Ireland day 0212. Thursday 28 April 2022- Carwash!

Ireland day 0212. Thursday 28 April 2022- Carwash!
Today’s summary Spent the morning doing the washing and tidying the flat then went down to Clare Hall for shopping and car wash.   Unexpectedly magnificent walk round Robswall Hill and the coast in the evening sunshine, with more cowslips along the way than I have ever seen before
Today’s weather Dry but overcast in the morning, brilliant sun in afternoon.   Light easterly breeze.   About 11C
Today’s overview location
(The blue mark shows the location of our route)
Close-up location
(The green 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):
Robswall Cowslips and Coast
Commentary

Unbelievably, in the seven weeks that we have had the Yaris, we have driven nearly 3000 km.   The consequence of this that by this morning it was coated in a thickish layer of dust and grime which was deemed by the various stakeholders in the car, to be unacceptable.  So it was decreed that a trip to the car wash was needed, especially as we are having guests over the weekend and we didn’t want to create the impression that we had degenerated into a state of slovenly decay.

So given that we were getting low on petrol, and needed to get a load of shopping as well, we decided that we had to go down to Clare Hall to kill three birds with one stone.   Once filled up with petrol (I continue to be amazed at how little it uses), we decided to try out the self-service pressure washing machine.   You put in 4 euros and it starts making all sorts of noises then you have four minutes to finish the job.   There are five buttons which you push in sequence and as soon as you push the first one and press the trigger on the hose, a selection of exciting fluids and foams erupts from the nozzle and you rush around spraying them liberally all over the car.

Unfortunately I think I spent too long with the pre-wash and foamy brush thing, which only left 4 seconds for the wax spray so the end result was a bit lop sided.   I also have to say that while it was quite exciting and very spectacular, I was left a bit underwhelmed by the end result.   I think I will have to re-balance the sequence next time, and spend less time pre-washing and more time waxing but as that’s not due for at least another 3000km I really don’t need to worry about it too much now.

Once the car was cleaned (sort of) we headed into Tesco and did a mammoth shop which should hopefully be enough to keep us in shower gel and Weetabix for several months.  Then we beetled back to Malahide in our shiny-ish but heavily laden car, and had lunch.  By the time we had done all this, it was late afternoon and the sun had come out fully, making for an alluring evening outside.   So we donned hats and down jackets (as it’s still pretty cold despite the sunshine – but obviously not cold enough to cause shorts to be abandoned) and set off into the evening.

Today we elected to head up to Robswall hill and then down to the coast.   This turned out to be an excellent if accidental choice, because the meadows in the park on Robswall Hill were absolutely carpeted in cowslips.   It was quite the most impressive display of this pretty little flower that either of us had ever seen.   And with the skylarks chattering overhead, it really was idyllic.

After lingering to take a few photos, we walked down to the coast to admire the sandy flats exposed by the low tide, and watched the sun setting over the Broadmeadow estuary.  Just like everywhere at the moment, it seems, wild flowers were blooming in abundance and we even came across a really healthy looking specimen of sea-beet, which looked good enough to eat.   In fact it is good enough to eat and it’s supposed to taste a bit like spinach, only better.   Anyway we weren’t quite brave enough to try it.   And the abundant piles of seagull poo surrounding the plant confirmed that this was probably a wise choice.

Well I think that’s enough for one day.   I need to spend the rest of the evening thinking about how to refine my spraying technique, so that in 3000km time, I can make the best possible use of my 4 euros.

 

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Val with her office (the model railway museum, with the thatched roof) in the background Huge drifts of cowslips in the meadows of Robswall Hill Park.   Simply magnificent, especially in the evening sunshine with the brilliant blue sky
Arty shot.   The slight bump on the blurry horizon is Lambay Island Down on the coast.   Looks lovely – and it was – but still that biting easterly wind
Looking up the estuary towards Malahide over the tidal flats A wall garden – literally.   Two edible plants shared this sunny spot.   On the left, with the glossy leaves, is Sea Beet, Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima.   It is the same species, actually, as beetroot (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris, Conditiva), chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris, Cicla) and sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris, Altissima).   In fact it is the variety from which beetroot, chard and sugarbeet were all derived.
To the right of the picture with the white flowers is common scurvy-grass (Cochlearia officinalis).   It is rich in vitamin C and was sometimes taken on ships by sailors to prevent scurvy.   It was drunk as a form of tea but tasted bitter so as soon as vitamin-rich citrus fruits became more widely available in the mid-1800s, it fell out of favour.
Photographing the photographer!
Interactive map

(Elevations corrected at  GPS Visualizer: Assign DEM elevation data to coordinates )

Total distance: 7531 m
Max elevation: 50 m
Min elevation: 0 m
Total climbing: 111 m
Total descent: -110 m
Total time: 02:16:26
Download file: Robswall And Coast corrected.gpx

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