Ireland day 1157. Thursday 28 November 2024- To London

Ireland day 1157. Thursday 28 November 2024- To London
Today’s summary Started a short trip to London with an 8:30 flight from Dublin to Gatwick. On arrival in the UK met a friend from the Netherlands for a walk on the South Bank then spent the evening with family in London. Back to Ireland on Saturday.
Today’s weather Overcast and after drizzly start in Dublin but mostly dry. Moderate south easterly wind. Appx 10c. Cold and sunny in London.
Today’s overview location
(The red and blue marks shows the location of my route)
Close-up location
(The red mark shows my destination)
(Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected):
Thames Path section
Commentary

Every now and then, both Val and I make time to travel over to the UK. We have lots of friends over there, and most of our family is on the other side of the Irish Sea, too. So while we are away here in Ireland, it’s important to us to maintain the links. After all, it takes years to build friendships and you can’t afford to lose them.   So, today was my turn.   I am making a visit that I had originally planned for September, but which I’d had to cancel because of shingles.

The 08:30 flight demanded an early start from Malahide. A 6am alarm just allowed time for a shower and a cup of tea before jumping into the Trusty Yaris so Val could give me a lift to the airport (thanks!). Once there, progress through security and boarding was smooth enough, though everywhere is so much busier than it was once we first arrived in Ireland over three years ago. The pandemic had something to commend it, in that respect, at least.

Once at Gatwick (half an hour late, because of fog) I quickly caught a train into London and was in the city centre by noon. On that note, for all their faults, I have to say that UK airports are generally much better connected to the city centres than their counterparts in Ireland. There’s plenty of room for improvement in Ireland – perhaps something for the new Government after tomorrow’s general election, to think about.

In the afternoon, I made my way over to the Tate Modern where I met up with a friend for lunch and a walk along the Thames Path as far as Rotherhithe.   The, in the evening went out for dinner with family at a new restaurant “Fowl”.   A long and tiring day, but excellent in every way.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Oh the joys of duty free shopping Essential fuel for the journey
Gatwick Airport rail station – it’s well connected Covent Garden this morning
Tower Bridge looking “iconic” – from Shad Thames Looking upriver to the Shard from Tower Bridge
Red sky at dawn – wonder what the weather has in store for Dublin today?
Interactive map

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

Total distance: 11598 m
Max elevation: 14 m
Min elevation: 2 m
Total climbing: 161 m
Total descent: -150 m
Total time: 02:37:16
Download file: Thames-Path-compressed-corrected.gpx

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