Ireland day 1341. Saturday 31 May 2025- Active Again

Today’s summary	Still waking up quite early but had a restful hour or two in bed before getting up, having breakfast, and then at just after 9am, Val went off to do a Park Run and I walked up the coast to Centra and back through the demesne. Spent the rest of the day watching some TV and pulling together a slide-show on Japan. Val’s delicious salad for dinner and then some “Mad Men” again in the evening.
Today’s weather	Bright, breezy and sunny first thing and then again later in the afternoon. Clouded over and rained a little at lunchtime. Moderate south westerly wind. Appx 16c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Coast and Centra

Commentary

It seems to be taking a while to shake off our jet-lag, as both of us were wide awake again quite early this morning. Anyway, we made the best of it and had a relaxing lie-in and enjoyed some tea and fruit in bed while the morning stole up on us.

After a suitable period of relaxation, we got up and had a bacon sandwich for breakfast. Delicious and very restorative. Then Val – to my amazement (and quite possibly also hers) decided to take herself over to the Demesne to do the regular Saturday morning Park Run. She covered the 5k in a very creditable 29min.

In the meantime, I galvanised myself into action too, and took a short walk up the coast, alongside the Broadmeadow Estuary and past the Yacht Club (pictured in the banner image at the top). It was a beautiful late spring morning – warm and billowy. So I walked slightly further than usual, meaning I could return through the woods by the Rugby Club near Seabury Park. That took me directly to the Centra store (surprise, surprise) where I couldn’t resist the temptation of refreshment. As I was feeling both thirsty and hungry, I got one of those protein shake things that are supposed to do all sorts of good things for you though I have to admit I didn’t feel any different afterwards.

From there, I walked back down the Swords Road and then via the Demesne to the flat, where Val had already returned, feeling very pleased about her performance.

The rest of the day was relatively quiet – and long. Jet lag means early starts which in turn means that we have finished all our “normal” day’s activities by about 10am, leaving a lengthy stretch until bed-time. Today we filled that time gainfully – Val made some delicious salads for dinner , and I pulled together a slideshow on Japan which I am giving to some friends in the coming days. While doing it, I enjoyed looking back on the recent memories and reflecting, once again, on what an excellent trip it had been.

For lunch today, we finished off the lentil curry – which just seems to get better and better the longer it’s kept. Then later we had the rice, chicken and beef salads that Val had pulled together – with perhaps a nod to the Orient – for dinner. All very delicious.

Finally, we’re going to catch up on another episode or two of “Mad Men” with perhaps a glass or two of some rather nice Canadian vermouth to go with it. Another good day.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Brilliant buttercup with delicate hoverfly (or fimilar) doing a spot of pollination	Heading towards the Lagoon (behind me) with the Gaybrook stream on the right of the picture

On the Coast Path. Lovely on a warm sunny day like today	Dog-roses coming into bloom. This time of the year, the world seems to be so full of promise

“Tree Fern Avenue” (my name) in the demesne. Like the roses, the ferns look strikingly healthy and full of new leaf	Pleased to report that my favourite redwood up by the cricket ground is still going strong – despite my absence!

Toots! He surely needs no introduction