Laying on the beach
Laytown – Sounds like a small town where people favour only one side of the book. But its actually a racecourse in Ireland. Since 1876 Laytown has hosted a single annual horse racing meeting on its beach – one of only a couple on sand (held on the beach) race meetings run under official rules of racing in Europe.
The BBC have made it the subject of a documentary, titled Racing the Tide, and have included passages in their Coast and Countryfile programmes. I see CNN have got the bug this year. This race course captivates me and whenever anything does that, there is only one thing for me to do. If you are a regular reader of the blog, each year for a number of years I have said I will visit it. This is the year!
After a really busy and successful Summer I’m having a quiet week and enjoying a less hectic schedule, so it seemed an easy choice to slide Laytown into the schedule. Barring any last minute problems I’ll be there for the first race at 2pm. Proof, if ever it were needed, that technology and change doesn’t destroy industries, it just brings in a whole new set of customers.
I’ll post up a summary of my experience when I return and have the time to do it justice. Looking forward to a good craic and a few pints of the black stuff.
More information available at: –
https://www.meath.ie/Tourism/SportsandActivities/Horseracing/LaytownRaces/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laytown-Races/440226310435
Category: Horse Racing
