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| Glendalough An early christian settlement in the Wicklow Mountains, about 30 miles south of Dublin. It was founded by a hermit priest in the 6th century and partially destroyed by the british about 600 years ago. Our weather was quite mercurial so the photo above was subjected to some heavy photoshopping - but it still does not capture the serene beauty that even a proud atheist can appreciate! |
On our way to the Wicklows and Glendalough, we stayed overnight Blessington (a sister city of Gesundheiton). This small town features a few nice pubs and stores and feels a million miles away from Dublin (but is somehow only 31km). When we asked where we might find some traditional music, the barman's answer was 'in town' and we later discovered that this means Dublin.
We lodged in Avon Ri, which looks like this (picture copied from google images):
Since it was off-season, we got an incredible rate and enjoyed the pool. Unfortunately, the archery, hiking trails, zip-line, and other advertised adventures were unavailable, but...GOATS!
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| Declan's love for animals has only grown. He still yells the name of our dog "Pepper" when he sees Daddy's shirt with a lab on it. And "Bobby" for every horse..
On our first day, we ventured to Russborough House, a nearly 300 year old Palladian Mansion that is the main attraction to the grounds. From the pictures in the link, we decided that the idea of 3 mini-Bowie's rampaging around inside made the idea of the guided tour a bad one.
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Instead, we found a great play area that featured mostly natural building materials...
...an old enclosed riding ring...
...no horses required when you have one of these humans...
...some nice walking paths and a walled garden currently undergoing restoration...
...and one of the more challenging/frightening hedge mazes you'll find...
...some mazes rely on halloween to scare; this one gives you a map and a 'call for help' number for when you inevitably get stuck trying to find your way out. (We made it though, thanks to some excellent navigation skills from Susan and Ronan!)
We made it!
Day 2, we made our way from Blessington across the River Liffey (the river that reaches Dublin from the Wicklows and the reason Guinness tastes so good/gives you strength)
Another difficult day weather wise! We tried to get out at the Wicklow Gap for a short hike/break from the only CD we have in the car (another post coming on that one...). Poor Declan will hopefully not remember the winds nearly blowing him down from the Wicklow Gap only to be another Irish Legend...
Three pics of the drive into and through the Wicklow Pass. The car was in neutral for at least 2km on the way down.
As you come out of the Wicklow Pass, you somewhat suddenly stumble upon Glendalough. The name means "The valley of the two lakes" and while most of the time we think of the peak of the mountains providing the stunning views, this valley seems just right for a spot to stroll and take in nature; even when there are about 12 tour buses joining you it still feels serene.
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| The kids with the Priest's house and Round Tower in the background. |
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| The Round Tower |
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| Many of the gravestones are over 300y old, though we saw several from only a few years ago. |
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| Many stones are unmarked or have had their markings worn away. Some, like these, are tilting in peculiar ways. It made us wonder whether it was appropriate or feasible to reset the stones. |
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| We only made it a few meters into the hiking trail before it was time to head home. Next time...to the top! |
