Ireland day 0660. Thursday 20 July 2023- Gym and Tesco Swords *

Ireland day 0660. Thursday 20 July 2023- Gym and Tesco Swords

Today’s summary	Gym in morning, walk to Tesco Swords via Feltrim business park to buy coffee pot in afternoon. Val in UK
Today’s weather	Overcast with occasional sun and a light shower mid afternoon. Light north westerly wind. Appx 17C

Today’s overview location (The grey mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange 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): Tesco Swords via Business Park

Commentary

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

Apart from my failure to find freezer de-icer, I came away from my shopping expedition yesterday feeling pretty pleased with my purchases. It was only when I got back to the flat that I realised that I had actually forgotten the main thing that I had gone for – a new cafetière, to replace the one that I broke a few weeks ago. So a further shopping trip was called for today.

But first, and as Val is away so I am left to my own devices at the moment, I decided to go to the gym to thrash about pointlessly on the various bits of torture equipment they have there, and finish off with 500m in the pool. Once that was out of the way, and lunch had been enjoyed (roast beef salad wrap) I dug out my waterproofs – essential for any outdoor trip at the moment as the weather seems so unstable – and set off once again to Tesco.

Bu this time, instead of repeating my trip to Clare Hall, I walked westward along the coast path and then cut up into the Swords Business Park. Apart from needing to go shopping, I also wanted to have a look at the business park, as I had driven past it a few times and was curious to know what went on in there. I have to say it wasn’t terribly impressive. Just like business parks the world over, with light industrial units, a petrol station, and an exhaust repair centre.

I didn’t hang around, as it wasn’t very interesting, so continued in the general direction of the airside shopping area at Swords. I soon found myself in another business park – this one the Feltrim one – and it was equally uninteresting. There is a large Merck Sharp and Dohm factory there which is surrounded by high fences so the whole thing is a bit impenetrable. I passed through quickly and then on to Tesco via the delights of the Holywell Estate.

I managed to find what I was looking for – a low-cost cafetière. In fact I was sort-of in luck as it was reduced in price (to the princely sum of €11.70) as it was said to be “end of line – discontinued item”. So, given how often we seem to break these things (this will be our fourth since arriving in Ireland), I bought both the remaining items on the shelf on the premise that a) they were cheap and b) they might not be available any more next time we break one.

Shopping complete, I headed to the bus stop where, after a short wait, a no. 102 duly turned up to take me back to Malahide. So now I’m having a bargain half-price curry that I managed to find at the supermarket a few days ago, then a relaxing evening beckons, reading my book.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


In case anyone was wondering what the main entrance to the Casino, where we live, looks like – well this is it.	*False jasmine (Solanum laxum) in bloom, as it often seems to be, in Hanlon’s Lane. It’s a relative of the tomato*

On the west bound coast path alongside the lagoon. The M1 viaduct is in the background	Entrance to the business park – on the left soon after you have gone under the motorway. There isn’t a lot to see, to be frank

*Hedge which seems to be, rather unusually, made up of Hypericum* plants**	Mountain ash / rowan (Sorbus aucupari) full of berries. Looks a bit autumnal to me. It is known as Caorthann in Irish (although “Rowan” was in fact itself originally a Gaelic name, derived from “Rudha-an” which means “red one”)

Mucking about by the sea – exactly what summer holidays should be for.