Ireland day 1213. Thursday 23 January 2025- Diversions

Ireland day 1213. Thursday 23 January 2025- Diversions
Today’s summary Got up early and drove Val to the airport for a morning flight. She’s off skiing in Switzerland and back in just under 2 weeks. Once back in the flat afterwards, I took trains to Sutton and did an anticlockwise walk round Howth headland. Harder work than I expected and a couple of path closures meant extra climbing. Came back on the 102 and was in the flat by soon after 1pm. Spent the rest of the day relaxing and joining a Webinar on the prehistory of Wessex (UK).
Today’s weather Heavy rain first thing but soon cleared with some sun by late afternoon. Moderate south westerly wind. Appx 6c
Today’s overview location
(The green mark shows the location of my route)
Close-up location
(The orange line shows where I walked)
(Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected):
Howth Headland and Diversions
Commentary

It’s been another full-on day in Malahide today. It began with an early start – Val had a 9:40am flight so we were up and away in the car at 7:30 for the airport run. She’s going to Switzerland for a skiing trip, travelling via London, and will be away for almost 2 weeks.

Once she was safely at Departures, I returned to the flat, got a quick breakfast, and then jumped straight on a train to Sutton, via Howth Junction. I’d been reading the tide tables and realised that as low tide would be in the early afternoon, today would be a good day to do a loop walk around Howth Head, with a return along Burrow Beach. But to catch the tides meant getting a move on, so my 9am train I judged would give me the right amount of time.

I had a quick and efficient journey to Sutton and started walking about 9:45am. I walked down to Sutton Cross and from there took the Howth coastal path in an anticlockwise direction. It was mostly straightforward – and unusually (blissfully!) free of other walkers. Heavy rain earlier in the morning had made the path muddy and slippy in places, so a bit of extra care was needed on the exposed sections.

The only slight hitch in my plans came midway round the circuit, when I found the path had been closed for repairs – in two of the most scenic places, actually. I was sorry to miss these bits, and the diversions also involved some extra climbing. But glad that the paths were being well looked after. A workman I spoke to said the closure would only last a week or so “weather permitting” (a bit of a forlorn hope at the moment, probably!).

I didn’t stop at all en route, as I was keen to extend pace, distance and stamina, so eventually completed about 16km in 2h50m. Not bad, but I found it harder going than I had expected, and a bit slower than I had hoped. There’s still plenty of scope for improvement and – I have to confess – the bottle of wine that Val and I polished off last probably didn’t help.

Once back at Sutton, there was just time to get a coffee and croissant before the 102 rolled in, ready to speed me back to Malahide.

One of the amazing things about getting up early is that you seem to be able to fit a lot into your day. So I was back in the flat with Val delivered and walk completed, by not much after 1pm. That left plenty of time in the afternoon to get showered, speak to Val in London on a video call, and even to join a rather interesting Webinar on the prehistory of Wessex (England) in the early evening.

By the end of all this I was ready for something to eat, so I heated up a pop-pop Spaghetti Bolognaise that I’d bought half price in Tesco a few days ago. Then I wound down the day with a bit more of my book, some travel documentaries on YouTube, and an early night.

Maybe getting up early does have its merits though to be honest I can’t really see myself making a habit of it!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Quite a few cheery daffodils have started showing their colours – they seem early this year, which is odd as the snowdrops seem later than normal Martello Tower guarding the northern approaches to Dublin Bay
Looking south over Dublin Bay with the Baily lighthouse on the promontory in the middle distance I’ve been watching the sale and redevelopment of this fine house above Howth for several months now.   I learned from the planning notice affixed to the security fence that it is called Tara Hall.   Clearly the new owner has spent a huge amount of money on it – it appears to have a new roof and to have been completely gutted internally.   Looks smart – though I’m not really sure about the huge glass extension at the back, overlooking the harbour
On the last leg – Burrow beach, with tide fully out, looking over towards Ireland’s Eye Finished!   Just time to pop in and get a coffee..
..before the 102 arrived to take me back to Malahide
Interactive map

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

Total distance: 16262 m
Max elevation: 113 m
Min elevation: 0 m
Total climbing: 484 m
Total descent: -484 m
Total time: 02:50:24
Download file: Howth-headland-circuit-compressed-corrected.gpx

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