting Beshoff's chippy - and for sale almost straight off the boat in the fishmongers' on the pier.
 The Bloody Stream, a pub literally under the Dart station, has a fairly extensive menu which includes fish from merchants Wrights, whose shop is just around the corner. Generous servings of smoked salmon and brown bread, Boston prawn open sandwich, a couple of pints of Guinness and a fruit juice came to the equivalent of about £16.50 Sterling. | 
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