Homeward Bound

From Castlebar we went to Maynooth, a university town in Co Kildare, not all that far from Dublin and on the Royal Canal. On arrival we were astonished by the traffic jams. This was because the centre of the town was being sealed-off for a cycle race. By slightly devious means, Martin managed to park his car in the centre just by the front door of our hotel.

After checking-in and marvelling at the sumptuous rooms, we went to watch the cycle race and eat fish & chips. With a relatively early start the next morning, we retired to make the most of our rooms.

The next day we headed to Dublin Airport to drop off Daisey and Laura, and then returned to the city centre. Over a cup of coffee, Gille showed me how to spin using a hand spindle. One of the first things I did on my return home was to make one and experiment with spinning different types of wool. I need another lesson...
Gille left for the airport to catch her flight back to Copenhagen. I had time to visit the National Gallery of Ireland. I met-up with Martin at the airport for our journey back to Manchester. The flight took us low over the Irish Sea with a clear view of Anglesea, the Wirral Peninsular and the Mersey.