|
Wicklow is full of magical wonder  Norman
castles, haunted houses, great wooded valleys, ethereal monasteries and
pagan wishing wells a mystical and magical experience awaits you in the
Garden County.
But just in case the presence of all that history and mythology doesn’t
move your spirit of its own accord, have a butchers at the movie King
Arthur And The Holy Grail before you head for Wicklow.
It was filmed on location in the west of the county — they even
built a kilometre of a bogus Hadrian’s Wall in the Wicklow Hills.
Meanwhile the verdant, rural landscape of the Garden County stood in for
Glastonbury.
Which is not bad going when you consider that the area round Bray in the
north of the county is now part of Greater Dublin.
Wicklow is Ireland’s youngest county, only being constituted some
401 years ago in 1606. But its origins stretch back into the mists of
history and it’s entirely fair that Wicklow should be able to cash
in on the story of Arthur; the whole legend of the Holy Grail is believed
to be largely the creation of Irish monks who journeyed forth from this
neck of the woods and founded Glastonbury in Somerset in the sixth century.
The centre of Christianity indeed one of the main centres of all Christendom
in the early sixth century was Glendalough, smack bang in the middle of
Wicklow.
Glendalough is still an ethereal place to visit.
You’ll need no cinematic special effects to be spiritually uplifted
by the ecclesiastic splendour of this 1,400-year-old monastic settlement.
Gleann Dá Loch, the Valley of the Two Lakes, is perhaps the most
impressive of the glens of Wicklow, at the centre of which stands St.
Kevin’s monastery.
This grey stone huddle of buildings clustered about the round tower
built to withstand Viking debauchery is surrounded by the steep wooded
sides of the valley.
This is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful and most atmospheric
places in all Ireland.
Avoca is equally breathtaking. Set in a verdant valley immortalised in
Thomas Moore’s Vale Of Avoca, this was the home of Ballykissangel.
With the demise of the show, the telly-tourists have diminished somewhat
and the place has reverted to its former tranquillity.
One of the best ways of discovering the Garden County is to take the Wicklow
Way.
The oldest of the Republic’s officially constituted walking routes
(celebrating its 25th birthday this year), the way-marked route winds
past upland loughs, fast-flowing mountain streams and farmland dotted
with gorse, hawthorn and birch.
The Wicklow Way route which includes parts of Co. Dublin and Co. Carlow
— is now the most westerly section of the E8 footpath, extending
across much of Europe.
Following a series of sheep tracks, forestry laneways and bog roads, the
walk stretches from Marlay Park in Rathfarnham (Dublin suburbs) up into
the Dublin Mountains and on to the valley of Glencree.
This is a good place to pick up the route.
Before you set out, pay a visit to the German Forces Cemetery at the top
of Glencree Valley.
All the German forces who perished in or around Ireland during World War
II are buried here.
It’s a poignant, unexpected place, with the graves of some 50 airmen
and sailors well-tended and decorated with fresh flowers.
From here the Wicklow Way rarely descends below 1,600 feet, traversing
the desolate Djouce Mountain until the round tower and chapel of Glendalough
heaves into view.
From here the Wicklow Way stretches a further 70 miles or so, finishing
off in the beautiful village of Clonegal on the Carlow-Wexford border.
The highest point of the Wicklow Mountains, Lugnaquilla, is a delightful
mountain to climb.
At just over 3,000 feet it is a gentle ascent, with a summit covered in
turf.
This is home to mosses, bilberry and heather, producing a lush carpet
which is like a springy carpet underneath.
Wicklow is known as the Garden County and you don’t have to go far
to find out why.
Sitting at the top of the horticultural stakes is Powerscourt.
Here at the foot of the Great Sugar Loaf Mountain lies one of the greatest
collections of ornamental trees in Europe.
Giant sequoias, dwarf pines, copper chestnuts and a bewildering array
of maples jostle for space amongst weeping ash and rowan trees.
The manicured lawns are marked out by Irish yews and giant copper beech
trees.
The huge house, containing the legendary ballroom where Princess Grace
once famously danced the night away, has re-opened after being destroyed
by fire more than a quarter of a century ago.
Powerscourt is beautiful, dramatic, impressive and any other superlatives
you care to think of.
But not many miles down the road, on the banks of the Vartry River, lies
another botanical treasure which in many ways is the equal of its rival.
Mount Usher Gardens at Ashford boasts trees and shrubs from all parts
of the globe, planted alongside and amongst wild native woodland.
Like all the great gardens of Ireland, Mount Usher offers ever-changing
scenes as the seasons tramp through the land.
The Military Road through the Wicklow Mountains was built by the British
military in 1800 the better to roust rebels from the hills.
These days the road is usually put to the more peaceful pursuit of sight-seeing.
It twists southwards past the Sugar Loaf, through the beauty of the Sally
Gap and past the ink black waters of Lough Tay.
The latter is known as the Guinness Lake because of the family’s
mansion on its shores and the white sand they imported to create a beach
which, from above, makes the lakeshore look like a creamy pint of plain.
The road traverses through the vales of Clara and Avoca eventually reaching
the village of Aughrim, another ancient battleground.
One spur takes you to the beautiful village of Enniskerry, one of the
prettiest in Ireland.
In high summer the place can be bunged with tourists but for the rest
of the year like so much of Ireland it is as tranquil a place as you could
visit.
|
