Ireland day 1586. Saturday 31 January 2026- Departure

Today’s summary	Got up early and had hotel breakfast at 7:30 am. Checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the Stena port terminal at 8:15. Plenty of time to relax in the lounge before getting onboard and setting sail at 10:15 am. Good views of old haunts as we sailed out of Dublin port. A smooth crossing and scheduled to arrive in Holyhead on time just before 2pm. Then taking a train to Chester to stay with friends. Signing off from Ireland now after 1,586 days and starting the process of reflection
Today’s weather	Overcast and grey with light drizzle. Moderate westerly wind. Appx 7c

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): Last steps in Ireland

Commentary

Well this is it. Our last few hours in Ireland have passed, and I am writing this blog from the Stena Adventurer, somewhere in the middle of the Irish Sea.

I think we are both struggling to come to terms with the fact that we are leaving. Ireland has been our home for four and a half years, which is a substantial chunk of anyone’s life. So it will take a while to adapt to the world back in Britain, where we will have to develop a new set of familiar comforts to replace those we have left behind.

In terms of the day’s practicalities – we were up early again (this will never agree with me!) and down to breakfast in the hotel at about 7:30 am. Then we checked out and a taxi collected us promptly at 8:15 and sped us down to Terminal 2 at Dublin Port for the 10:15 sailing of the Stena Adventurer. After a brief wait (ok it wasn’t brief – we were almost two hours early – as usual!) in the departure lounge, we were whisked aboard by coach and then settled into the Premium lounge on Deck 7. Well, it’s a momentous occasion so we thought we would treat ourselves.

The voyage so far is smooth and efficient – although the vessel seems to be rolling a bit more than usual, which is surprising as it’s only a force three wind and a one meter swell. I guess the weather, such as it is, must be hitting us broadside. We are scheduled to dock on time just before 2pm and from Holyhead we are taking a train to Chester. We are staying there for a couple of nights with friends, before heading onwards to London on the train on Monday, complete with all our remaining precious Irish possessions crammed into our bags. In fact we are kindly being accommodated by the same friends that we stayed with on the night before we came to Ireland all those months ago. A satisfying bookend to our trip.

I had grand plans to write a lengthy valedictory blog today, reflecting on the chapter in our lives which is just closing. Perhaps I will do one day, so come back in a few week’s time and see if I’ve been able to muster the energy.

But for now I’m running out of steam and after 1,586 blogs, I’m finally calling it a day.

“This is the way [it] ends,
Not with a bang but a whimper“

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Last view of Malahide – from the hotel bedroom window, looking over the carpark towards Seamount, just as it was starting to get light	We’re travelling as foot passengers, so coach transfer from the departure lounge at the ferry terminal, and onto the ship, was needed.

All aboard!	Last view of the Poolbeg Lighthouse.

29 September 2021	31 January 2026. Older and wiser.

The view from the bridge. I wonder when we will next be onboard?