Ireland

Glendalough and Wicklow Gap. A fantasy place in Ireland

If you want to live a place of fantasy and you are in Ireland, the best thing is to go to County Wicklow, and after visiting the gardens of Powerscourt House, enjoy a place that if you visit you will surely not forget.

We are talking about the Ruins of Glendalough, a monastic complex from the 6th century whose ruins you can visit admiring not only one of the most magical places in the country but also some enviable landscapes.

From there you can also tour the Wicklow Mountains National Park enjoying its landscapes.

What to see in the Glendalough Ruins

Ireland - GlendaloghOnce you arrive in Glendalough, if you go in your own car you can park perfectly next to the visitor center and start your visit from there.

In the visitor center you can learn about the history of the monastery and also the life of St. Kevin.

Leaving the visitor center aside, a path begins that takes you to the ruins of Glendalough and Lake Superior.

After crossing a stream and walking a bit through the trees, you finally arrive at what was once a grandiose monastery built in the 6th century by Saint Kevin, who founded the monastery with the relics he brought from his pilgrimage to Rome.

Nowadays you have to have a good imagination to understand the ruins, or at least a good guide, but what you find there will surprise you.

The main things to see in Glendalough are the Cathedral, which is the largest surviving building, St Kevin’s Kitchen, which is an oratory with a circular bell tower, and the 33 meter high cylindrical tower which can be seen from almost anywhere. place in the area.

There are also other small buildings and numerous tombs scattered throughout the enclosure, such as The Priests’ House, where the priests were buried, or the Church of St. Mar, with sculptures of Romanesque origin.

Following the path you will quickly reach the Lower Lake and if you continue walking to the other great point of interest in the area, the Superior Lake.

Glendalough Upper Lake

Ireland - Glendalough - Lake SuperiorBut Lake Superior can not only be reached on foot but you can also do it in your own car.

That yes, the parking that is in it is not free, like the one of the Inferior Lake that is next to the main ruins but here you have to pay. It costs €4 and is a fixed rate, that is, you pay the same for 5 minutes as for 2 hours.

Lake Superior, nestled between mountains, is a fantastic place. Next to it there is a wooded area with picnic tables and also various food and drink stalls.

But in addition there are also monuments, even older, although not as colorful as those of Lower Lake. Even so, you have to go to this lake because the best things here are the landscapes.

Wicklow Gap and the Braveheart Drive

Ireland - Braveheart DriveIf you have reached Glendalough by car, what we recommend is to do the so-called Driveheart Drive afterwards.

This route is so called because it crosses the mountains where some scenes of the movie Braveheart were filmed, and despite being set in Scotland, part of it was filmed in Ireland.

In addition, the landscapes are very beautiful and it crosses Wicklow Gap through a road that seems designed for lovers of driving calmly, admiring what they see in their path.

About the town of Hollywood, little to say. There is an American-style pub there with photos of different Hollywood actors who have passed through there.

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