Ireland day 0901. Sunday 17 March 2024- London Day 1 *

Ireland day 0901. Sunday 17 March 2024- London Day 1

Today’s summary	Caught a late morning Ryanair flight to Gatwick to spend a few days in London for the first annual check on the hip I had resurfaced last year. Also catching up with friends while I’m in the UK. Val is working at the moment and will be joining me on Tuesday.
Today’s weather	Dry and bright with some sun. Light westerly wind. Appx 13c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The blue 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): London evening walk

Commentary

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

It’s hard to believe that it’s already a year since I had my left hip resurfaced. But when I look at all the things that have happened since then, perhaps it really is a year. Not just the hip operation, but also a hernia repair, an important family wedding, the sale of our house, two jobs for Val and a new job for me, not to mention lots of travel and hiking across Ireland.

Anyway the upshot is that now I have to go back to see the consultant who did my hip surgery for the first annual check up, to make sure all is well. I have no reason to think that it isn’t, but it will be good to get some formal confirmation.

The trip across the Irish Sea was straightforward and quick. I was in seat 4c so could disembark quickly and managed to catch a train with only a brief wait. I think I was on my way to London only about 15 minutes after touching down, which must be something of a record. When I arrived, London was buzzing, and there were a fair few green clad revellers celebrating the great St Patrick’s Day.

Just time now to do a bit of shopping for something to eat and another few essentials. Then perhaps I’ll take a late stroll around town to check what’s new. I haven’t been here since last May, so a lot is sure to have changed!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Dublin airport – not as busy as I had expected, given that it’s St Patrick’s Day today	Essential start to any long distance journey

Speedy transport into London. No strikes!	Covent Garden this afternoon

Amazon store on High Holborn – I just had to check it out. Quite impressive actually – cameras monitor what you put in your basket then you just scan a QR code on your app as you leave in order to pay.	Iconic view of St Paul’s Cathedral looking down Fleet Ludgate Hill

Trusty (I hope) Ryanair flight to London. It’s just like getting on a bus (with duty free)