Ireland day 1502. Saturday 08 November 2025- Sunny Phoenix

Today’s summary	Had tea porridge and muesli for breakfast then caught a diesel into Connolly about 11:30. Lúas to Heuston then did our loop walk up the south of the Liffey, through Phoenix park to Farmleigh, then back to Heuston via the back of the zoo. Lúas and diesel back and in the flat again about 5:30. Kerrigans chicken and mash again for dinner and more of “The Windsors” on Netflix.
Today’s weather	Bright and sunny all day. Almost no wind. Appx 13c

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): Sunny Heuston Farmleigh Phoenix loop

Commentary

When we woke up this morning, sun was streaming in through our bedroom window and the sky was bright blue. What a contrast to the last few days! It was a joy to see it, so we didn’t waste too much time in deciding that we would go out and enjoy the weather.

First things first though, of course. Breakfast. I made some porridge, which we complemented with the artisan muesli that we’d bought at the farmers market in Roundwood last week. I put the last dollop of home-made blackberry and crab apple jelly on top, by way of decoration. A delicious start to the day, if I say so myself.

Then we left the flat, dashed down to the station, and caught a diesel to Connolly with only a short wait. That segued into a conveniently waiting Lúas which took us to Heuston, ready to start our day outdoors.

To keep things simple (i.e. no navigation) we decided to repeat a loop walk to Farmleigh and back via Phoenix park. We’ve done this route many times in the past and have very much enjoyed it every time. It combines woodland, wide open spaces and freedom. Lots of opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

So we hiked up to Kilmainham, and down to the south bank of the Liffey through the War Memorial Gardens. Then upstream along the riverbank to Chapelizod. Crossing the Liffey at the bridge and into Phoenix Park through the hole-in-the-wall turnstile gate, we beat a path to Farmleigh. There was time there to enjoy our packed lunches with a coffee from the slow-serving coffee cabin outside the café. Then we moved on to complete our walk by following the western and northern perimeter walls of the park, behind the zoo, through the People’s Park to Chesterfield Avenue and back to Heuston.

We thoroughly enjoyed every step, and the sunshine turned it into a refreshing uplifting journey. Well worth the effort to cover the 15km. We retraced our Lúas / diesel journey back to Malahide and, after a brief detour to SuperValu, were in the flat again by about 5:30.

The evening turned out to be pretty much a re-run of yesterday. Kerrigans stir fry for dinner, a decent glass of beer, and a couple of episodes of “The Windsors” on Netflix.

All in all, a very nice day.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Heuston Station. Journey’s start (and end)	Approaching the former Kilmainham Hospital, which nowadays houses the Modern Art museum. The thing that looks like a telegraph pole is an Artwork

Last of the summer roses still in bloom in the memorial gardens. We haven’t had any frost yet this year, I don’t think, to switch them into winter mode	By the turnstile entrance into Phoenix Park at Chapelizod

By the lake just above the Furry Glen in Phoenix Park. There were a couple of people fishing in it when we passed	Beech Avenue, round the back of the ornamental pond in Farmleigh. I don’t recall ever having been there before. It was a bit of a gem today, in its Autumn finery and with hardly anyone about

I’d never really noticed this plant before, seemingly thriving by the Farmleigh entrance. A bit of research revealed that it is “Society Garlic” (Tulbaghia violacea) which is native of South Africa. I thought it looked quite attractive today