Grown ups at Lulleymore

So, today the whole community trogged off to Lulleymore for the day, armed with packed lunches, then back home for a fish dinner courtesy Macari's takeaway. It drizzled all day, then poured thankfully after we got home. The drizzle only slightly limited our activity - we live in Ireland after all. The purpose of this post is not so much to describe what we did as to observe the strange behaviour of grown-ups. We had agreed to do something together first of all, before splitting up. So we hung around waiting for this one and that one to be ready for a together walk around the property. How long does this take? It has been suggested that the time waiting to get started is proportional to the number of people involved, possibly exponentially. Part of the waiting was because some had to get their coffee fix. Whilst waiting I went outside and did a quick recce of the place and still got back well before the others were ready.

My run took me around Lulleymore

After we had (eventually) done our together things, and consumed our various lunches, and digested same, I decided to go for a run and found the Bog of Allen. I left the road at the bottom of my aerial view where I found a warning sign prohibiting the unauthorised use of quads and horses. So I figured that gave me free passage to run barefoot. Barefoot running is much kinder on the environment than shoes anyway.

The long straight cut

I found that Irish bog is generally quite firm and slightly springy to run on, with occasional wet and more boggy bits, and thus is excellent for barefoot running. I completed my circuit and returned to find the same handful of grown-ups still hanging around. The children and some more adventurous grown ups were enjoying themselves in the well equipped indoor children's play area. I did a quick recce of this: slid the slide, clambered the rope bridges, fell in the plastic-ball-well, after which I went out again for more running and, on returning the second time, found that the grown ups (but not the children or me) had had enough and wanted to go home. At 3pm and having spent vast sums to drive here and gain entrance to the property. I could have explored much longer. Such are people.

This bog railway is on the property but not in use

The boglands are serviced by ad-hoc railways for carting the cut turf and the park property has its own circuit which, sadly, was not in use.  Instead they have a "road train" which is not quite the same thing. Perhaps they intend to switch to a proper railway version in time. Certainly they have invested a lot of expense and effort in the various attractions so far.

I had always thought those bogs that they told me in school pervade the centre of Ireland were boring places, places to avoid in preference to mountains and lakes and beaches. But I now know otherwise. I can thoroughly recommend bog running.