JULY Sketching Trip to the Mount Usher Gardens
Details
2nd UPDATE: Hi all, hope you've all been keeping well. Just a final update for what is happening tomorrow in terms of meeting time etc. Mags kindly sent us some good tips about the trip even though she won't be able to join us tomorrow:
"Once everyone is at St Georges Quay for 11.45am as the 12pm bus is very punctual and if anyone comes later than 12 noon they will have to wait another hour for the next bus. I am not sure how much the return bus fare is I think maybe between €12-€16.
The journey takes a little over an hour and we get off at Ashford village, there is only one stop in the village and the gardens are a 5 minute walk away. Individual admission is €7.50.
There is an Avoca Cafe there but it is always very busy and pricey. But there is another shop that sells snacks and there is also Chester Beattys across the road which if memory serves me right does bar food. The return buses to Dublin leave Ashford at 15 minutes past the hour every hour so it is advisable to leave the gardens at least 15 minutes before the bus is due."
Again, the Bus Eireann time-table for 133 is here. Scroll to the LAST PAGE for the correct bus times for Sundays and Public Holidays:
http://www.buseireann.ie/timetables/1439547719-133.pdf
Please note, the bus operates from Dublin Airport and the first pickup point is Georges Quay.
I'll be carrying a big orangey-red sketchpad so that new members can recognise me. I'll have my mobile with me of course.
That's it. Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow :) I'll send all the attendees my mobile number now so that you could text if there's any issues.
UPDATE: Dear all, very sorry we had to cancel today's trip (Sun 19th June) due to bad weather and drop-outs - thanks very much to all of you who alerted me with your updated RSVPs and texts as it makes making the final decision easier.
Nevertheless, this is a most gorgeous venue so we're definitely not giving up our chance to visit it for a sketch-out so easily. I am therefore rescheduling this to Sunday 31st July. I just checked Accuweather that that weekend is mostly sunny (the previous weekend may be a washout with thunderstorms), so we should be okay (fingers and toes crossed).
Thank you again everyone for all your interest. I am sorry again that I couldn't host a outing in May when we had ALL the sun as I was super-busy at work, so it's bad luck that when I could organise it in June that today it doesn't work out. I hope for those of you new members who are around at the end of July, that this outing to Mount Usher Garden will be a great introduction to sketching in the great outdoors around Ireland.
See you all in July!
===== Details from the June outing below ======
UPDATE: Sorry guys we've had to cancel after all as almost everyone has dropped out at this stage (10:45am). I think the combination of bad weather with the relatively long distance (to Wicklow especially for those on public transport) as well as the fact that this requires an entrance fee put people off when we couldn't get the best out of the visit, and given that this meetup follows our poor fortunes in the Euro football match yesterday couldn't be helped... Thanks everyone for alerting me in time ahead of the trip, as it made it easier to make the final decision.
UPDATE: Hi Guys, thanks so much for signing up for tomorrow's sketching trip to the Mount Usher Garden (and sincere thanks to Mags for suggesting this as a sketching venue in the first place!), and sorry for my delay in updating details here, but work has been a bit crazy. Anyway, hope we'll have a pleasant rain-free day tomorrow.
I have updated the meeting time to be 11:45am at the 133 Bus Stop at Georges Quay. The bus departs at 12pm.
The Bus Time-table is here (Thanks Mags!):
http://www.buseireann.ie/timetables/1439547719-133.pdf
Scroll to the last couple of pages for the Sunday bus times.
If we get the 12pm bus from Georges Quay, we will arrive at the Ashford stop around 1:15pm.
(Those who may wish to arrive by 12pm at the Garden, there is a 11am bus from Georges Quay, which arrives at the Ashford stop around 12:15pm.)
So it depends on which of the bus times we can all make it tomorrow. Like our previous trip to the Powerscourt, I think as long as we keep in mobile contact we'll find each other even if we have people arriving on a later bus.
My mobile number is 089 410 6739. I will be at the 133 bus stop on Georges Quay at 11:45am for the 12pm bus.
There's so many things to do at Mount Usher, which is spread over 22 acres -- have a look at the lovely Tree Trail brochure about the over 200 plant specimens we could be sketching tomorrow:
http://www.mountushergardens.ie/images/mount-usher-gardens-tree-trail.pdf
http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/1/6/6/9/600_451205737.jpeg
Please note there are entrance fees for this private park:
Adults: EUR7.50; Students/Seniors: EUR6.50
Now if it rains, I will understand if you don't manage to come, please update your attendances on the Meetup page so that we know not to have to look out for you.
Those of you still keen to go whether rain or shine, be prepared to bring a brolly as well as your sketch pads :)
The great thing is that the Mount Usher Garden already has a lovely Avoca Garden Cafe that we can escape to if the rain gets too much:
http://www.mountushergardens.ie/gardencafe.htm
The Garden is open from 10am to 6pm. The cafe itself closes at 5pm (Food Hall until 5:30pm). There is a bus back from Ashford House at 6:15pm.
So if we arrive around 1:30pm at the Garden (bus arriving at Ashford House at 1:15pm), then we'll have about a good 5 hours at the Gardens to explore and sketch and have tea break.
Thanks so much everyone for your attention above, see you tomorrow :)
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Just the date and location for now with rough timing. More details to follow!
For now please check out these links:
JULY Sketching Trip to the Mount Usher Gardens