In Glendalough there lived in auld Saint
Trip Start
Apr 20, 1998
1
3
24
Trip End
Nov 22, 2000
Glendalough, County Wicklow, Ireland
Saturday, May 23, 1998
"In Glendalough lived an auld saint, renowned for his learning and piety,
His manners were curious and quaint, and he looked on girls with disparity."
I have always loved this song. It's a real foot-tapping, jaunty tune. But where was Glendalough who lived in a rockery and polished up his auld crockery?
Into my third day at Glendalough I had every question answered
Graveyard in Glendalough
. Like the best Irish songs it is based on "legendary fact". Yes, there was a Glendalough saint who was a man of great piety, and he did live in a rockery. Unsure, if as in the last lines of the song, he did indeed throw a tempestouous lass into Glendalough Lake. But I learnt to play it on the tin whislte.Gledalough is in County Wicklow, one hour south of Dublin. There is only a solitary bus to Glendalough village at 11.30am. I know, because at 11.30am I was running from Pearse St Station with a very heavy backpack on. I made it to St Stephen's Green just as the bus left - straight towards me. I was desperate, so just like Gonzo the Great in the Muppet Movie I leapt straight in front of it. "You're very lucky," said the bus driver. Unsure if he meant I was lucky not be run down or managing to catch the bus. Perhaps both.
I was pretty nonchalant about the round tower and monastic cemetery and headed off from the hostel for a "round Glendalough" walk that was calcuated at about six hours. It was a beautiful day, so I left my wet weather gear in the hostel. Half an hour later the cloud moved in down the mountain and dumped their guts on me. My flat mate later told me they'd done this walk in sunshine and then it had snowed!
After passing a group of eldery walkers and didn't see anyone for hours
The start of the big hike around Glendalough
. The walk ran across muddy fields, stone paths, atop an endless hill and six hours later through a pine forest over the other side of Glendalough. It was an awesome view of the valley, but I was getting worried. I took a short cut through the pine forest's logging road and almost ran into a couple of big deer. They were everywhere. I kept going, cutting through the roads and made it back as the light was fading around nine o'clock. Man, thank goodness the sun sets so late here.Even though I was completely knackered, my dorm of sixteen guys (the last time I ever stayed in a dorm room this size) managed to keep me awake. A couple of Scottish guys drinking and smoking and a Greek guy below me had a nightmare and yelled out in his sleep early in the morning. Desperate.
I also didn't learn about my lack of preparedness and took a hostel bike (chain, but no puncture repair kit) out for a ride - which ended up even later than the hike.
I cycled up the Military Road, enjoying the solitary peace, past the village of Manor Kilbride and a truly magnificent waterfall and towards Hollywood. Rebels held out around here in the 1798 rebellion and as the rain set in I couldn't think of anywhere so miserable to engage a rebellion in
Round tower, Glendalough
. It was a very lonely ride to the Sally Gap, and I wasn't quite sure which way to turn at the crossroads there. I went the wrong way and ended up at a German War Cemetery in Glencree, as you do. The Germans were navy and air force washed up on the coast of Wicklow.I then set off on a new route (since I was way off course) to Enniskerry and Powerscourt Estate. It was a great ride, all downhill, even though the rain had really set in. Powerscourt House was built in 1731 and the garden landscape was now a major drawcard. I spent too long in the Japanese Gardens, not realising I'd take three hours to cycle uphill through Roundtree to get back to Glendalough. Man, I enjoyed that Smithwicks at the Glendalough pub.
I determindely stayed the next day within a kilometre of the hostel. I went on a tour with some elderly Americans who kept saying, "God, 1000 years old? Can you believe that Sal?" An amazing history really. 1,100 years of Christian study. It's difficult to take in. Imagine the stories behind the bent and broken gravestones that, under law, cannot be reparied or moved. It made the cemetery with its round tower and roofless stone church look awesome at night in the mist. It is a place that just has to be haunted, the song ends:
"It is rumoured from that very day, Kathleen's ghost can be seen on the river,
And the saint never raised up his hand, For he died of the right kind of fervour."
I came back several times to Powerscourt Gardens (and it was raining every time) and to Glendalough. It's probably the most atmospheric and rich monastic site in Ireland - I'd had loved to stay there again. Perhaps sometime.
