Ireland day 1101. Thursday 03 October 2024- Park Life

Today’s summary	A leisurely cup of tea then caught a train into Connolly and Luas on to Heuston. Lunch from Provender & Co café then a walk round Phoenix Park in the sun. Taking in the People’s Park, the visitor centre and walled garden, and the Papal Cross. Retraced our steps to return to Malahide. A beautiful relaxing sunny stroll.
Today’s weather	Dry with bright sun most of the day. Light to moderate south easterly wind. Appx 14c

Today’s overview location (The red 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): Phoenix Amble

Commentary

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

I think both of us were feeling a bit under par today – well I was certainly – after the assault of vaccination combined with shingles, surgery and a generally busy life. So we decided to keep things low-key today whilst at the same time making the best of a superb sunny Autumn day outside.

After a bit of thought, Val suggested that we might go in to Phoenix Park, and have a leisurely day exploring and generally not rushing to complete some new life-defining record mammoth walk. It was an excellent idea. So after a couple of cups of energising tea, we got up, got ready and got out.

We caught a fast diesel straight to Connolly and then a Luas on to Heuston, so were on the approach to Phoenix Park just before noon. We dropped into the excellent Provender & Family café to get some bacon baps to take into the park for lunch, then found a sunny seat in the People’s Park to enjoy our takeaway.

Charged with protein and carbs, from there we went more or less straight up Chesterfield Avenue and over to the visitor centre. We were of course just in time for another cup of tea which we took into the walled vegetable to enjoy on yet another sunny bench. While Val chatted to the gardener about the box hedges (strangely unafflicted by the caterpillar which has decimated plants in most of the British isles) I admired the pumpkins and unsuccessfully tried to spot fruit growing on the espaliers.

We lingered for around an hour in the garden then meandered back to Heuston via the Papal Cross and Wellington Testimonial. Both were looking imposing and generally splendid in the brilliant sunshine. Once at Heuston, we caught a Luas where we marvelled at the diversity of its human contents, then a quick nonstop diesel from Connolly to Malahide.

A brilliant relaxing day out with a good dose of sun to charge the batteries before the winter. Time to put the feet up now, and enjoy the last of the tomato curry. And hopefully our arms will have stopped aching by tomorrow!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Malahide station basking in sunshine and symmetry this morning	Provender & Family café in Parkgate Street (just across the bridge from Heuston station). We got breakfast baps and coffee here, for consumption in the People’s Park. Fabulous.

Tree fairy by the tea rooms in the People’s Park!	The walled vegetable garden by the Phoenix Park visitor centre. An oasis of peace and calm

Atlantic Giant pumpkins in the walled garden, looking all ready for Hallowe’en	Wellington Testimonial, the largest obelisk in Europe (Wellington was born in Dublin and brought up in Co Meath)

Papal Cross with spectacularly placed backlighting