Ireland day 0576. Thursday 27 April 2023- Speedy Broadmeadow *

Ireland day 0576. Thursday 27 April 2023- Speedy Broadmeadow

Today’s summary	Val still away in the UK. I walked round the lagoon to Donabate vis Newbridge then in the evening wet to a Mountaineering film show at the Point Odeon in Dublin
Today’s weather	Overcast and misty with some light drizzle in the afternoon. Moderate easterly wind, strong on the estuary. Appx 10C

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): Donabate via Broadmeadow and Newbridge quickly

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

Val is still away and I didn’t have anything in the diary for today, so I had the day pretty much to myself. I could have gone to the gym but I happened to have been looking at the tide charts (as you do) and I realised that lunchtime today – being two hours after a low tide on a neap tide – would be an ideal moment to try a “dry feet” circumnavigation of the Broadmeadow lagoon. So rather than sweating over an exercise bike, I packed my lunch and headed off to see if I could get all the way to Donabate, round the lagoon and via Newbridge, without getting wet.

In the end my predictions were right and most of the flood road was dry. There was only one submerged bit, but there’s a path on the embankment above it, so no problems were encountered. I took my trekking poles and found that actually they really helped to speed me on my way. I felt really good while I was walking – much better and faster than I have done for many months, if not years, in fact.

I made it round to Newbridge in under two hours – which was ten minutes faster than I’d ever done it before. So I treated myself to refreshments in the café at Newbridge than hot-footed it to Donabate station where as luck would have it a train to Malahide was just pulling in.

I was quickly back in the flat, and just had time to do a bit more of my Ice Age paper and now am going to dash off again – to Dublin to watch an evening of films about climbing and mountaineering at the Point Odeon. Really looking forward to it and enjoying filling the day!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Cherries still in full bloom – the cooler weather I think is extending the flowering season of everything	Camassias – quite rare in the UK, but seemingly more commonly grown here in Ireland

A buzzard hanging around over the M1 motorway – looking for an easy meal, no doubt	Well I thought I deserved it after making it to Newbridge in under 2 hours (ten minutes faster than my previous best time)

Looking into the walled garden at the back of Newbridge House	In Donabate Station – luckily I only had to wait 3 minutes for a train

Newbridge House is being re-roofed at the moment. Looks like a pretty big project – but good that investment is being made now to safeguard it for the future