Ireland day 1583. Wednesday 28 January 2026- Farewells

Today’s summary	Got up, had breakfast and spent a couple of hours tidying the living room and cleaning the windows. Then walked up to Avoca at the castle to meet our Walking Club friend Garry for farewell coffees. Returned briefly to the flat then took DARTs to Howth to say farewell to another Club friend, Alice, over teas at the Insomnia café. In the evening we had fish fingers and chips for dinner then Val went to the Grand Hotel for farewell drinks with her friend and former colleague Tara
Today’s weather	Dry and bright with some sun. Light south easterly wind. Appx 8c

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): Evening in the woods

Commentary

Our last few days in Ireland are turning out to be quite busy, and a bit of an emotional roller-coaster.

Not only are we trying to clean the flat, pack up everything that we want to keep into three suitcases, and dispose of everything else, but we are also having to say our goodbyes. Colleagues from Val’s work, friends from the Walking Club, and – of course – the Trusty Yaris too. Although it’s quite satisfying to get organised and to tidy up loose ends, its also quite sad and I think we will both be quite glad when it’s over.

Anyway, turning to the day’s proceedings. We started, as usual, with tea in bed. Although we have drunk up the nice Barry’s Gold Blend loose-leaf tea now, so we are making do with some teabags that I found sculling around at the back of one of the cupboards as I was clearing out the kitchen. OK but not quite the same.

Next was a spot of cleaning and tidying in the living room. I started on the windowsills and skirting boards, and those dusty corners behind the sofa that never normally see the light of day. Val, meanwhile, worked on the main bedroom and started cleaning the oven. Then I tried cleaning the living room windows – which was more an exercise in generally moving the dirt around than a genuine clarification – but at least I tried.

Then it was time to say the next of our many goodbyes. We had arranged to meet Garry – one of our Walking Club friends – up at the Avoca café by the castle, for coffee and scones. A real treat, and lots of stories to be told. Afterwards, we meandered back through the castle grounds – where we bumped into one of Val’s “Wonderlights” colleagues, and said our goodbyes to her.

Back at the flat, I just had time to try cleaning another window, then we set off down to the station to catch Dart trains to Howth, changing at Donaghmede. On the Howth-bound train, we bumped into another Walking Club friend, so we were able to bid her goodbye too. Then, once at our destination, we made a bee-line for the Insomnia café – the site of many Walking Club gatherings – to meet up with our friend Alice. We enjoyed cups of tea (and a rather nice Almond Croissant) and exchanged stories, memories and small gifts. A bittersweet moment – lovely to chat with a good friend, but sad to think that it will probably be some time before we meet again.

After a couple of hours, we retraced our steps to Malahide via the DART, and repaired to the flat to do a bit more cleaning. Eventually, we had both tired of all this domestic drudgery, so we called it a day and went on a quick spin round the Demesne, before it got completely dark. On the way back, we dropped into Macari’s takeaway to get a bag of chips – which we had with fish fingers (in Val’s case) and a Tesco pop-pop curry that I retrieved from the freezer (in mine).

Later in the evening, Val went out to say yet more farewells over a drink at the Grand Hotel, with a friend and colleague, Tara, from the museum. I put my feet up and started planning how to use the time tomorrow to finish off the cleaning, sorting and packing so we will be ready for the final check-out at the end of the week.

What a day!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Tree surgeons at work! Up in the demesne, dealing with the aftermath of Storm Chandra	Goodbye no. 1 – meeting Garry at the Avoca café in the Malahide Castle demesne

A happy sign on the Avoca courtyard walls – a late hangover from last Autumn, or a harbinger of next Spring, perhaps? It’s hard to tell, but it looked nice anyway	Flooding everywhere around the cricket pitches near the castle

Goodbye no. 2 – At the Insomnia café in Howth where we met up with Alice	Teatime treat – chips from Macari’s in Malahide

Checking out the castle – the site of many dark December nights worked by Val – on a bright and breezy January morning