Ireland day 0700. Tuesday 29 August 2023- Phoenix Rises *

Ireland day 0700. Tuesday 29 August 2023- Phoenix Rises

Today’s summary	Had a video call with a friend back in the UK first thing, then went into Dublin for a walk round Phoenix Park and Farmleigh. Very enjoyable indeed
Today’s weather	Bright and dry with some sun. Light to moderate westerly wind. Appx 17C

Today’s overview location (The orange 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): Phoenix and Farmleigh again

Commentary

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

My “anchor point” for the day today was a video call with a friend in London, first thing. I always like these calls, and I think that when you are out of sight from your friends, as I am, you have to make an extra effort to make sure that you don’t become “out of mind” too. So we had a very enjoyable ninety minutes swapping notes and putting the world to rights, and then I set about planning the rest of the day.

Once I had turned my mind to thinking about the day, I realised that I hadn’t visited Phoenix Park for quite a while – it’s one of my favourite spots in Dublin, and I felt it deserved a return visit. So, once I’d pulled together a packed lunch, I headed down to the station and caught the first DART that came in, whisking me to Dublin by around noon.

I’ve developed a route which links up some of the nicest parts of west Dublin, starting from and returning to Heuston station. I decided to follow this circular orbit of Phoenix Park, calling at the Kilmainhan Hospital gardens, the War Memorial gardens, the Liffey towpath, Chapelizod, and Farmleigh along the way.

I have to say it was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed every step. The paths were mostly pretty quiet – although Phoenix Park is so big it is almost always quiet – and the trees and flowers along the way were looking their very best. Just, like yesterday, a slight hint of autumn colouring amongst some of the trees.

I made it to the café at Farmleigh in time for a late-ish lunch, then headed back out of the demesne via the south side access road (which I had never walked before). The circuit of the park was completed alongside the northern perimeter wall, as always serenaded by the peculiar cries of the chimpanzees and other miscellaneous creatures securely located on the far side of the retaining fence of the zoo.

Once back in Malahide, I’m about to enjoy some Spaghetti Bolognaise then I think I’ll put my feet up for a bit and read a book. Bliss!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


I thought I would take a look round the Heuston South Quarter – a new-ish housing development between Heuston Station and Kilmainham Hospital. It was quite nice, in a bland sort of way	The Heuston development does, though, boast some nice green spaces and attractive vistas over to the Wellington Testimonial in Phoenix Park

The stage for the Kilmainham concerts in the process of being dismantled – much like the Malahide cricket pavilion at the moment	Time for a cup of tea at the Farmleigh café (I sneaked my sandwiches in and ate them there as well – something I felt somewhat justified in doing when I saw that a tiny packet of two ginger biscuits cost an eye-watering €2.90)

*Farmleigh House with resplendent Agapanthus* thriving outside**	The Hole In The Wall pub, on the north side of Phoenix Park. When you see the adjacent gate in the wall, you can see how it got its name. It serves free porridge between 10 and 12 on Sundays. Must try it one day

I’ve no idea what the significance of this graffiti on a wall close to Heuston station is. But it was certainly colourful and quite striking.