Ireland day 1566. Sunday 11 January 2026- Last Walk

Today’s summary	A good walk with the Club today from the Sandymount Martello Tower to the Poolbeg lighthouse. Quite stormy and battering along the South Wall. But also slightly sad as this was our last walk with the Club before going to the UK at the end of the month. But lots of happy memories and so many good friendships. Caught the DART back from Lansdowne Road at the end and then had a glass of champagne and the rest of the Kerrigan’s stir-fry left over from yesterday for dinner
Today’s weather	Blustery with heavy cloud and persistent rain in the morning and then later in the afternoon. Strong southerly wind. Appx 10c

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

Commentary

I’ll be honest. Today was a bittersweet day.

Having taken the decision that we are going to be leaving Ireland for the time being, at the end of the month, we are having to face up to the fact that we are going to have to start dismantling some of the infrastructure that we have built up here over the years, and which has made our stay so enjoyable.

One of the mainstays of that infrastructure has been the Dublin Walking Club. We have been out with them at least one a week – and sometimes twice – practically every week since October 2021. That’s at least 200 walks in all, and possibly more. It’s been a fantastic club, offering us friendship, chat and an introduction to the beautiful Irish countryside and cityscapes.

Sadly then today was our last outing with the Club. The walk didn’t convene until 12 noon which meant we had plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely start to the day before catching a Dart to Sidney Parade at 11. The meeting point was Sandymount Martello Tower (which I don’t think I had ever been to before) and then followed the coast round north, in the general direction of the Poolbeg power station.

It was a very enjoyable hike, despite the weather having reverted, after two weeks of cold clear skies with lots of sun, to a more normal pattern of grey, mild temperatures, lots of wind and plenty of rain. But to be honest I don’t think either of us noticed much of the scenery – or indeed the increasingly-battering wind and rain – as we progressed out along the South Wall to the lighthouse. We were too busy chatting and saying sad farewells to all our friends. I think they were almost as sad to see us go as we were to say goodbye to them. It was quite touching, really. Lots of promises were made to meet again in the future, and we must make sure we keep them.

At the end, we all went our separate ways at Sandymount Beach and Val and I made our way back to Malahide after taking a Dart from Lansdowne Road. We kept the final farewells brief or else I think it might all have been a bit too emotional.

Returning to earth in the flat afterwards, our first priority was to crank up the heating to max. Although it’s a lot warmer outside than it has been lately, the wind and driving rain were quite chilling and we both felt the need to get properly warmed up. Then once back on a even keel, we treated ourselves to a glass of champagne, which we downed with a toast to the past, to the future, and to friendship.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Setting out from the Sandymount Martello Tower at around noon today	One of Dublin’s most distinctive landmarks – the Poolbeg power station chimneys (now decommissioned)

Getting battered on the South Wall.	LPG tanker gingerly making its way into Dublin Port

Lunchtime on one of the shelters at the end of the south wall breakwater, by the lighthouse	Poolbeg lighthouse – it was too windy to get right to the end, and the waves were breaking over the wall and threatened to drench us, so we beat a fairly hasty retreat after sandwiches had been enjoyed

Dublin Walking Club. A wonderful group of people. Our closest friends were probably Alice (in the pink spotty jacket, front row centre right) and Garry (in the black hat, back row centre right)