Powerscourt, Glendalough, and the Wicklow area
Trip Start
Mar 24, 2004
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11
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Trip End
Apr 05, 2004
Wicklow,
Ireland
Sunday, April 4, 2004
We took the bus that leaves just up the street to the airport. Only 6 euros per person.
Got our rental car and now we are heading south. And into road construction. Our first stop, which should have only been about 30 minutes away, and is turning into almost an hour is Powerscourt Gardens.
I had heard it was impressive, but didn't realize how impressive. The driveway, which is refered to as an "avenue" is a mile long, and lined with trees. Then you're at the "house" which is one of the largest grand estates we have ever seen. A fire destroyed most of the interior in 1974.
In 1996 renovations to roof and the interior began. The two story ballroom and some gardens rooms are open for tours, and the central hall and magnificient stairway has been restored and displays photos of the restoration and gardens. It's hard to see all this in a limited time.
The gardens, lakes, fountains, statues and even an "old" ruin tower are located on Powercourts 45 acreas. The walled, Italian amd Japaneese gardens took over 100 men 12 years to complete. We had to walk at least part of these grounds. In the summer, the gardens would be in their peak. That's a reason to come back again.
We're leaving the Powerscourt waterfall, the highest in Ireland, for our next trip.
Now,it's down the road thru some of Ireland's prettiest scenery, rolling hills, calm lakes and our destination Glendalough. We're here to see the high crosses, the round tower and hike to the old miners camp, we we can see one of the two lakes in the valley.
Glendalough translated from Gaelic means two lakes. The draw is the complete round tower that is 91 feet high. The cap of the tower was rebuilt in the late 1800's after determining that the stones inside the tower were actually the top. The valley setting makes this tower picture perfect. The high crosses, and old church ruins only add to the overall ambience.
It's hard to pull yourself away from the graves and the tower, but the itch to get walking is increasing. The trails from Glendalough aren't well marked, but we think we are going in the right direction following the small stream. Twenty minutes later we are deciding if we are turning around, as the rain is coming in. A couple minutes after that, we're dodging under trees and trying not to get soaked. Hate to miss a hiking day, but the wind is picking up and it's just not the type of day to be out without rain gear.
Now, we have to return. Back in the car, and a little wet, we decide it's time to grab something to eat. A small pub works well. Then up the coast, stopping to admire the beach scenery and happy for the lack of rain.
We reach Bray, a Victorian seaside town, and check into our hotel, the Esplanade. The rambling red brick Victorian is just perfect for the night. We walked down the wide promenade on the beach. There are bandstands - plural -on the promenade.
This town must be lively in the summer. This town is only 12 miles from Dublin, and the DART train comes right into town. We walked over to the DART station and were suprised how many people were coming into Bray from Dublin.
Tummy is growling, and it's time to decide what we want to do. 1st is a shower, then food. Johnny Fox's is the decision for food and fun. It's one of the countrys oldest bars, and the highest bar.
Finding it was the problem. The directions we received - from more than three people at seperate times in different locations as we were lost on the hillside - never got us to this famous pub.
On the fourth try - and getting dark, we found it. We had to park in a dirt lot down and across the road. This place is packed!
We get into the back pub - there are so many rooms in here that I think it was the back pub. The food is good - but pricier than any other pub we have been to. Found out that this is a big group tour pub. A showroom holds the groups that come on those busses. We're happy in our intimate room with the band starting to warm up. One of the band members remarks that the lack of smoke, since the ban has started, has cleared their heads and throats., and now they can actually see who is in the room. The Irish memorabilia on the walls must be worth a fortune. I head for the lady's room and can't stop reading the walls. It's an Irish history lesson, including arrest notices. It's really late when we leave, but the music was good.
