Ireland day 1160. Sunday 01 December 2024- Baldoyle Coast DWC

Today’s summary	Took the bus down to Sutton and joined the Walking Club for a leisurely stroll up the coast to Malahide via Portmarnock. Lots of chat and lots of coffee stops. A very enjoyable way to round off the weekend. Val was working at Wonderlights so didn’t join me. I was back in the flat by about 4:30, then she eventually returned about 10pm.
Today’s weather	Mostly bright with some sun and a brief shower in the evening. Light south westerly wind. Appx 11c

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The red 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): Sutton to Malahide via Portmarnock DWC

Commentary

I had enjoyed my brief trip to London last week, but it was also nice to be back in Ireland again, especially as there was a Walking Club outing just down the coast in Sutton today that I wanted to join.

Unfortunately, Val couldn’t come along with me as she was Wonderlighting in the evening. So we had a slow morning catching up on the news over a cup of tea before I eventually set out at 11 am, leaving Val with a couple of hours’ peace and quiet before starting at the Castle.

A short wait and the 102 trundled into view over the bridge by St Sylvester’s church, ready to speed me on my way down the coast to Sutton station. I arrived slightly late for the 11:30 walk start, mainly because the new diversion of the bus route to Portmarnock station adds a few minutes, especially when the traffic is snarled up by the Strand Road junction, as it was today. Anyway, everyone was still at the station when I got there, enjoying a coffee from the station shop, so I didn’t miss anything.

Our walk was led today by Alice (to whom many thanks!) and headed north from Sutton, up along the coast to Baldoyle then briefly inland through the scrubland on the site of the old racecourse. Once in Portmarnock, I dropped into the petrol station to get a sandwich for lunch then we paused to eat in the small parkland area off the Strand road. Note to self. Although eating in restaurants (as I did a lot in London) and petrol stations (today) is convenient and tasty, it’s not very healthy. I need to do better.

After lunch, a few of us walked on by the golf course to reach the Velvet Strand. At the north end, the others decided to go to the hotel for coffee but I decided to get a takeaway from Spar and enjoy it in the fresh air of the beach, rather than in the confines of yet another café. After that, I finished off the last leg to Malahide along the coast road, dropping in to Tesco en route to pick up some bargain two thirds-off yogurts. I was back at the flat by about 4:30pm.

Now I’m settling down for a relaxing evening contemplating a good, sociable (as always) day walking but a spectacular dietic failure. Anyway, Val should be home by about 10pm, so I’m sure there will be lots of Wonderlights news to discuss, then I’ll pick up on the diet again tomorrow. Life’s such a yo-yo, but important never to give up!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The wheels on the no. 102 go round and round!	Laid-back ruminants keeping an eye on our progress along the Baldoyle Greenway

Solitary egret by the ruins of the old tidal mill on the Sluice River	I came too!

Cheery chappie enjoying the sunshine	Ireland’s Eye catching the low-angle sun. Only three weeks until midwinter’s day now!

Lunch stop part 2 – in the bathing shelter at the north end of the Velvet Strand. There were plenty of swimmers out, celebrating the first day of December today. Mad.