My run today took me to a pub that I had heard about from a group of locals in the city. It’s called The Blue Light, and it is nestled up in the hills near Ballinteer. Off topic fun fact that’s where the main singer from The Script is from. Theres your lesson of todays blog.
Anyway, I was told that the place was good for the views and the live music, and it did not disappoint in either regard.
The Run
The run was quite challenging as it was sort of along the base of the continuous hills, so there was an up and down pattern repeating itself. Climb a hill, down a hill, climb a hill, repeat. I actually didn’t end up making the run all the way up to the pub because the hill road was very narrow with blind corners and cars flying up and down. So, I walked the last mile or so. The run itself ended up being 5.03 miles and I had an average pace of 9:41 per mile. This is a tad slower than my usual pace but I’ll blame the hills on this one.
The last mile walk up was cool, a secluded forested hill neighborhood. I even turned a corner and was confronted by a stag deer staring straight at me. Big antlers. Neither of us wanted anything to do with the other. I must’ve not looked very intimidating though, because he stood his ground.
The Pub
After arriving at the pub, I could immediately see what people meant by the views. It was beautiful. Standing at the outside patio, you could see the rolling hillsides and the whole city of Dublin clear enough to identify buildings. But the best part was the view of the Irish sea. You could clearly see the calm blue water and the little offshore islands and everything else there was to take in. The outdoor patio was just across the street from the main pub. I’m sure that it is a wonderful place to sit during the summer. The pub itself was a cool little cottage looking building with an indoor lounge section and a great outdoor area with a window bar service. I got a Guinness then took a seat outside. After about 20 minutes I found a seat inside in a little nook area in the corner. One of the best seats in the house if I must say so myself. IT had a direct view of the music that started at 9pm. It was about 8:30. The band playing was decent enough, nothing out of the ordinary and I wouldn’t pay to go see them but they were entertaining. I got talking to a younger couple that were seated next to me that lived nearby and they said the law for pubs to close is around 2:30, but secluded neighborhood pubs like this one will just shut the blinds and keep the music and dancing going for as long as its busy, which could continue to be around 5am. Sounds like great ‘craic’. I ended up leaving around 10 ish and had to order a cab because I was not about to walk down that road at nighttime. No thanks to getting hit by a car flying around the corner in the dark.
Overall the run was a less enjoyable one, but the pub was a more enjoyable one. Good thing both affect the rating. I can see the pub being a completely different place in the summer, so it might require a revisit here.
RATING: 7.3