Ireland day 1075. Saturday 07 September 2024- Phoenix Improvement

Today’s summary	Another quiet morning then took the train and LUAS into Dublin and walked through Phoenix Park to Ashtown station in the afternoon. Stopped at the Honey Show by the Visitor Centre on the way. Train and DART back to Malahide then Kerrigans dinner and TV in the evening. Feeling a little better but still quite a lot of pain in left chest area
Today’s weather	Warm dry and sunny all day. A real late summer treat. Very light easterly wind. Appx 19c

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): Ashtown rising from the Phoenix

Commentary

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

It was a beautiful day today, much like yesterday. The weather, plus the fact that I slept OK last night with only one dose of painkillers meant that I felt a little better this morning. So I celebrated by cutting my toenails (!) and having croissants and coffee for breakfast. My favourite (the croissants, not the toenails).

But with a bit more energy and lovely weather beckoning, we couldn’t afford to waste the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. After some discussion, we decided to cast our net a little wider today and commit ourselves to the public transport system for the ride into Dublin, where we planned to explore Phoenix Park.

A Connolly-bound diesel duly came into Malahide station only a few minutes after we arrived, and we soon found ourselves in the city centre (although the train was a bit mucky and very crowded, so I had to stand most of the way). A LUAS conveniently met us at Busarus and sped us along to Heuston, where we started our walk.

Given that I am still in a recovery phase, we didn’t do our normal “long” loop walk including the riverbank and Farmleigh. Today, we just took a much shorter line round the back of the zoo to the visitors centre and café, finishing up at Ashtown station for the train back to Connolly. As it happened, it turned out to be a good thing we weren’t going to Farmleigh, as it was closed today because UK PM Keir Starmer was staying there. He’s here for talks to “reset” post-Brexit Anglo-Irish relations and also to watch the England-Ireland football international (England won 2-0)

Our trip to the café ended slightly in frustration as the queue to get served was massive – at least 30 minutes – so we didn’t bother. But by way of compensation, next to the Visitor centre, the annual Honey Show was being held, so we had a good look round and chatted to some of the proud exhibitors instead of scoffing chocolate cake.

After a brief sojourn in the sun and enjoying the rays, we bade farewell to the bees and left the park via the Ashtown Gate and walked over to the station. The nearby Douglas and Kaldi café was open and miraculously queue-free, so we got some teas to enjoy on the platform while waiting for the train, and also a couple of slices of Lemon Drizzle Cake for dinner.

The journey back into Dublin was quick, and we didn’t have long to wait in Connolly for a DART to take us back out to Malahide. Our subsequent evening was spent much like the last few – a Kerrigans stir-fry for dinner, then an episode of “The Hour” (lightened by an episode of “Boomers” beforehand) on Netflix.

A better day today, although I still have quite a lot of pain in the left side of my chest. But I’m hoping that I continue to improve at the same rate as today and that in the not too distant future, I will be able to ditch the painkillers altogether. A grand ambition but I journey in hope.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Ready to set out from the LUAS stop at Heuston station	Tar-spot on one of the sycamores in Phoenix Park. Usually as sign of unpolluted air, so I’m taking it as a good thing!

Val checking that the OPW had got their Irish translation right	Outside the visitor centre, looking at the maze (which is sited on the top of some old castle buildings)

In the annual Honey Show. A charmingly wholesome event	Looking uncharmingly unwholesome in my new sunglasses. Actually I’m not trying to do a Bono, but rather they are bifocals for the car, so I can drive on sunny days and read the sat nav at the same time

The level crossing gates at Ashtown station are still operated manually by the signalman. Can’t be long before they get automated, which would be a bit of a shame, really.