With our last month ticking down, Sheila and I are cherishing our time here together and in Ireland away from the constant hustle-bustle of our busy "regular" lives back home and trying to make sure that we see all the things we wanted to see while we are here, focusing on the "boring" stuff while the kids are at school.
We worked on Monday and will do so again tomorrow, but grabbed a day to ourselves with the kids at school and the rare sun in the sky to head down to Glendalough together to hike along "St. Kevin's Way" and then take a quick visit to Eniskerry and Powerscourt as we had heard so much about the two places.
We didn't do the whole path, but part of St. Kevin's way. Here's what they say about it:
"St Kevin’s Way follows in the footsteps of St Kevin through the hills of Wicklow to the haunting and mysterious valley of Glendalough where he spent the rest of his life in solitary prayer and contemplation. After Kevin’s death in AD 618, what had been a humble hermit’s retreat developed into an impressive monastic city which was to continue as a centre of piety and learning for many years to come. Medieval pilgrims came from far and wide to visit Kevin’s tomb, and the alternative starting points to the walk reflect the different directions from which they are likely to have travelled. The main route starts in Hollywood, while the alternative route comes from Valleymount. The paths meet and join at Ballinagee Bridge. The walker then climbs towards the spectacular Wicklow Gap, a classic example of a ‘wind gap’ and the highest point on the route. The flagstones of the old pilgrimage road are still visible in sections. The route then follows the descent of the Glendasan River into the Valley of Glendalough. ... Little remains of the early monastery that grew up around St Kevin’s tomb, and most of the monastic buildings date from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the heyday of the European pilgrimage. The cluster includes one of the country’s best preserved examples of a round tower. The valley beyond the monastic settlement has much to offer, including a view of the inaccessible ‘St Kevin’s Bed’ from which he reputedly hurled a seductive maiden into the lake below in a determined effort to preserve his chastity."
Nor did I hurl any seductive maidens! The valley was gorgeous and our walk was peppered with the bleating of the baby feral goats running around.
Here is Sheila enjoying the crisp air (contrary to home, Ireland remains in the 65-75 degree range even when winter "breaks").
I love the Dublin area. It's just got the right mix of all of the things I love: all of the great things about a city--people, restaurants, music, theatre; the sea; and mountains (at least small ones) close to the city. The start of the Wicklow mountains are within 15 minutes of South Dublin and they are perfect in my mind. They are gorgeous and green, many overlooking the sea. They offer challenging walks, but you don't have to be a mountaineer or professional hiker to do them. And the biking (road and mountain) is fabulous. I don't have my bike here and am constantly jealous when I see road bikers whizz down the gorgeously paved roads throughout the Wicklows.
After our walk we headed in to Enniskerry and Powerscourt.
Ultimately, we didn't get to see much because we ran out of time but we plan to go back and take my sister-in-law, Lynne when she arrives.
Powerscourt is a large country estate on almost 150 acres of land. It is noted for its 13th century castle and gardens. I want to head back to see the pet cemetery with purportedly "astonishing" epitaphs (according to our guide book) for family pets and some special cows. We just drove through to get a lay of the land (you have to pay for a full visit and we didn't have much time). The estate overlooks our little sugarloaf mountain and is full of old beech trees and green grass overlooking the valley.
We headed into the local town "Enniskerry" where the lord of Powerscourt built a few houses for his help. The town is small, bustling, and darling. We had lunch at "Poppies", chatted with the locals and headed back to pick up the kids.
We plan on heading back to the Powerscourt waterfalls when Lynne is here. It is a perfect picnic area. If the sun is out we will have a fantastic afternoon!
We worked on Monday and will do so again tomorrow, but grabbed a day to ourselves with the kids at school and the rare sun in the sky to head down to Glendalough together to hike along "St. Kevin's Way" and then take a quick visit to Eniskerry and Powerscourt as we had heard so much about the two places.
We didn't do the whole path, but part of St. Kevin's way. Here's what they say about it:
"St Kevin’s Way follows in the footsteps of St Kevin through the hills of Wicklow to the haunting and mysterious valley of Glendalough where he spent the rest of his life in solitary prayer and contemplation. After Kevin’s death in AD 618, what had been a humble hermit’s retreat developed into an impressive monastic city which was to continue as a centre of piety and learning for many years to come. Medieval pilgrims came from far and wide to visit Kevin’s tomb, and the alternative starting points to the walk reflect the different directions from which they are likely to have travelled. The main route starts in Hollywood, while the alternative route comes from Valleymount. The paths meet and join at Ballinagee Bridge. The walker then climbs towards the spectacular Wicklow Gap, a classic example of a ‘wind gap’ and the highest point on the route. The flagstones of the old pilgrimage road are still visible in sections. The route then follows the descent of the Glendasan River into the Valley of Glendalough. ... Little remains of the early monastery that grew up around St Kevin’s tomb, and most of the monastic buildings date from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the heyday of the European pilgrimage. The cluster includes one of the country’s best preserved examples of a round tower. The valley beyond the monastic settlement has much to offer, including a view of the inaccessible ‘St Kevin’s Bed’ from which he reputedly hurled a seductive maiden into the lake below in a determined effort to preserve his chastity."
Nor did I hurl any seductive maidens! The valley was gorgeous and our walk was peppered with the bleating of the baby feral goats running around.
Here is Sheila enjoying the crisp air (contrary to home, Ireland remains in the 65-75 degree range even when winter "breaks").
I love the Dublin area. It's just got the right mix of all of the things I love: all of the great things about a city--people, restaurants, music, theatre; the sea; and mountains (at least small ones) close to the city. The start of the Wicklow mountains are within 15 minutes of South Dublin and they are perfect in my mind. They are gorgeous and green, many overlooking the sea. They offer challenging walks, but you don't have to be a mountaineer or professional hiker to do them. And the biking (road and mountain) is fabulous. I don't have my bike here and am constantly jealous when I see road bikers whizz down the gorgeously paved roads throughout the Wicklows.
After our walk we headed in to Enniskerry and Powerscourt.
Ultimately, we didn't get to see much because we ran out of time but we plan to go back and take my sister-in-law, Lynne when she arrives.
Powerscourt is a large country estate on almost 150 acres of land. It is noted for its 13th century castle and gardens. I want to head back to see the pet cemetery with purportedly "astonishing" epitaphs (according to our guide book) for family pets and some special cows. We just drove through to get a lay of the land (you have to pay for a full visit and we didn't have much time). The estate overlooks our little sugarloaf mountain and is full of old beech trees and green grass overlooking the valley.
We headed into the local town "Enniskerry" where the lord of Powerscourt built a few houses for his help. The town is small, bustling, and darling. We had lunch at "Poppies", chatted with the locals and headed back to pick up the kids.
We plan on heading back to the Powerscourt waterfalls when Lynne is here. It is a perfect picnic area. If the sun is out we will have a fantastic afternoon!
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