Now that Covid has (or the official rules concerning Covid have) retreated somewhat, my Free Travel pass is burning a hole in my wallet. So I decided on a leisurely beginning. The rule of the game is that the trip must cost nothing, or at least very little. That rules out using a car or a B&B or purchasing much in the way of kit.
I took the 07:10 bus from the end of our road not yet fully decided on a destination, and ended up getting off at the Square, Tallaght and taking the Luas tram to Dublin Heuston station and boarding the train for Cork. At Mallow I changed to the single-track Killarney line and rode all the way to its terminus at Tralee. Here I disembarked somewhat perfunctorily - to convince myself and any interested railway staff that I had arrived at my final destination (they were not interested) - and then re-boarded. I guess I was at my final destination there for less than 10 minutes before the train retraced its wheels back to Mallow, thence to Heuston, the Square, and finally back home. This must be the furthest you can go from my home in one day using public transport. The total cost (to me) of this trip was the €3.80 I rashly spent for an overpriced and underrated coffee on the train.
On my last foray at Killarney station I pointed out the strange track alignment indicated above. To depart from Killarney towards Tralee the train has to reverse and come to a halt in a siding. The driver then switches ends (he walks through the train corridor to do this) and the points are set so that the train, going forward, now branches to the right and thus towards Tralee. With a reverse procedure on the return journey. Which process takes time and must be a trial for the driver.
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| Sun rise over our lake, from the bus stop |
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| Loughmore Castle |
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| Carrauntoohil over there somewhere |
