Ireland day 0726. Sunday 24 September 2023- Ramparts DWC *

Ireland day 0726. Sunday 24 September 2023- Ramparts DWC

Today’s summary	Drove up to Drogheda after picking up a friend in Portmarnock. Walked along the Boyne Valley ramparts to the Battle of the Boyne site at Oldbridge, then retraced our steps back
Today’s weather	Heavily overcast all day, with the ever present threat of rain that never quite happened. Light southerly wind which became very strong late afternoon / early evening. Suddenly feeling exceptionally mild at 18C

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The purple 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): Boyne Valley Ramparts Drogheda to Oldbridge and back DWC

Commentary

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

When we first moved to Ireland almost two years ago, we were living near Drogheda, so spent quite a long time walking up and down various stretches of the Boyne valley. But this was the first time we had been back in well over a year, and this time it was with the rest of the Dublin Walking Club.

Fortunately, Val had a day off work today, so we were able to drive up together, and pick up a friend in Portmarnock along the way (we had all intended to take the train, but the line was closed, as I discovered to my cost yesterday). As soon as we had parked the car in the centre of Drogheda and got out, we noticed something odd. The weather was exceptionally mild! The thermometer in the car said 18C, though it felt warmer. I think Ireland must be bathed in a southerly air-flow at the moment, which is heating things up a bit, but also making it very wet.

The weather forecast for today was in fact dreadful, and that (and the rail closure) put quite a few people off. So it was a fairly small group of us who met up in the “Coffee Box” café (excellent) for refreshments before we headed off up-river, in search of the Battle of the Boyne site.

It’s an easy walk up the “ramparts” greenway to the battlefield at Oldbridge. Though, as with all these greenways, you do have to have eyes in the back of your head to avoid getting mown down by the bikes which occasionally come flying past. It was one of those waterproofs-on-waterproofs-off days, as the rain threatened to pour but then backed off after only a few drops. In the end, most of us elected to keep them off, as it got uncomfortably sweaty otherwise.

We had lunch at the well-groomed and fascinating Oldbridge House (OPW) and a quick look round the walled garden. Then we turned on our heels, walked across the battlefield itself, and retraced our steps to Drogheda.

After a quick drive down the motorway, with a brief pause in Portmarnock to drop off our friend, Val and I were back in Malahide comfortably before 6pm. It had been an excellent walk – interesting, sociable and above all, dry!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Ramparts path undercutting the Mary MacAleese bridge which carries the M1 motorway over the Boyne	At the lock which connects the Boyne canal with the main River Boyne

The bridge just outside Oldbridge, connecting to the Slane road, has been closed for structural repairs. There also seems to be a suggestion it may also have been closed because it is a rat-run, used by drivers seeking to avoid the toll on the M1	Replica cannon standing guard at the entrance to the battle of the Boyne site at Oldbridge (which took place in the fields behind the cannon)

Oldbridge House	The beautiful formal walled garden at Oldbridge

Impressive if wet spider awaiting his next meal