Bypass road trips, beach visits and outdoor picnics – What people did to celebrate county-wide travel this week

A number of Level 5 restrictions were eased earlier this week and while, yes, it doesn’t feel like a whole lot has changed, even the smallest bit of progress is positive and we’ll take what we can get at this stage. 

Confined to exploring the 5km radius surrounding our houses for what feels like an eternity, we’ve become very familiar with our local amenities by now. From our favourite neighbourhood coffee spot to the corner shop that’s seen us trudge in and out its doors in varying states of disarray, spending time in our area and discovering different hidden gems we may not have happened upon otherwise has kept us going… but I think it’s safe to say that we’re all very ready to venture a little further afield. 

Dreaming of a post-lockdown world and all the things I can’t wait to do again, can either make me very, very excited or very, very sad – thankfully, on this occasion, the former is true, as things are finally starting to look a little more hopeful and knowing that I can journey out to the sea once again always guarantees a wide, albeit fleeting, smile. Finding myself living just over 5km away from the coast, I’ve spent many an evening wishing I could go for a quick dip and I’m positively giddy at the thought of throwing myself into the freezing cold waters. Sounds mad, and probably is a little bit, but don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.  

We asked some of you what you got up to this week now that the travel restrictions have been extended somewhat and answers ranged from cruising down the newly-finished Sallins bypass in Kildare (a very 2021 road trip if ever we heard one) to finally making it to the beach to enjoying a picnic outside in the park. 

Today they increased the travel distance to 20km so, naturally: pic.twitter.com/EXewVC3Zu0

— Very AFK Michael (@Cromwelp) April 12, 2021

While the majority of readers agreed that they don’t feel much of a difference with the change in restrictions, many of you said that you won’t get to enjoy your newfound ‘freedom’ until this weekend so here’s hoping that the sun shines and your Saturday morning pastry run to that new place you’ve been eyeing up across town is as glorious as you imagined it would be. 

Feature image by Sarah Finnan