Ireland day 0635. Sunday 25 June 2023- Ashtown Farmleigh DWC *

Ireland day 0635. Sunday 25 June 2023- Ashtown Farmleigh DWC

Today’s summary	Joined the Walking Club for an exploration of Phoenix Park and Farmleigh from Ashtown station
Today’s weather	Rain started in the middle of the night and the day continued to alternate heavy and sometimes thundery downpours with intervals of vivid blue skies and bright sunshine. Moderate westerly wind. Appx 18C

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The orange 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): Ashtown Farmleigh Phoenix Park walk DWC

Commentary

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

I was out again with the Walking Club today, this time on an exploration of Phoenix Park and Farmleigh, starting out from Ashtown station. I was keen to go, as Phoenix Park is one of my favourite spots, although Val couldn’t join me as she had a commitment in Malahide in the late afternoon.

Once the morning rain had cleared, it turned into a bright sunny day, with impressive white cumulus congestus clouds towering into the azure sky. A beautiful day for a stroll in the park, and especially so today because the rain had deterred visitors so it was nice and quite. Farmleigh and its grounds always look great, but today they looked particularly stunning. The walled garden was spectacular, and the bank of pink roses in the middle must surely be one of the most impressive displays of perfect rose bushes I have ever seen.

After a picnic lunch, the group split up and I made my own way down the spine of the park alongside Chesterfield Avenue, right back to Heuston station via the Conyngham Road gate. A quick Luas and train from Connolly saw me back in Malahide by 4:30, just in time to say hello to Val before she rushed out to the pub.

So now as I finish this blog, I am looking out of the window as the rain truly lashes down outside. I do feel a bit sorry for the crowds flocking to the castle to enjoy the strains of Sam Fender tonight. Hopefully it will have dried up a bit by the time he comes on stage but at the moment, I have to say, it’s not looking brilliant. I must admit, it’s making me feel very fortunate that we had such exceptional weather for the Depeche Mode concert a couple of weeks ago. A bit of a rarity, I suspect.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The Ashtown gate into Phoenix Park	By the Quarry Lake in Phoenix park, home to a multitude of yellow waterlilies (not shown well in this photo unfortunately)

Mr and Mrs Mallard joined us for lunch	*Lime trees (Tilia Cordata) in full bloom filled the air in the park with a delicate honey scent*

Áras an Uachtaráin, home of the President of Ireland	Wellington Testimonial, with cricket match in full swing in the foreground

Palm tree and iridescent blue sky gave Farmleigh an almost Mediterranean feel this lunchtime