Ireland day 1083. Sunday 15 September 2024- Clonskeagh DWC

Today’s summary	Slept a bit better last night after taking paracetamol before bed, but shingles pain undiminished today. Decided to pull myself together and go out with the Walking Club for a short amble down the Dodder in the afternoon and really enjoyed it. The company was cheering and the weather even cooperated. Video call to Val in the evening (she’s back on Tuesday) and then chili for dinner again, with some TV in the evening
Today’s weather	Miserable murky and wet up until noon, but then brightened up and the sun came out later in the afternoon. Light westerly wind. Appx 17c

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): Clonskeagh to Ballsbridge via Dodder DWC

Commentary

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

Today I made a Good Decision, after being encouraged by Val.

I managed to sleep a little better last night – I took some paracetamol before going to bed and either the medication or sheer exhaustion meant I was able to get a good 5 hours before the pain kicked in and woke me up. I still wasn’t feeling my best this morning, and wondered whether I should just spend the day in the flat, keeping a low profile in the hope that it might aid my recovery. But I sensed that if I just stayed put, I would become introspective and that would make matters worse. So, mindful of Val’s words of wisdom last night, I decided to go out and enjoy a short walk with the Club on the banks of the river Dodder.

One of the few good things about sleeplessness is that you get lots of extra hours in the day to do things. A couple of days ago I spent the time reading, and today I decided to do a load of laundry before I went out. The sheets needed changing and washing and normally I hate this particular task as it’s time consuming with no discernible reward. But with Val being away till Tuesday, I thought I might as well get it done while I could get a clear run at it.

Anyway, as soon as that was out of the way, I got my packed lunch and waterproofs together, then drove down to Donaghmede to pick up a friend who needed a lift to the start of the walk. We were soon at Farmer Brown’s pub, where we were scheduled to assemble (though actually it’s not a particularly straightforward route from here to there as the pub is on the far side of Dublin so you either have to go straight through the middle of town, or all the way round on the M50 – I chose the latter).

Eventually, a group of 13 of us assembled and after pre-walk refreshments in the pub, we set off from Clonskeagh (pronounced Clons-kee) down the north bank of the River Dodder to Ballsbridge. It was only a short walk, but new to me and attractive. We stopped to have our packed lunches near Herbert Park in Ballsbridge then paid a visit to the nearby artisan market (lots of nice – and expensive – things to buy). The route back just retraced our steps but, to assist our passage, by this stage the sun had come out and it had turned into a lovely afternoon.

Once back at Farmer Brown’s pub, we had more refreshments (just a cup of tea for me!) then drove back. It felt like a decent day out, even though I was back in the flat before 6. But I think it did me a lot of good. Lots of company and chat, and it really cheered me up. Val’s advice was well-founded. I’m more and more convinced that, for me at anyrate, the only real way of addressing shingles pain is through distraction and light exercise. I had a brief video call with Val shortly after I got back, which I also very much enjoyed. Thank goodness for WhatsApp video!

Anyway, it’s dinner-time now, so I’m going to finish off the chili then enjoy some television. I am rapidly becoming a connoisseur of paracetamol and YouTube travel documentaries!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The Dodder riverside path starts unassumingly alongside this restaurant in Clonskeagh. If I wasn’t on a led walk, I would never have known it was there	It’s an attractive path – especially in the first (upstream) part

“Who made the world?” bronze sculpture by Cliodna Cussen and installed near Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, in 1996. I haven’t really been able to find out much about what it actually represents. It is also supposed to be part of a water feature, but like so many similar features in Dublin, seemingly, it wasn’t working	Balls Bridge

Looking upstream along the Dodder from the bridge	Rudbeckia outside the Energia Park football pitches

Lots of lovely-looking things to buy in the Herbert Park market – but none of it cheap. I was tempted by a slice of chocolate cake but at €6.50, consideration of my waistline and my wallet diminished the attraction. Regretfully in the end I gave it a miss