Hiking and Bagels

Looking at Bray Head from Bray

Yesterday I woke to a beautiful, clear, bright, wind free day. I was very pleased because I had arranged to go hiking with my friend Sally and after spending the weekend feeling rotten I was feeling much better (thanks antibiotics) and dying to get some fresh air and exercise. We had decided to hike from Bray to Greystones where we would have a coffee, or in my case a peppermint tea, and get the dart back. The walk started off well, the weather was perfect and clear and we could even see a seal basking in the sun, then we saw another and another and another. My camera wasn't good enough to get a picture but we suddenly noticed that seal no. 3 had a square head and seal no. 4 was soooo not a seal. In fact we were admiring buoys although Sally is convinced the first was a seal, I'm not so sure!

Looking over to Dalkey and Killiney.

Shortly after we came to a sign warning us that the path ahead was closed so we decided to carry on and see how long before we got to the closed bit. Eventually we got to the barrier but saw that a new path had been trodden and we could continue our walk. So continue we did when we came to a fork in the path we could see a barrier on the left path so took the right which led us to a dead end. Here there was a path through the undergrowth but that came to an abrupt end. We had been walking for well over an hour and Greystones was within site whereas the path back to Bray was long and already trodden. I found a waterfall and suggested walking down the side of it. We were having an adventure and I love adventures and always the first to jump in with a (some may say crazy) idea. Sally felt she might fall flat and suggested we cut through the fields.

I have to add here that had we climbed down the waterfall I would have been the one to fall flat on my face as I am known as the clumsy one! There's a story involvimg the Avon Gorge and me running down it but I think Mum plans to tell that one!

I've done plenty of walking in fields and know that some have right of way for the public and some don't. I guessed these probably didn't so was a bit scared of bumping into a farmer, (give me the waterfall any day)! So we walked around the edge of two fields and could see no sign of the road. We were also getting further away from the path and Greystones and closer to the farmhouse. Thankfully Sally suggested turning back, I was very pleased as I had visions of a big farmer and his gun coming after us.

We walked back to the fork in the path ( I looked wistfully at the waterfall begging me to climb down) and went down the other path. When we came to the barrier we could climbaround it and continued onwards to Greystones. We shortly came to the reason for the barriers:

As you see the path has suffered from erosion quite badly just in this place. I hope they fix it soon because it is a lovely walk on a clear day. We made in into Greystones and luckily for me Ben was going to play with a friend after school so we had plenty of time to mooch around Greystones and enjoy a bagel (sausages and cream cheese) for lunch.

Glendalough

Yesterday saw the annual 47th Ballybrack Scout Andrew Carroll Memorial Hike. All family and friends of children who are in 47th Ballybrack beavers, cubs, scouts or venture scouts are invited and yesterday 98 brave (some may say stupid) people turned up for the event. Being scouts or relatives of scouts from Ireland we knew we had to come prepared for the weather. Those of us who had done our homework knew the forecast wasn't great but the day started bright and reasonably warm for this time of year.

Glendalough is a famous Irish landmark, though it's not where St Patrick chased away the snakes (which is a myth). St Kevin Founded a monastery in Glendalough (read more here) in the sixth century the remains of which are still there today. All around the monastery is the most beautiful Wicklow countryside including the Wicklow Pass and Sally Gap. There are a variety of walks here ranging from short and buggy friendly to long, steep hikes. The Wicklow Way also runs through this area.

As always the hike started with a climb up the side of a waterfall at the top of which we joined a path that sweeped it's way up the mountain. The weather although a bit dull was clear and the view of the lake was fantastic. The path up the mountain seemed to go on forever and ever and Ben (possibly the youngest there and the only little one who walked the whole way) was lagging behind a bit.

Here he comes stomping his way up the hill.

Not very happy because his boots had started to rub, so it was time for a plaster stop. Shortly after the drizzle started and we all put on our rain coats. Ten or fifteen minutes later the drizzle turned into rain so out came the waterproof leggings and still we hiked upwards. Ben and I were bringing up the rear, along with four of the leaders. Paul (Dillon's scout leader) offered to give Ben a piggy back but Ben (stubborn as he is) refused and started walking at twice the pace. We soon caught up with the rest of the group who had stopped by some thick trees for lunch.

Everyone scrambled up the bank looking for cover under the trees so they could eat lunch. Ben managed to drop his roll so it got soaked through and was inedible! Luckily I had plenty of fruit and chocolate to give him energy. After lunch the leaders decided to head back to the car park via the quickest route and not continue upwards as planned. Ben was determined to get back to the car and off he walked quickly and quietly with his head down. By this time most of us realised our waterproof trousers were really only shower proof not gallons of rain proof. We don't know how waterproof Dillon's are as he was the only scout not to put his on!

We arrived back to the car park about three and a half hours after we set off and were greeted with hot soup and sandwiches served by the ventures. We all gathered for a group photo then it was home for hot bath.

The Svelte Skinnies Club.

Today the svelte skinnies club decided to hike to the top of the world, well as close as you get to it from County Wicklow. That's right we climbed the Sugarloaf Mountain. When I suggested it to the other svelte skinny it was in the middle of a storm so we decided to only go ahead if the weather was good as we didn't want to get blown off the mountain, (she did suggest tying weights to our legs to prevent that!)

It was a bright, sunny day today so we donned our hiking boots and set off at about 9.20am. As you drive halfway up the mountain the climb is fairly short but the last section is very steep and today the wind was very strong just for this section.Yet, despite leaving our weights at home, we were heavy enough to avoid an unpleasant death. By 10am we were at the top with wonderful views of Dublin and Wicklow. Unfortunately it wasn't clear enough to see the Mountains of Mourne or Wales, as you can on a really clear day, but nevertheless the view was fantastic.

On yer bike!

Awoke to another bright, sunny but chilly day! Dillon had an orthodontist appointment then it was home to clear up the Halloween decorations-much as I love putting up the decorations I also love to get them down immediately an event is over! Dillon was great helping me and lugging all the boxes back up to the attic.

Next we had to decide what to do on such a cheery day. Ben's choice won through so we loaded the bikes into the car and headed off to Marley Park. I enjoyed my brisk walk around the park and Ben chose a route we'd never been down before. We stumbled upon this:-


We have never seen it before and assume it is a sculpture although it looks uncared for. It was here that Ben fell into some holly and pricked his hands and bottom!


We continued our walk/cycle around the park and saw lots of ducks. As usual I forgot the bread. Well if I'm honest I didn't have any bread at home to bring but if I had I would have forgotten it!


We ended up in the playground, and Mollie and Ben had fun running around and climbing. Then it was time for a quick cycle around the BMX track. Next stop home for a cup of tea and a new cookie recipe to try out!

We Love Bank Holidays!

As today is the last Monday in October it is a bank holiday, so we decided it was time for an outing to the National Aquatic Centre (NAC). The NAC was built when Dublin hosted the Special Olympics and needed a competition pool but it also contains Wild Waters which is the closest thing you get to a water park here. There are three slides:- the black hole, the green giant and the master blaster; as well as a surf ride, a lazy river, a jacuzzi pool,a pirate ship and a wave machine. Dillon decided to stay home and go cycling with his friends, so the cost for a family of four was €39 and you can stay for as long as you like which makes it pretty good value.

We arrived early as, from experience, we knew it was quieter and we would not need to queue for the slides. It was practically empty and after persuading Ben to try the slides we had great fun. Ben would only go on the green giant although he did try the black hole at the end but found it scary. Mollie, Joules and I loved the master blaster which involves sitting on a huge inflatable ring and whizzing down the slide whilst being spun around. Mind you I didn't enjoy the time I flipped off the ring backwards and landed on my shoulder! Joules also liked the black hole which was temporarily closed when I went to have a go. Although Mollie and I went down the green giant we found it hurt our backs when we lay down as we went over the joins in the slide. As Ben sat upright he didn't have this problem.

After three hours of fun we were feeling hungry so found a TGI Fridays to have lunch in. The smell of the burgers being cooked was delicious and just what we needed after three hours in a pool. Ben and Mollie ordered chicken fillets and chips, Joules a BBQ burger ultimate (ultimate means two burgers!) and I ordered a Jack Daniels melteroy burger. My burger was very good, I'm not a huge burger fan but this tasted like a burger should, hearty and meaty. The burger sat on a bed of iceberg lettuce and tomato with onion and gherkin (which I gave to Joules). On top of the burger was bacon and cheese topped of with a Jack Daniels sauce which was sweet and suited the burger. We all agreed the homemade chips were the best we'd had and all the food was finished very quickly! Ben and Mollie still had room for dessert and Ben opted for a bowl of chocolate and vanilla ice cream while Mollie chose worm and dirt pie which was vanilla ice cream with a chocolate fudge sauce and jelly worms (they'd run out of worms so she had jelly rings instead). Mollie said this was the best pudding ever comparable only to the cookies and cream dessert Dillon and Joules had in Tu Tu Tango on Sam's birthday in Florida.

All in all we had a very enjoyable Bank Holiday Monday.

Swimming

So the clocks went back last night and we got an hour extra sleep-hurray!

I took Mollie and Ben swimming in the blue pool today. It was a fun swim which means that the pools are filled with toys, floats, rafts and balls. Mollie had great fun trying to stay upright on foam toy in the shape of a cotton reel and Ben spent most of his time on a float shaped like a frog which was his speedboat. We only had a minor panic at the end when we couldn't open our locker and I had visions of us going home soaking wet in our swimming togs. Luckily with one swift bang the pool attendent was able to rescue our clothes!

Another Manic Monday

Well not a lot to write about today. I went for a lovely walk this morning from my house up over Killiney hill. The sun was shining over Killiney beach and the view was beautiful, alas I had no camera to capture the scene. Dillon was feeling unwell and went to bed before Ben last night, he was still poorly this morning and spent most of the day in bed only feeling better at 2pm when he got up and ate lots of toast and marmite.

The afternoon was spent dropping Ben and Mollie to their tennis lessons. In between I decided to make the apple recipe I had earlier spotted on winosandfoodies. It looked delicious and I had all the ingredients. Unfortunately I couldn't get our printer to work so was running between the computer screen and the kitchen aware that I only had 15 minutes before I had to take Mollie to tennis. I got it made in time (just), it did not look very appetizing, in fact Dillon asked me if the recipe said it was meant to look like vomit. When I took it out 50 minutes later it definitely did not resemble the photograph and I was all set to throw it in the bin. Dillon was brave enough to try it and said it was yummy, so I decided to be brave and try it and yes it did taste good.

The boys were out rollerblading this afternoon. Ben has been out practising a lot for the last week and Dillon has been teaching him. He has now mastered the art and is very excited about going ice-skating this winter, (last winter he tried and didn't like it)!



And finally a picture of Dillon, he tried hard to not let me take one but I managed to!

Match Of The Day

I wasn't sure if I wanted rain when I woke up today. Why would I want rain on a Saturday morning? Well today was the day of the BIG MATCH. Glenageary Killiney National School girls versus their mums. If this was anything like previous matches we could foresee the result, and if it rained the match would be cancelled. Mollie and I arrived at the school to be met by lots of girls (about 30) and a few mums (8) plus two dads. Where were those errant mums who had dropped their kids and scarpered? Three brothers and a teenager joined our team along with six of the youngest girls from first class, who looked very cute but we were a bit worried about knocking them over. The match started well. I only embarrassed myself once by completely missing the ball when it was mine for the taking and I defended well blocking lots of the girls attempts in goal. Half time was called and we were 2-1 up. During a quick drink break Mollie scored a goal into the empty net, was seen by the referee and when we started the second half the score was 2-2! Well things went from bad to worse for us mums (and dads), the boys and teenager swapped sides and we were overpowered. Final result 4-2 to the girls. We went home wet (we had played through a heavy rain shower), muddy and tired, but I'm glad it wasn't cancelled and can't wait for the rematch next year!

A day well spent

I started today (after getting kids up, making three lunches, doing the washing, sorting out the dishes etc etc) with a lovely walk around the nature reserve in Glen of the Downs, County Wicklow. My friend Sally took me there after I had admitted to never having been there. It was a place she went to frequently with her family when she was a young girl. We walked for an hour and a half, it was a beautiful morning with the sun shining and it was warm for this time of year.



Of course we were busy chatting on the way up but when we came down we noticed many things we had missed, such as the many varieties of mushrooms growing in the woods



and the beautiful cobwebs glistening in the morning sun.



After our walk it was time for a sit down, refreshment and more chat. We went to Marc Michel's organic farm. A first time visit for both of us, although I had heard about it from Marie my mother-in-law and Mollie who had been there on two school trips returning with lovely organic fruit and vegetables. It is a large working farm with one large greenhouse adapted into a shop and cafe. We opted for the cafe section and ordered coffee for Sally and a peppermint tea for me along with a scone each. The tea had the most esquisite flavour better than other organic brands I have tried and we both agreed the scone, although huge, was light and very moorish; unfortunately we were given a huge butter each (wasteful) and tiny jam (beautiful flavour, just not enough). Overall our snack was delicious and much better value for money than our usual haunt. We read the lunch menu and agreed that we'd love to go back and sample it one day.

The shop sold many different seasonal fruit and vegetables along with a large range of organic foods including nuts, seeds and cereals. I came home with kiwi fruit, potatoes, a cuecumber and the most delicious looking lettuce. I can't wait to eat them all!



I rushed back from my morning out to help at the cake sale. It was a great success, my packaging was much admired and everything was sold. I came home with a lemon cake, chocolate brownies, fudge and flapjacks (as requested by Dillon). The only thing Ben would buy was a pack of my cookies and Mollie requested I buy one of my chocolate cakes (I refrained as I can bake another one easily enough)!