De Burgh Woodland Gardens and Naas Mills

Image courtesy and © Tailte Éireann.

I was late as usual heading out on my Sunday cycle, and this week it was a relatively short trip to Sallins after the long cycle to the Glen of Imaal the previous weekend. My sister had informed me that the De Burgh Woodland Gardens were open again this year. The woodland area, located just off the Sallins Road on Mill Lane and once part of the De Burgh Oldtown estate, has been developed over the last couple of years by Kildare County Council, the land having been transferred to Naas Town Council in 2011. I guessed the gardens would probably close around 5 pm and sure enough when I got there at 4:40 pm, I only had five minutes to walk the trails by the time I got my bike locked, and removed bags and lights and all the other stuff that could easily be stolen. I didn't get a chance to take any photos, but the place looks nice, although quite dark because of the tree canopy. It is woodland of course, although there's a pond at one end, which I didn't manage to see. As usual when I visit these places, I often investigate the area the next day on Google Maps and Tailte Éireann's Irish Townlands and Historical Map Viewer to find out the historical function of some of the structures I might have noticed. On 19th century maps, a large rectangular pond existed to the right of the entrance to the park. From satellite imagery this seems to be overgrown and from what little can be seen on Street View over the wall from the vantage point of Mill Lane, it appears marshy and populated by irises. The pond was fed from a mill race or stream that originated on the Ballymore Road and this is still in existence. On the c.1900 25" OSI map, the mill race is shown running alongside the Union Workhouse (now the old part of Naas Hospital). This is the stream that was dammed to create the lakes at Lakelands. The mill race then continued to Corban's Mill (located near what was Lawlor's Ballroom) providing power to it before taking a sharp left, running under Corban's Lane and at the back of St. David's Castle. From there, it ran alongside what is now the John's Lane car park (which used to be the Superquinn overflow car park), before becoming a culvert running beneath main street and emerging to the surface a couple of hundred metres away at McCauley Place. From there, it continued parallel to the Sallins road towards a corn mill (with associated mill pond), shown as "Fryar's Mill" on the 25" map, before running under Mill Lane into the De Burgh Woodland Gardens.

Image courtesy and © Tailte Éireann.

 

Image courtesy Google Maps.

The Kildare County Council owned De Burgh Woodland Gardens are open Thursday to Sunday, April – October, 9am – 5 pm. More information here.

Map images courtesy and © Tailte Éireann. 

Solar Panels, Local Mines and an Adit in Hollywood Glen

© Eugene Brennan

I cycled up to the Glen of Imaal yesterday afternoon. My route took me via Kennycourt to Grangebeg, Lemonstown, Hollywood and then up the steep road from Donard to the glen. I usually go this way because the road is quieter, with very little traffic and then return via the busier but more downhill Knockanarrigan road.

The L8333 road from Hollywood to Donard runs parallel to the N81 and through the picturesque Hollywood Glen. It's is one of my favourite places in west Wicklow, lined on both sides by tall pine trees and rocky crags in places.  A planning application has been lodged recently to Wicklow County Council on behalf of Wicklow Renewables Ltd for a solar PV development  and battery energy storage system (BESS) facility in the area. According to the planning application, the site will cover an area of ca. 65.4 ha and consist of an array of solar panels, 192 BESS units comprising 22 modules, a 38 kV substation and other ancillary works. The location of the proposed solar development is on raised ground behind the treeline in the photo below. The boundary of the proposed development extends southwards and to the west towards the N81.

Hollywood Glen. © Eugene Brennan

Notice about planning application by Wicklow Renewables Ltd. © Eugene Brennan

Mines Local to Kilcullen

Apart from the Modubeagh and Gracefield coal mines near Wolfhill, one of the nearest mines to Kilcullen was the Deerpark Colliery near Castlecomer, which opened in 1924. Anthracite, a high carbon coal, also known as "Kilkenny Coal" and used before coke for ore smelting, was extracted from the  mine. This was  transported on a dedicated branch line that ran through Castlecomer and joined the Waterford & Maryborough branch of the GS&WR, itself a branch of the Dublin to Waterford rail line. The Deerpark colliery closed in 1969.  The region south of Ballylinan, (located 6 km south of Athy) including parts of counties Laois, Carlow and Kilkenny, is riddled with the remnants of now closed coal mines.  These mines tapped into several anthracitic formations that are part of the Leinster Coalfield. Mining has also taken place in Wicklow since ancient times and one of the most well known mining areas is around Avoca, where sulphur, lead and copper were extracted. Lead was mined at Glendalough and also in its sister valley, Glendasan.
A useful resource is the OPALS (Online Prospecting Application Licensing System) interactive webmap, from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, which  provides locations and information on historical and current mineral exploration and mining in Ireland.

OPALS (Online Prospecting Application Licensing System) interactive webmap. Image courtesy and © Tailte Éireann

Hollywood Mine

Halfway between Hollywood and Donard and now overgrown with briars and lady ferns is what appears to be the entrance to an adit. The adit is partially flooded and the echo of water dripping from the roof can be heard. While a mine shaft is a vertical structure, an adit is a horizontal passage that extends sideways into a mine. This is marked on the c. 25" OSI map and is denoted as "Spa Hole" and "Iron Mine Disused". I haven't been able to find any information so far on this working, other than a geological report on the glen that indicates it's a glacial feature, deeply carved by high-energy, water run-off as ice melted. The second map below from Geological Survey Ireland shows audited sites, with links to reports accessible by clicking the link in the pop-up.

Entrance to Spa Hole adit. © Eugene Brennan

"Spa Hole" marked on 25" OSI map. Image © Tailte Éireann

Audited Geological Heritage. Image © Tailte Éireann Geological Survey Ireland

Golden Brown in Laois: Investigating the Barrow Way

© Eugene Brennan

My second long cycle of the year was an 80 km / 50 mile loop on Sunday that took in a section of the Barrow Way. This is a walking and cycling trail along the Barrow Branch of the Grand Canal and River Barrow that stretches a distance of 117 km, from Robertstown in County Kildare, to St. Mullins in County Carlow. My cycling route was cross-country to Athy via Narraghmore Bog, Mullaghmast and the new N78. Then along the Barrow Way from Athy to Vicarstown and back home via Kilberry Bog, the outskirts of Suncroft and Ballysax. Grit trails have been laid along the canal banks in the last decade or so to make cycling and walking easier.

Kildare is a flat county, but the region of south Kildare and County Laois near Athy is characterised by exceptionally large, flat, open fields, almost prairie-like, cultivated with barley in the summer. The golden brown of the corn contrasts with the "big skies" and unobstructed views of the horizon.

© Eugene Brennan

Apart from admiring the scenery along the Barrow Way, I spotted some interesting engineering features. The first was the Camac Aqueduct at Derrybrock in County Laois. This is a three-arched aqueduct, built over the Stradbally River in 1790, to carry the Barrow Branch of the Grand Canal. As far as I know, marl, a soft grey clay, found at the bottom of bogs, was used as a sealer for waterproofing the masonry joints of aqueducts. In the documentary series Hands, marl was also used by one of the operators of Powers Foundry in New Ross for lining the furnace to prevent the casing from being burned by the intense heat. The Camac Aqueduct seemed "leaky", water dribbling from the top of the arches. Maybe this is normal for these structures.

Camac Aqueduct in County Laois. © Eugene Brennan

At Derrybrock Bridge near Vicarstown, I came across an OPW hydrometric measuring station, similar to the Kildare County Council owned and EPA managed one at the Mill Stream bridge on the Mass Path in Kilcullen. While the monitoring apparatus in Kilcullen is somewhat low-key and wouldn't be noticed by the casual walker, the station at Derrybrock is more obvious. A large, and what appears to be a broad-crested, flat-V weir, similar to the one in Kilcullen is used to backup the water so that it rises in level.  The monitoring equipment, powered by a solar panel, projects out of the side of the riverbank. The "V" in this weir is more obvious than the one in Kilcullen, with the arms of the "V" rising up out of the water on both sides.  Various types of profiles are used for weirs: rectangular, parabolic, trapezoidal, flat-V and V-notch, each having their advantages and disadvantages. Flat-v weirs are used for measurements in rivers and streams with low flow rates and narrow stream beds. Some info on the different types and flow calculations here. As  I explained in the article about the Mill Stream hydrometric station in Kilcullen, weirs are used for measuring water flow. A weir causes water in a stream or river to backup and rise in level. By measuring the level using an ultrasonic or pressure transducer and doing some calculations, flow rate can be worked out. This hydrometric data can then be used for planning, water management, flood research etc. Information on the EPA's hydrometric programme is available here. It's part of the National Hydrometric Programme, with other bodies such as the OPW, the ESB and Waterways Ireland also involved in measuring water level and flow. Data from a network of over 1000 hydrometric stations around the country can be viewed on the EPA's Hydronet website.

Derrybrock Hydrometric Station. © Eugene Brennan

Instrumentation for measuring water level. © Eugene Brennan

Flat-V weir. © Eugene Brennan

Flat-V weir. © Eugene Brennan

Weir view from Derrybrock Bridge. © Eugene Brennan

Lifebuoys in Valley Park and Access to River

Lifebuoy in the Valley Park, Kilcullen. © Eugene Brennan

I've just been thinking about these. There are three lifebuoys on the west bank of the river: one at the low section of river bank near the bridge, another further up opposite the canoe club building and the third is on a section of river bank that's high above water level, just before St. Brigid's Well.  There aren't exactly any points near the river to safely throw the lifebuoys without slipping. For the middle buoy, the slope is steep and slippery and there's just a small muddy patch near the water's edge. The grass here seems to be flattened, possibly from people making their way down to the edge to fish or to allow dogs to swim in the river. Or perhaps KCA have cut the grass for access. This section of the river as far as I understand it, up as far as the bend adjacent to St. Brigid's well is dangerous, deep and with strong currents, the location of the so called "Sally Hole", where the fast flow probably scours out the river bed.  For the lifebuoy up near St. Brigid's Well, which is on high ground, there's no access to the river. 

Would it be a good idea to have simple steps down to the water's edge, similar to the steps that were put in place near St. Brigid's Well between the upper and lower trails?  Maybe some gravel could be put into a cut out section of the river bank, although that would probably be washed away by floods. Or possibly concrete pads/a strip could be installed? Would that have unforeseen consequence and encourage people to congregate near the edge and start jumping into the river to swim, where it's dangerous?

A trail/boardwalk close to water level along the west bank of the river would be nice as a future project, similar to the River Walk in Ballymore Eustace, and that would provide access. However we saw what happened to a similar structure on the Camphill Farm and Nature Trail.  Landslides I guess could be a potential problem though. Decades ago, there was a good view of the river and bridge from the road near St. Brigid's Well. That's now largely obscured by trees and other vegetation.

Responsibility for deployment and maintenance of lifebuoys is shared between local authorities and Water Safety Ireland. 

Lifebuoy near St Brigid's Well with no access to river. © Eugene Brennan

 

Access to river near middle lifebuoy. The slope is almost 45 degrees here. © Eugene Brennan

River Walk in Ballymore Eustace. © Eugene Brennan

Two Lifelines to Kilcullen

38 kV line that carries power to Kilcullen. © Eugene Brennan

Today was a busy day! First I had to scoff my dinner quickly (well half of it!) to be up at Dún Ailinne by 1:30 for the site tour. There was an open day today at which archaeologist Dr Susan Johnston of George Washington University gave us an update on what work had been done so far this summer. Dr Johnston has been investigating the neolithic and iron age ceremonial site since 2006, alongside a team of archaeology students. On the walk back, I snapped a picture of the pylon near the motorway bridge, that carries the power lines that supply electricity to Kilcullen. Those lines come from a substation adjacent to the turn for the Glen of Imaal on the N81. Electricity is transmitted at 38,000 volts or 38 kV from the Stratford substation in Wicklow, before being dropped to 10 kV for distribution by the transformers in the Kilcullen substation. What's interesting is that all the power for Kilcullen is supplied through three cables, probably not much thicker than a half or three quarter inch rope. In fact if the voltage was much higher, say a few million volts or so, those cables would only have to be the size of the wires on your phone charger. As you may remember from a previous article, Why are Voltages So High for Electricity Transmission?, one of the reasons for using such high voltages is to reduce current and hence power loss in cables. If we need to supply gas or water to a location, pipes have to be physically greater in diameter if we want to transport larger volume flow rates at the same pressure. That's because gas and water are actual stuff or matter. However energy isn't matter or a tangible quantity that takes up space and which one could hold in their hand. It's a property of matter. So it doesn't necessarily need a large conduit for transmission in the same way that water does. In fact in principle, superconductors the thickness of a human hair could supply the power demands of a city.

38 kV distribution line to Kilcullen. Map Data © OpenStreetMap | MapLibre | OpenStreetMap, Open Infrastructure Map 

After having the rest of my dinner, I headed off on a cycle trip to Ballymore to do the 5k loop. I took another snap here of the outflow from  the Ballymore Water Treatment Plant, which crosses the trail on the loop and also the river. I think this is the original feed that supplies water to the reservoir at Old Kilcullen. There's at least another main that heads northwards to Dublin. Over 10 years ago, the water mains were upgraded to the reservoir. The new lines operate at a higher pressure, so they can supply a higher flow rate, even though the diameter is smaller than the original line. In fact Kilcullen now actually receives most of its water from the River Barrow, water being pumped from the Srowland Water Treatment Plant near Ardscull to the reservoir at Old Kilcullen, where it's mixed with Liffey water.  The tank is so cavernous that lorries were being driven around inside it during construction, or so I'm told.

Water mains from Ballymore Water Treatment Plant. © Eugene Brennan

 

© Eugene Brennan

Gear Grinding

Lawn mower gearbox. © Eugene Brennan

Using diamond burrs to square the teeth of the freewheeling gears from the lawn mower gearbox. They were rounded with wear and slipping. A bit like being a dentist (They use a similar tool, but it's pneumatically or hydraulically driven rather than battery powered. My dentist showed me all the bits they use) Almost finished now. Crude, but worth a try to see if it'll work. The alternative is €55 for a new one. Still have to do a MacGyver job on the driveshaft bearing which has worn and come apart. I've got lots of ball bearings, but none the right size.

Two Repair Jobs Today: Replacement Wheel Bearings and New Bushing for the Secateurs

Wheel bearing replacement and new bushing for secateurs. © Eugene Brennan

I still have to put the mower gearbox back together after doing some dental work on the gears' teeth. Not sure whether it'll work, but it was worth a try. I got replacement bearings for the wheels yesterday from Amazon. One of the bearings on the back axle had corroded after five years from turning the mower on its side to hose it and remove caked-on grass. Water getting into the bearing rusted it away totally. Anyway I'm going to have to make some sort of protective shroud that'll slip onto the axle and act like an umbrella when hosing. The old bearing, or rather what was left of it, was really difficult to remove from its housing or "sheath" as it's called in the parts description. Bearings are usually put into housings using a bearing press and are a tight fit with a small tolerance. But this one had also rusted into place and so was stubborn and refused to come loose. Because the back of the sheath was tapered, I couldn't tap the back of the bearing to push it out. So I had to grind a narrow groove with a diamond burr, cracked the outer race (the thing the balls run around in) at this point with a chisel and then was able to use the corner of the chisel to get enough purchase to bend and snap a chunk off the race. That reduced the force on the sheath allowing me to prise the rest of the bearing race out. The new bearing was pressed into place in the jaws of a vice, taking care to do it evenly.

 

Worn secateurs

 

The pivot hole in one arm of the secateurs was worn, so the jaws didn't move parallel to each other when closing, affecting cutting of thicker branches. Rather than throw it out, I made a bushing ring from scrap tube of a suitable diameter which reduced the hole size to what it was originally, so the pivot bolt returned to being straight.

100 Years of the Shipping Forecast

Generated with Bing Image Creator.

You may have heard Joe Duffy's segment earlier in the year on Liveline about the BBC Shipping Forecast. It's broadcast at 00:48 on BBC Radio 4, preceded by a short piece of light music, "Sailing By", before the station closes down at 1 am. On LW, the frequency then carries the BBC World Service. For some, the forecast is like a soothing mantra, the repetitive structure and intonation or melody of the words easing them off to sleep. The forecast is also broadcast later in the day at 05:20, 12:00 and 17:55, and provides detailed weather reports and forecasts  for the seas around the British Isles. In this documentary, from last January,  Kilcullen man Al Ryan who is a BBC presenter, amongst others, spoke about the shipping forecast. It celebrated its centenary in the early hours of this morning, 4th July, expertly read by Al, who always signs off with "oiche mhaith", before the national anthem is played and Radio 4 closes down.

The BBC World Service originally broadcast on shortwave in Europe, but transmissions on the SW bands ceased in 2008. It also broadcast to Britain on MW, but transmissions ceased in 2011 on 648 kHz due to budgetary constraints. It still broadcasts on 198 kHz LW when BBC Radio 4 closes down at 1:00 am. This was useful for anyone with a bedside radio having an LW band. I've been listening to it and Radio 4 on and off since the 80s. However with the amount of electronic gadgets in a house nowadays generating EMI, including chargers, burglar alarms and broadband modems, that has becoming increasingly difficult because of the interference. Radio 4 transmissions on the LW band were scheduled to end  because of increasing costs of maintaining the network, although the BBC didn't specify a date in this article from  2023. Transmission is energy intensive and parts for transmitters are becoming harder to come by. According to this article in The Guardian from 2011, only a small number of parts are still available for the transmitter. Also there's a shift from listening on radio to online and many radios no longer have an LW band. A transmitter in Worcestershire and two additional transmitters in Scotland are operated by a private company, Arqiva. According to a more recent article on the website Keep Longwave: 

"In personal correspondence seen by the Campaign to Keep Longwave, a BBC representative stated, ‘we have not made a firm decision as to when we will close the Radio 4 LW service’".

Linked content, courtesy the BBC. The BBC in no way endorses content on this blog.

 

Gadgets for Connecting to Old Hi-Fi Systems

Image courtesy Amazon.ie

This sort of gadget might be useful for those of you who have older hi-fi systems and want to stream music from your computer or mobile device. It's a Bluetooth receiver that has left and right, line-out outputs with RCA connectors for connecting to red and white line-in (sometimes called "Aux" ) connectors on audio equipment such as a hi-fi system. Cables are also available (or can be made up) to convert between line-out and DIN 41524, 5-pin connectors, sometimes used for auxiliary input on older equipment.

An alternative is to simply use a modern TV (which will have WIFi and Bluetooth connectivity) to generate the line-out signals for connecting to a hi-fi. Some modern TVs don't have red and white line-out connectors, just a digital optical output, however adaptors are available for converting this back to line-out for connecting to an older hi-fi system without optical input.

Hi-fis that only have phono inputs

My old Sony hi-fi from circa 1993 doesn't have twin line-in input connectors, just RCA phono connectors for the turntable. Although the connectors are physically the same as the RCA type used for line-in/line-out, phono inputs only accept low-level signals of a few millivolts (mV) generated by the cartridge on a turntable (the cartridge isn't powered and the signal isn't amplified). Apparently vinyl recordings use what's known as RIAA equalisation, low frequency sounds being attenuated during recording. The input pre-amp in a hi-fi or "stereo" that's connected to the phono input then does the reverse: cancelling the attenuation of low frequencies that was done during recording by boosting low frequencies on playback, resulting in an overall flat response. I won't explain why, but you can read more about it here.

Gadgets like this one are available that convert line level signals (from e.g. a TV) that are typically almost half a volt peak to the mV levels required by the turntable input. They also use a passive filter to attenuate low frequencies, simulating RIIAA equalisation.

Image courtesy Djbox.ie

I haven't personally used any of these converter adapters. Depending on what you pay for them, some are probably better quality than others and like like any intermediate system that converts and filters signals, noise and distortion will be added which degrades the final output. So sound quality won't likely be as good as when directly connecting line-out from a device to line-in of a hi-fi/amp.