Forty Foot moment

On a sudden whim, I decided to take advantage of the pleasant early-morning weather and go for a walk (well, it was going on for 10.00 when I headed out, so maybe not all that early). It really was glorious, with bright sunshine and blue sky and pleasantly warm temperatures, which improved all the time as I made my way to the seafront and along to Sandycove and the Forty Foot. Everywhere was abuzz with walkers and cyclists and swimmers and the like, and I quickly entered into the spirit of things, enjoying every moment of what turned into quite a decent ramble for an hour and a half or so. I stuck as close as I could to the shoreline, which involved exploring a number of dead-end laneways in the hidden parts of Sandycove and brought me almost as far as Bullock Harbour.

The last time I'd been to the Forty Foot there'd been lots of evidence of improvements being made, and everything was unveiled today. Most of the changes are around 'the back', where the sunning platform has been re-laid, the committee hut has been refurbished, and new steps and railings have been put in place to make entry to this part of the sea easier and safer. It's all been very well done. The main part hasn't changed at all from what I could see, and was as popular as ever this morning, with lots of hardy souls splashing around in what I'm sure must have been quite chilly water. Like me, though, this girl on the rock was just looking' as were the birds who were keeping an eye on her.

After brunch Carl and I went out for what was never intended to be a pub crawl but somehow turned into one. We took a food break around 7.00 and had some okay food in Bits & Pizzas. The biggest surprise of the day, though, was how much we enjoyed the time we spent in Farrell's pub, on the top floor of the Dún Laoghaire Shopping Centre. It really is a bit of a kip, to be honest, but there's no denying that it has lots of 'character'. It's firmly stuck in the 70's, and looks as if the most that's been done to it in the last thirty or thirty five years has been to get the odd lick of paint. We stayed there much longer than we thought we would, and thoroughly enjoyed our time there.