Ireland day 0644. Tuesday 04 July 2023- Ireland return *

Ireland day 0644. Tuesday 04 July 2023- Ireland return

Today’s summary	Returned to Ireland on evening flight from Gatwick
Today’s weather	Overcast and showery most of the day. Moderate south westerly wind. Appx 19C

Today’s overview location (The grey mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The grey mark shows where we walked) (No GPX today)

Commentary

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

Our last day in the UK. We had a fairly leisurely start, enjoying breakfast in bed before getting up and doing the last bits of tidying. After an early (and vegan!) lunch from Marks and Spencer’s, we headed into London and as we had plenty of time, decided to take the bus across town from Marylebone to Blackfriars. We had, I should add, originally intended to walk but changed plans as it was raining heavily when we got to Marylebone, and neither of us particularly relished the prospect of sitting in wet clothes all the way back to Dublin.

The journey to Gatwick was straightforward, despite a work-to-rule on the railways. So we arrived at Gatwick – where I am writing this now – with two hours to spare before our departure. While we wait, I’m already idly starting to plan the next few days back in Ireland – perhaps a walk in the Cooleys later this week, then a longer Club walk down in Wicklow on Saturday.

Lots to look forward to and I can’t wait to get going!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Bust to Adrian Shooter at Marylebone Station. He led Chiltern Rail for several years and transformed it into a modern 21st century business. Sadly he died late last year	On the upper deck of the 205 down the Euston Road. A civilised (and relatively cheap) way to see London

One of TfL’s zero-emission (I think) buses – powered by hydrogen	Blackfriars Station – it is unique in that it is built on a bridge spanning the Thames. We got on at the North end of the platforms

Interesting preserved pier from the original Blackfriars station. The next photo explains its significance	A place to daydream and plan your next travels!

There are beautiful picture-windows alongside the platforms at Blackfriars station. This is the view down-river from platform 1