Ireland day 1051. Wednesday 14 August 2024- Run and Ride

Ireland day 1051. Wednesday 14 August 2024- Run and Ride
Today’s summary Spent the morning making admin phone calls then after lunch I did my walk-run-walk circuit while Val went on a bike ride to Howth. More admin work and some TV in the evening.
Today’s weather Warm dry and sunny again. Moderate southerly wind. Appx 20c
Today’s overview location
(The green mark shows the location of my route)
Close-up location
(The orange line shows where I walked / ran)
(Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected):
Walk Run Walk easier and faster
Commentary

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

Things seem stable at the moment. By that I mean, the weather is stable (warm dry and sunny, hooray) and our routine is stable (admin, exercise, dine and TV). As we More normally seem to spend quite a lot of our time sheltering from wind, rain and cold whilst rushing around from one commitment to the next, this is all rather novel and nice.

So today’s version of stability manifested itself in the form of a morning of admin in the flat, followed by a more enjoyable afternoon. Actually the admin was a bit tedious, and seemed to consist mainly of chasing people (garage, accountant, gas company etc.) who were supposed to be doing things for us, but who hadn’t. It would be nice if people just did what they had been asked to do without having to be nagged all the time. One of the relatively minor irritants of everyday existence, I suppose.

Eventually we had ploughed through all the nagging and decided to have lunch. Today it was a simple affair of roast nuts with a slice of somewhat delicious tea brack loaf that Val made yesterday, using a recipe she found in an Irish bread making book.

By this time, it was early afternoon so we decided to go out and get some exercise. Val picked the bike and did a pretty decent ride to Howth and back, while I chose a repeat of my familiar walk-run-walk routine via the coast, hill and demesne. I’m pleased to report that this time my feet didn’t feel quite as firmly glued to the ground as they had the last time, and I actually enjoyed it (in parts).

Once we had regrouped in the flat, lots of tea was drunk, some more paperwork completed and another Kerrigans special was prepared for dinner. I just need to pick up some last minute bits and pieces for dinner, so a quick trip to the shops is called for, then we will be all set to contemplate an evening of down-time. Lovely!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

First things first.   There was supposedly a good display of the Northern Lights overnight.   So just after midnight this morning, we trotted down to the Broadmeadow Estuary to take a look.   This is what we could see.   Basically, nothing. On Malahide estuary beach.   Despite the good weather, it was only crowded in the parts near the lifeguards’ huts
Soapwort, Saponaria officinalis, growing in the dunes just above the beach.   A chemical (saponin) can be extracted from the leaves and roots and used as a form of soap.   But it can be toxic in large quantities I would love to have seen the Jameson Orchard house in its heyday, before all the land around it got developed.   Must have been spectacular
The warmer weather really seems to suit the ragwort (and me) Brilliant red poppies have just popped up in the flower bed by the entrance to our block of flats.   No idea if they were self seeded or if they were planted.   But either way, they look great
Val’s delicious tea brack.   Made from dried fruit soaked in tea, among many other interesting things
Interactive map

(Elevations corrected at  GPS Visualizer: Assign DEM elevation data to coordinates )

Total distance: 7762 m
Max elevation: 49 m
Min elevation: 0 m
Total climbing: 114 m
Total descent: -112 m
Total time: 01:16:00
Download file: Walk-Run-Walk-faster-compressed-corrected.gpx

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