Ireland day 0908. Sunday 24 March 2024- Octagon Revisited *

Ireland day 0908. Sunday 24 March 2024- Octagon Revisited

Today’s summary	Collected a couple of friends in the Portmarnock area then drove down to the Glenview Hotel in Co Wicklow. After coffee, the Club walk went up to Kindlestown Hill, then back through the Glen of the Downs woods to have a look at the Octagon folly, which was refurbished last year. A straightforward drive back and quiet evening afterwards. Val still in London
Today’s weather	Dry and bright though some rain in the evening. Light westerly wind. Feeling quite springlike even though only appx 9c

Today’s overview location (The red mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The red 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): Kindlestown Octagon Glen of the Downs

Commentary

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

Although today’s Club walk called for a relatively early start, it wasn’t actually too painful getting up this morning because it was a bright dawn, the birds were singing, and when I lifted the blinds, it actually looked like quite a nice day.

Once I was up and abluted, I jumped in the Trusty Yaris and picked up a couple of Walking Club friends who were joining me for today’s expedition to the Glen of the Downs.

We had arranged to meet the rest of the walkers in the Glenview Hotel which of course demanded a lengthy pre-walk refreshment interval, but eventually we started walking at about 11:30. Fortnately the walk was short and the weather was kind, so the late start wasn’t a problem.

We crossed the busy N11 dual carriageway on the L1029 bridge then walked up the Ballydonagh Lane to the Kindlestown Wood car park. From there we took a clockwise circuit round the hill, and had a brief lunch stop near the top. Retracing our steps part of the way back down, we diverted off int the Glen proper, to have a look at the Octagon.

It’s a curious building, constructed in 1766 by the La Touche family. It was renovated last year, and certainly looks much better now than it did the last time we visited, when it was covered in scaffolding and graffiti. Today it had been painted a clean white colour, which looked good though I do wonder how long it will stay looking so pristine.

After the walk we went back to the hotel for celebratory (non alcoholic) refreshment, then myself and my two companions drove back north and to our respective homes. For me, the rest of the evening is being spent doing a bit of shopping, having a Thai Red Curry for dinner, and watching a TV programme about Einstain. Val’s still in London, though back on Wednesday.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Looking over to the Glen of the Downs from the aptly-named Glenview hotel	The notch on the skyline is the Scalp. It, like the Glen of the Downs, was carved by the massive erosive force of meltwater from Glacial Lake Enniskerry at the end of the last Ice Age, around 15,000 years ago

Stroming through Kindlestown Woods	A curiously decorated tree adorning the hill near our lunch spot

*Wood Sorrel, Oxalis acetosella. Curiously its clover-like leaves fold up at night.*	Your eyes don’t deceive you. The roof of the Casino model railway museum has gone green. According to Val, it’s been treated with copper sulphate, to kill off moss and algae

The Little Sugarloaf. It looks its most statuesque from this walk, I think.