Ireland day 0873. Sunday 18 February 2024- Liffey and Phoenix DWC *

Ireland day 0873. Sunday 18 February 2024- Liffey and Phoenix DWC

Today’s summary	Drove round to Chapelizod after picking up a friend in Donaghmede, then joined a Club walk down the banks of the Liffey to the War Memorial Gardens. Crossed the river into Phoenix Park at Islandbridge and walked back through the park to re-cross the river at Chapelizod. A good day out in pleasant weather. Went to “Zen” restaurant (successor to Kathmandu Kitchen) Malahide in the evening
Today’s weather	Dry and bright with plenty of sunshine. Light westerly wind. Appx 13c

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): Liffey and Phoenix DWC

Commentary

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

After yesterday’s battering by the elements, there was a strong temptation to stay in bed this morning. But willpower, conscience and the sight of some decent sunshine outside lured us out of our complacency, and we set off, once again, to join a club walk.

Our first port of call was Donaghmede. to pick up a friend, then we drove on round the M50 to the meeting point for the start of the walk at the West County Hotel. We could, by the way, have gone by public transport but it would have taken nearly 2 hours versus only just over 15 minutes by car, so it was a bit of a no-brainer to drive.

It was nice to meet up with everyone again, and of course we had to start the day with a bit of a chat over a cup of coffee. Once we got going, the walk was easy enough – a pleasant spring-like stroll down towards Dublin, along the Liffey Towpath from Chapelizod, and into the War Memorial Garden Park at Islandbridge.

We paused in the park for lunch – down in the rose garden it was sheltered and mild, and it was nice not to be battered or soaked, for once, as we dined. At that point, some of the group elected to return to the pleasures of the hotel and its bar, while a few of us hardier types crossed over the river and went into Phoenix Park to continue our explorations. We headed west in the park, staying close to the southern wall, until we reached the pedestrian entrance back at Chapelizod. We made reasonably good time, pausing only briefly for Val to climb into a hollowed-out tree and pretend she was a fairy.

Once back over the river and at the hotel, we said our farewells and returned to Malahide. We have decided to treat ourselves and go out for dinner tonight – we’re going to “Zen”, a Chinese restaurant which has replaced the much-lamented Kathmandu Kitchen here in Malahide. It gets good reviews, so we are very much looking forward to trying it out!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Sculling on the Liffey near Chapelizod	The rose garden in the War Memorial park gardens

In the gardens	Heading out after lunch in the rose garden and enjoying the sunshine

Imprisoned! Forbidding looking pedestrian turnstiles at the Islandbridge entrance to Phoenix Park	Grimly brooding Magazine Fort in Phoenix Park. Three were some diggers at work inside the fort – perhaps OPW has started the long-awaited restoration work at last?

Women’s coxed eight setting out upstream from the boathouses by the memorial gardens. The river was full and flowing fast, so the outbound journey would be hard work