Ireland day 0329. Tuesday 23 August 2022- Full-on

Today’s summary	Val off to work first thing then I spent the morning in the gym then the afternoon walking down to Clare Hall to do the shopping at Tesco. Caught the 42 bus back.
Today’s weather	Dry and bright. Some sun in late afternoon. Light southerly breeze. Appx 21C

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The green line shows where I walked) (Click first button below to download TCX of today’s gym session or second button for GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Tuesday morning mixed gym session Clare Hall and St Douloughs

Commentary

The trouble with paying €50 to join a gym for a month is that you feel like you have to go millions of time in order to get your money’s worth. I have been three times so far, including today, so I have got the cost down to about €17 a pop but that still seems excessive. So I will have to go along loads more times, still, to get it down to a reasonable level. If I go ten times – a tall order I know – it will equate to €5 a go which is still quite a lot but a much more reasonable unit price.

But there is a massive assumption in this arithmetic – and that is that my body will actually be able to stand it. By the time I finished my 60 minutes in the gym followed by half an hour in the pool this morning, I was feeling distinctly ready to go and lie down. So I abandoned my quest for bargains at Tesco and SuperValu and headed straight back to the flat for a cup of coffee and some lunch.

Somewhat refreshed by some calories and caffeine, I thought that since Val was doing her bit by going out earning a crust at the museum, I also ought to do something to contribute to the welfare of the household. So I pulled my trainers back on, and headed out to walk down to the Tesco at Clare Hall to get some of the more obscure items (like pitta breads, bizarrely) that we use a lot of but which you can’t get in Malahide.

It’s not a bad walk, actually, and I have done it before several times. The first half is through the castle demesne, which is always interesting as there is something different to see every time you go through (you can see my favourite tree – the sequoia – featured in the centre of the banner image at the top; but note the black Kubrick-like monolith in the middle isn’t a black Kubrick-style monolith but is actually a rubbish bin).

The second half runs down the pavement alongside the Malahide Road – the R107 – and it isn’t so nice because it’s very busy and hard on the feet. But I broke the walk for a short detour to have a look at St Doulough’s church, on the roadside just north of Balgriffin. I keep hoping that the door will be open so I can have a look inside but today, like every other time I’ve been, it was locked shut and there were ominous warnings about CCTV monitoring all over the walls. So it’s a lovely spot, but not one that makes you feel welcome.

I eventually made it to Tesco – not exactly in record time, following my pummelling in the gym – but quickly enough to do all the shopping and then catch the no 42 bus and still be back in the flat before Val returned from work.

By the way, the return trip to Clare Hall from here is 14km. I have worked out that the trusty Yaris does 600km on about €60 worth of fuel, which means it costs about 10¢ a km to drive. So the return car journey would cost about €1.40 in petrol whereas if you walk and take the 42, the bus fare is €1.30. So it’s actually very marginal whether it is better to walk/bus or drive. If fuel prices ever come down (some hope!), it will probably be cheaper – and a lot more convenient – to drive. Nevertheless I actually quite like the walk and bus ride, and if you know you have to carry everything home with you on the bus, it stops you buying too much stuff that you don’t need.

Anyway, I’m safely back at the flat now, and Val is home. We’re currently enjoying a G&T then it’s dinner time and after that I will probably collapse in a heap.

See you tomorrow! All being well.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


*Horse chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum)* starting to bear fruit. As far as I am concerned, that’s a sure sign that return to school is imminent**	Lazy afternoon in the demesne. A few dog-walkers about but not many others

Beautiful blue cornflower sprouting from the kerb-side of the Malahide Road near Balgriffin	More signs of Autumn. Come on! It’s only August!

Oh dear..	There’s a large well tended demesne around St Doulough’s but I’m not sure what its actually for. Nobody seems to use it which is a shame because it’s a lovely spot. The octagonal baptistry in the trees towards the top of the picture is definitely worth a visit.

I’ve written about St Doulough’s church several times in the past. Readers may remember that it is the oldest stone-roofed church in Ireland that is still in use (though that does beg the question of exactly how many stone roofed churches there actually are in Ireland) and parts of the building are almost a thousand years old. It should be located in a tranquil spot far from the madding crowd, but instead its just a few meters off the busy R107