Ireland day 1441. Monday 08 September 2025- Navan Recce

Today’s summary	In the morning, did some washing and went on a short walk around the Demesne while Val went to the salon in Malahide. After lunch of oatcakes and hummus, we drove out to Navan to do a recce in advance of a trip to the races next week. Took the opportunity to go into the town afterwards to have a look around, get a coffee, and do some shopping. In the evening had super-tasty polenta, mozzarella and ham bakes for dinner.
Today’s weather	Mostly bright with some warm sunshine but occasionally heavy downpours. Light south westerly wind. Appx 16c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The blue 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): Navan recce

Commentary

Even though we are supposed to be taking things a bit easier at the moment, we still seem to be packing quite a lot in. Today was no exception.

After breakfast (coffee, biscuits and fresh papaya, I’ll have you know – a special treat and very nice too), Val went off to Malahide to be pampered at one of the salons, while I put some washing on and strolled round the Demesne on our usual circular walk. I thoroughly enjoyed the bright sun and relative lack of wind.

Once we were both back, it was already time for lunch but, having only just had breakfast, we didn’t need much. A cup of tea and few oatcakes with hummus and tomato sufficed.

Next on our agenda was a trip to Navan. We’ve got friends staying next week and we’re spending a day with them at the Navan races. Since we’ve only been to Navan once before – and that was almost four years ago – we thought it might be a good idea to head out there to recce the scene before committing to our day out.

It was a straightforward and quite quick trip from Malahide to Navan racecourse. An hour or so, up the M1 and N51. There was nobody around when we got there, but access seemed easy and there was plenty of parking. So our proper day out next week should be ok (famous last words!)

Afterwards, and since we’ve didn’t really know Navan at all, we drove into town, parked up, and went on a short stroll around the centre. It’s the usual mixture of modern shops, nice cafes and restaurants, and occasional shabbiness. There are various campaigns to to re-open two different rail lines to the town, which would certainly improve its attractions. But they don’t seem to be going anywhere at the moment so it will be a long wait.

We took advantage of one of the cafés to get a decent cup of coffee and a waffle, then dropped into a couple of shops to get some obscure items that aren’t available in Malahide. A “dipping pen” from Easons, and Zoe Health “gut shot” kefir drink from M&S. All very eclectic.

It took a few minutes to drive out of Navan, as it was peak going-home time by then, but eventually we escaped the traffic and made a swift journey back to Malahide.

This evening we’re having polenta mini-bakes with mozzarella and ham for dinner (delicious), with a glass of vermouth to accompany it (ditto). Perhaps we will watch a bit more TV later, but our thinking hasn’t quite developed that far yet. At least one part of our day has to be spontaneous!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The cricket stands are now pretty much finished here in Malahide demesne	View over the rolling countryside of Meath from the racecourse

“The Bull of Navan” sculpture in the town square outside our café. It’s supposed to commemorate the town’s livestock fairs	Awaiting delivery of refreshments in Leon’s café

St Mary’s (Catholic) church	Navan Town Centre (or so the sign says)

There’s a beautiful old bridge (the Pollboy Bridge) over the Boyne close to the town centre – but it’s almost impossible to see unless you fight your way through a shrubby verge and climb over a fence. The oldest parts of it probably date back to the 1300s.