Suburban walkway No.5

This is a draft suggested by Andrew who being a local, lives in France.

Now this is a walk we used to do a long time ago:

Suburban Walkway No.6

This walk starts at the Community Complex in carrigaline. There is parking available but it depends on what’s on in the Complex and how busy the Playground is. If you are not familiar with the area I suggest a look at Mapquest to get yourself orientated because these are suburban streets with houses all around you. It can be hard to see the gaps between them.

The distance is about 5.2 miles/8.37Km, so again about 1 hr 30 mins but allow a little for route finding until you get to know it. Probably best to leave out the St John’s Well part in the evenings or during non-daylight hours. I advise caution or at least a high-vis vest otherwise because of traffic on those roads without paths.

So start in the Complex and go around the back to the artificial lake taking the path on your left facing the river. This brings you along the back of Seaview until you reach Wesley. Enter Wesley and walk on until you reach Church Road. Turn right. This can be a busy road at rush hour so cross safely and use the path. You will come to St Mary’s Graveyard and COI Church. Do stop for a look but there is no path here so be careful. You will turn left here up The Rock. The high wall on your left is given as an Old Pig Mart on a map of Carrigaline on the website. Again no paths along much of this.

Keep on going past the turn on the right (Lects Cross), past some bungalows on the left until you reach a turn into Heronswood Estate. This turn will lead you all through Heronswood until you reach the Cork Road out of Carrigaline. There is even a shop should you need refreshment. There are some splendid views out over Carrigaline (It’s suburbia, not Killarney, Ok!).

At the Cork Road turn left towards the next roundabout at which point you turn right up what’s called the Back Douglas Road (as far as I know). Bit of a climb here uptowards Dun Eoin Estate on your left. The view from the entrance to Dun Eoin is quite impressive. It is especially to be recommended on New Years Eve as it provides and excellent view of the fireworks displays that take place all across Carrigaline ringing in the New Year.

So now you have a choice. Keep on and visit St John’s Well or head down the hill into Dun Eoin.

So for St John’s Well just head on up the hill to take the next turn left. There is a short bit without paths and do be careful of the boy/girl racers coming from Douglas. There are some bungalows along this road which forms the entrance to St John’s Well. It’s a plesant little spot although I’d say it also acts as a gathering spot for the local youth and why not.

Just in front, facing south, you’ll see some green spaces. Head across the one on the left.

This is what it looks like from the outside. The Well is in the trees behind the van. 

You’ll be exiting from the park at the left hand side. As you leave this particular park, look up to your left to see Dun Eoin wall. A Dún is a castle in Irish, so it seems very appropriate and is quite impressive up close. It is a only buttress to stop the hill falling down and dates from the building of the houses.

 You can head up by this wall or straight across the green spaces to arrive out at the entrance to Dun Eoin. Take the road into the park directly infront of the entrance, head across the green to a pathway beyond the last house. This path leads up the hill into of Glenwood but you take a right and head down towards the rear of the National School. Here you find a pathway that leads through several estates until you can go no further. There is a lovely set of dwellings with steps to upper apartments. Beyond these you’ll turn left and finding your way out following the roads on to the Ballea Road. There is still a gap through which you have a great view across the Owenabue valley that is not yet houses.

The Clubhouse and pitches of Carrigaline Soccer Club greet you on the Ballea Road. Cross over to the path on the other side and head left back into Carrigaline. When you reach the Carrigaline Court Hotel and the RC Church, you can cop out, save your feet and head straight ahead to cross at the traffic lights and return to the Complex.

Alternatively, and to make the distance, turn right down the main street until you cross the river. Be sure to read the plaque at the corner before heading left along the river bank until the roundabout at Lidl. Cross here and check out the Sail sculpture before crossing the Guidel Road bridge and re-entering the Complex park (looking splendid and new at the moment).

Preamble to Suburban Walk No.6

This walk prompted some thoughts on suburban development, mainly because of the design of the little enclaves through which I was attempting to pass. I can fully understand why developers and potential residents might want to limit through traffic in the form of cars: in general they tend to be narcissistic morons incapable of consideration for anyone else outside the confines of the vehicle they occupy (I too have had my driving moments but thankfully I’ve grown out of it).

Part of me also understands that residents might choose to limit predestrian traffic to those who live in or have business in the particular “park” as I have heard Corkonians refer to what Dubliners call “estates” (Dubliners tend to get notions). This might make sense in terms of security if there were anyone actually at home during the day, which there wasn’t when I did this walk today. It might also make sense in terms of protecting kids when they play but excluding the vehicles takes care of this. There is also the question of teenagers “hanging about” but I’ll write about that old chestnut later.

There is a price to pay for excluding passing pedestrian traffic from you “area”. You divide your community up into enclaves, parks and estates and remove the possibility of accidental meeting of people just like you. You also exclude the possibility that these passing neighbours of yours might act as community watchers, protecting your home from preditors and providing a first response when help is needed in emergencies.

This gettoisation of the suburban environment from the design stage ensures that you drive in and out, passing the entrances of all the other “parks” along the way. It is just a small step to gated communities, if community is a suitable word. It may be my age but I had to wonder what it was going to be like for these people when their kids are grown and gone. They can sit behind their windows looking out but there will be nobody passing because they chose it that way many years before when they believed they didn’t need other people.

We can walk around our communities but only in designated walkways that pass nobodies front door. Not so long ago, the estate (I’m a Dub by birth) behind me attempted to block access to their “park” by gating off a strip of ground behind my house. Now this through way provided me with a fair share of nusance over the years. Stones, bottles and bits and pieces of unwanted toys found their way into my back garden. But these were sent my direction by the very residents of the “park” who now sought to block the walkway. blocking it would force much of this traffic past the front of my house but that was obviously not considered an issue. The route can be used as a predestrian access to our local shop, in the same way as the road in front of my house provides the same access. For me anything that faciltates people walking places rather than driving is to the good.

These little walks around our living spaces are vital for the proper development of our communities and of the children who live in them. When young, good parenting sets the boundry at the front door, the gate, then the park and then as far as the local shop. And so the limits are relaxed and the boundries extended, bit by bit. I’d like to think that when my kids were growing up and started to move around their community, they were constantly being observed and protected by passers-by. That’s what we always told them; “there is always someone who sees what your up to so behave, because we will hear about it”. We should praise those neighbours in our communities who care enough to let us know when our kids are doing what they shouldn’t be doing or are where they shouldn’t be. Unfortunately the trend now is to move them on, futher and further away from the public gaze and into the dark and shadowy places where they will more assuradly come to harm and it will be our own fault for we will have created the enviroment in which they are forced to grow up,

Suburban Walkway No.4

This is a looping route which can start either in Mahon Point or Harty’s Quay. I started at harty’s Quay this morning about 8.15 and was back in the car by 10.20. I spent a fair bit of time route finding and taking photos so  it should be about 1hr 30mins normally. The distance is approx. 5miles/8.1Km.

Starting at Harty’s Quay (W730695), follow the public path to the left of the appartments until you cross the footbridge over the South Ring. At the other side of the bridge turn left as if you were heading under the foot bridge and there is a path on your right: take this path. The path runs along the South Ring before turning north at the golf course.

Heading west  then north  until you reach the entrance to Bessboro House. The Cork Heritage Center is just here if you’d like to take a detour. From here head north (past Motorola) to the Skehard Road. Either cross here at the lights or take a left and cross at the next junction. You want to take Church Road, again heading north. Those with an interest in history will notice the buildings along the way which are of an earlier time, although many have been modified. You are now entering a much older suburb of Cork City.

At the top of Church road you meet a T-junction with Blackrock Road: turn left towards the city. Again note the houses along the way (19th Century?), especially the large gateways. Keep an eye out for Ballintemple House (to be confirmed).  Just beyond this house is Barringtons Ave on your right.

This is your access to the Atlantic Pond and the Marina walk along the river.  

At this point there is a shelter on the river bank and immediately behind you is a public path that runs along the route of an old railway line all the way to Crosshaven. This route does not follow the riverbank path to Blackrock (We’ll leave that for another day).

By following this path, you will be rewarded by some splendid bridges and even the remains of a railway station and signal box. Follow the path all the way back to Harty’s Quay.

The Mahon Point alternative is accessed via the public path between WebPrint and the South Link, just at the traffic lights where traffic from the South link comes up to Mahon Point. Park in Mahon Point and use the pedestrian crossing in front of Johnson & Perrots car showrooms to cross the road. turn left towards the bridge and the path is on your right. You’ll see the footbridge ahead of you. you can return by this same route.

Congratulations to Cork Corporation for this excellent walk. Maybe some day they could get together with the County Council and make a safe path between Monkstown and Carrigaline at Raffeen. This would make it possible to go all the way from the City center to Crosshaven without getting killed by cars or trucks. Maybe some day?

 

Suburban Walkway No.3

My third walk is from Carrigaline to Crosshaven along The Crosshaven Railway Walk. With sunshine like this mornings it is a wonderful experience indeed.

This walk is 3.8 miles/6 Km end to end and takes you from Carrigaline to Crosshaven Village (or vice versa). You can leave your car at one end and then bus (route 222 to and from Cork City) it back but check the timetables beforehand. It is certainly short enough to do the round trip but with the views and particularly Drakes Pool, leave some time to just sit. Unfortunately there can be quite a bit of traffic which makes it a little noisy but still well worth it. Avoid morning and evening rush hours and weekends. A visit to Cronin’s pub is recommended, for the decor inside and the carrot cake (if available).

You can start from Carrigaline itself as there is a path from the town center to the car park (W746621) on the left out the Crosshaven road just beyond the Industrial Estate. It adds an extra mile each way. Simply follow the path until you reach the Royal Cork Yacht Club (the oldest yadda yadda…). Here you will have to switch to footpaths. These are narrow and the traffic…. so hold on to the kids. Keep along the paths until you reach the main car parking area. (A further walk will take you on from this point up to Camden Fort on a loop route.)

Crosshaven is a day trip tourist trap and with the general boating crowd, parking can be difficult during summer so the Carrigaline start is probably best.

Now for the sounds of the walk.

On the subject of suburbs

As I am on the subject of Suburbs I went to that fountain of all knowledge, Wikipedia, and searched Suburb and found loads to consider. It’s accuracy doesn’t matter because most of us have experience of the ideas either through watching films or directly because of where we live. But what gets my goat is the fact that the consequences of suburban living (as understood in the British Isles) have been obvious for many years. Yet we, as a nation, have walked into it as if we were blind. And I mean the negative consequences for there are few positive ones.

It brings me back to Spiral Dynamics and the idea that individuals and societies develop as a result of solving the problems resulting from increasing complexity within their experience. If life stays simple, your response to it will remain simple and justifiably so. Unfortunately for many as life becomes more complex, indigroups (an entity for which the experience of the group is the same as that of the individual) continue to respond as if life were simple and offer what have become simplistic solutions or responses.

As a result of economic growth (let’s forget the tiger thing) life in Ireland has become more complex and it would seem that this mirrors the experience of other societies that have experienced economic growth but at other times in history. And I mean right from the start of the industrial revolution. But what I can’t understand is why politicians seem incapable of realising what is coming next.

In 2002 I met an Scotsman and an Australian lady living in Dublin who were able to tell me quite clearly what would happen next because they had already seen it happen in their own countries. Their main concern was at the pace of change and not so much the change itself. Yet our politicians, with all their European and international junkets failed to react with any form of realistic planning for the future. They failed to respond to increasing population, failed to respond to inward migration, failed to respond to population dispersion, failed to provide infrastructure in terms of health, education, social amenities, water and sanitation needs, anything. Why?

I think this puts the lie to the current official wisdom that the private sector works better than the public sector. The private sector will only respond to the market as it exists now. There are very few true entrepreneurs who see an opportunity coming. Most set up business in markets that already exist, providing new outlets or new versions of existing products or services. The private sector has tied it’s own hands by limiting it’s horizons to the next quarter’s results or the twelve month forcast. (browse Charles Handy for this idea). Only a not-for-profit public sector with solid value for money oversight can look far enough into the future to put in place the kind of macroeconomic responses a modern complex society needs. Rather than constraining the public sector, we need to untie their hands and foster their creativity, imagination and service orientation. Yes, cut out the burocracy but don’t cut out the heart with the cancer. 

Suburban Walkway No.2

This walk is 5.3 miles/8.51 Km end to end and takes you from Glenbrook to Douglas Village (or vice versa). The best thing to do is to leave you car at one end and then bus (route 223) it back but check the timetables beforehand.

Starting at Glenbrook (W772675) head north into passage along the footpath. Keep to the left path because there is one and also because you will spot signs of the old railway line along the way. In Passage cross the road in front of the supermarket and when you reach the small park turn right to meet up with the track that runs along the shoreline all the way to Hop Island (W738695). If you are lucky you will see, up close and personal, one of the large ships that use this channel daily.

At Hop Island the track ends and you again must use the footpath. The road can be quite busy during morning and evening rush hours so best avoided at these times. At Harty’s Quay you will pass the start point for Suburban Walkway No.1 with The Rochestown Inn across the road if you need it. Otherwise keep to the footpath heading west.

The Bloomfield Interchange is downright dangerous for pedestrians so take care going under the bridge. Probably best to cross over to the LHS, go under the bridge and then crossover to the footpath on the RHS further along the road. The car is still king and the drivers don’t even know you exist or probably even care. Orange Vmeme at it’s best at this junction.

Anyway continue along the footpath, past the Rochestown Park Hotel until you see a small exit only road from the Douglas Court Shopping Center. Save the legs by taking this route across the carpark, have coffee or whatever and you can pick up the bus on the roadway.

Suburban Walkway No.1

This route is A 4.7 miles/7.6 km loop walk. This morning (Sunday 8am) it took me about 1hr 30mins continuous walking as all else was closed. It starts and ends at Harty’s Quay (W730695)on the Rochestown Rd (R610). There is a County Council car park and parking along the road. The Rochestown Inn is across the road if you need refreshments afterwards. There are some really nice views along this walk and I would imagine quite impressive with a little sunshine. Probably best with a full tide. 

Thebus is the 223 from Cork Bus Station via Douglas to Passage/Ringaskiddy. The 202/210/219 will get you to and from Mahon to Douglas/Bishopstown or City Center if you want to start in Mahon or bail out halfway.

Standing at the gate of the apartments there is a paved trackway on your left. Continue along this crossing the red pedestrian (formally railway) bridge until you see the white footbridge in front of you. You will see steps down to a causeway on you right taking you west towards Lough Mahon. Follow this path along the shoreline until Blackrock castle comes into view. The path is currently blocked at this point. Take to the streets here keeping the green spaces/playing fields on your left all the time. You will see a sign saying no access to Mahon Point but this applies to cars. There is pedestrian access from 7am to 10pm through a small gate.

Time for coffee, food or take in a film in you wish but if not just cut diagonally across the carpark to the path leading up to the road at Johnson & Perrots car showrooms. Cross at the pedestrian lights (safely) and at the corner of the overpass there is a path between the South Link off ramp and the bow shaped Webprint building. Follow this path until you pass under the pedestrian bridge. Turn right along the bridge to gain access, then cross the bridge. This brings you back to where you started.

I forgot the camera so phots will be added at a later date (or when my daughter brings it back).

Suburban Walkways

I have been having a degree of difficulty lately understanding were I fit in, in the Ireland of today. It’s not that I am seeking to particularly join the “huddled masses” by any means but the world, society is changing around me and I think it would be useful for me to know where I am along the continuum of humanity among whom I have choose, to some degree, to live. There is always a risk when someone, especially a male, chooses to opt out of the norm. The risk is that in the absence of the one marker that nowadays locates you in society, your work, you become dislocated or detached from the rest of society. 

Thirty or forty years ago it was ones home place that marked you out. The question that immediately followed introductions was “Where you from?” The answer provided immediate information as to suitable topics of conversation, likely common acquaintances and fair indications of any sources of conflict. There were many times when announcing that I haled from Dublin, my country friend would ask if I knew John Joe who also lived in Dublin. My response of no, Dublin is a big enough place being greeted with incomprehension.

Today the question is “Keeping busy?”. The reply to which should include some indication of what you do, how mad busy you are and how long the commute is. Where you live is only relevant in relation to the size of the mortgage as there is no chance you could possibly live anywhere within a half days drive of where you were raised, even if you wanted to.

But what is, is. Splendid isolation went out with the mystics. One must learn to live the life one has if one is to grow out of it. I have resisted the traffic, the noise, the crowded places and the seemingly senseless idolatry of busy-ness for long enough. I am seeking therefore to re-engage with the conditions as they exist on the ground. I will continue to argue for a better, non-separative, vision of the future but not from the sidelines, from the center. Well maybe a little bit left of center or just in the flowerbeds moving towards the center.

You see I need to learn the skills of suburban living as I move inexorably on to urban living as I get older. Take that quizzical look off you face and I’ll explain. Humanity has evolved from hunter-gatherer, to pastoralism and so on until he has arrived at the megalopolis inhabiting urban dweller. The most complex societies existing on this planet are those existing in urban settings with high density populations. These cities offer the best hope for humanities future in several ways. Environmentally, they offer the prospect of a much reduced pollution footprint. Properly organised public transport, efficient and effective recycling of waste, maximum usage of scarce resources are all benefits of city life. There is a reason young people are attracted to cities. They can access a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-experience society.

So I figure there must be a way to live in these places and i’m gonna try to figure out how without selling my soul to the devil. I’m starting by seeking out places that are safe to walk, hopefully have the possibility of access by public transport and truly give opportunities for connection with the whole life experience. So the goal is positive experience, physical exercise and spiritual awakening in an urban context. I intend to include details of the walk, distances, photographs, maps, sat images, comments and experiences. See you there.