Ireland day 1025. Friday 19 July 2024- Relaxation

Today’s summary	A very relaxing day today. Got up late, did some more paperwork, went for a nice walk round the demesne with Val and finished up having lunch in the Grand Hotel. Lamb sandwiches for dinner and another episode of “The Wire” in the evening.
Today’s weather	Overcast in the morning, some sun in the late afternoon and evening. Dry all day. Moderate southerly wind.

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): Relaxing walk to lunch

Commentary

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

We both woke up feeling somewhat languid this morning. Probably a consequence of the rushing around we’ve been doing lately, and of the bottle of red wine which we finished off with the lamb last night. Whatever the cause, neither of us felt the need to head off into the day at any great pace, so we had an extra cup of tea in bed, and got up late.

Once we finally surfaced, I resumed my attack on the paperwork (slowly making progress) and then we enjoyed a few snacks before heading out.

Our aim had been to walk over to the Grand Hotel for a late breakfast but once we got outside we realised that the heavy clouds and damp sky had been deceptive. It was actually much warmer and more pleasant than it had looked. So we took a spontaneous decision to walk round the demesne first, then up to my newly discovered Seamount Hill Park, before going on to the hotel at the end.

It was a good choice. The demesne was looking green and floriferous, and for once it was mild enough to sit on a bench and relax in the fresh air, without having to take shelter from the biting wind or penetrating drizzle. Up on the hill, we also saw our first butterflies of the year, which was a bit of a relief. A couple of Cabbage Whites (Pieris brassicae), and rather more Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina – pictured in the banner image at the top).

By the time we got to the castle, it was 3:30 but lunch was still on the menu so we treated ourselves to some light refreshments. We lingered over our salads and coffee for fully two hours before calling it a day and heading back to the flat.

Now we are back, I need to think about making some lamb sandwiches which we can have later for dinner. But before that though we need to catch up on “The Wire” So it’s time to get the telly on and to continue on our programme of decompression and relaxation. I could quite get used to it.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The hay which was mown outside the Casino museum yesterday has already been baled and was being taken away again this lunchtime. It must still have been damp but maybe that’s OK?	A beautiful study in primary reds, greens and blues!

Southbound Enterprise from OBB 26. Apparently the line from Newry north to Belfast is closed at the moment, for an indefinite period, for track repair work	*On the top of Seamount Hill Park with abundant Rumex crispus* (Dock) in all directions**

Enjoying the view!	Lunchtime

Brilliant California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) in a wildflower meadow in the demesne. I love the brilliant orange colour – along with Bougainvillaea, it’s one of my all-time favourite plants