We’re in Dun Laoghaire, just a little outside of Dublin.

We’ve been in to Dublin a couple of times – a much nicer town than either of us was expecting. The city is full of life, with pubs overflowing all over the place – helps that there was a friendly football match between Celtic and Liverpool being hosted this weekend! The fans were all very amicable.

We toured all over the place – and managed to secure the purchase of a Portuguese Mandolin – which turns out to be harder to play than I expected. However, determined to be able to play at least one Irish tune by the time we reach the UK.

The Irish do a great job in decorating buildings with beautiful flowers and there are several very pretty parks in the city that are used by all.

We thought we might enjoy tea at the Sheldon Hotel – until we saw the price – €40 seemed a bit steep! So we opted for more of the black stuff down in Temple Bar.

Abigail has been rather more adventurous – and athletic – with nighttime trips into the city and a long hike in the nearby town of Bray.

Today we’ll wander around the smaller Dun Laoghaire and then head out this afternoon for an overnight sail to Whitehaven or Barrow-in-Furness (according to which way the wind blows) – for an afternoon arrival, when the 8M(!!!) tide will be in…