| Wicklow wanders
 Malcolm Rogers
travels down the east coast from Dublin for a stroll in the beautiful
county of Wicklow.
The current blockbusting movie about King Arthur and the Holy Grail was
filmed in west Wicklow. In fact, a kilometre of a bogus Hadrian’s
Wall was built in the wilds of the Wicklow hillside, while the open countryside
to the south stood in for Glastonbury.
Mind you, it’s entirely fair that Wicklow should be able to cash
in on the legend of King Art, because the whole legend of the Holy Grail
was largely the creation of Irish monks who founded Glastonbury in Somerset
in the 6thcentury. And, of course, the centre of Christianity —
indeed the centre of all Christendom — from the early 6thcentury
was Glendalough, smack bang in the middle of Wicklow.
And if you really want to carry the allusion a bit further, Glendalough
boasts one of the finest round towers in Ireland - round tower, Round
Table. See what I mean? Oh, and there’s a chip shop called the Holy
Grill in... no, no stop! This has gone on long enough. We’ve done
the Holy Grill, we could have done the hard dazed knight, but we’ve
just got too much county to cover, an awful lot to see, so let’s
put the puns to bed and get on with it.
Wicklow, you see, is one of Ireland’s most absorbing counties.
Spend a week here and you can get lost in the grandeur of the Wicklow
Mountains, visit some of Europe’s finest gardens, gaze on the beauty
of the Vale of Avoca and the Meeting of the Waters, or be spiritually
uplifted by the ecclesiastic splendour of Glendalough.
Walking Wicklow
The Wicklow Mountains cover much of the county, extending from the Dublin
border in the north to the Wexford border in the south, with Lugnaquilla,
the highest point, at over 3,000 feet.
The mountains are quite a tough climb in places. Indeed, I remember my
very first climb, which took me far above the reservoir of Poulaphouca.
My guide on the day, chap called Declan, was both helpful and phlegmatic.
“Yes,” he said matter-of-factly, pointing at a steep ridge,
“I lost a guide down there last month.”
“My God,” I said, “and you can just toss it off like
that. Without missing a beat.”
“Ah well,” he replied, “it was a fairly old one, with
quite a few pages missing.”
Ah yes, you can’t beat the old ones.
If you’re more into hill walking rather than scrambling up the bare
rocks, you might want to think about heading for the Wicklow Walking Festival
(Tel: 00 353 404 20070), which takes place on Irish bank holiday weekends.
The next one is October 23-25.
Rusting oaks, golden larches and sunshine-yellow gorse light up the Wicklow
hills in this, one of the most beautiful counties in Ireland. White waterfalls
surge down the mountainside like Guinness froth down the side of a glass,
and this most wooded area in the whole island works hard in the autumn
to make the Emerald Isle title of the country seem a bit too monochromatic.
Various walks are available in Wicklow, including a guided stalk during
which you can watch the deer rut their stuff, or you can merely opt for
a gentle dander round the great gardens of the county.
The garden centre
 Wicklow is known as the
Garden County, and you won’t have to go too 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 — a magnificent example of an aristocratic
garden with its statues and incomparable iron-work. 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 is not quite as manicured as Powerscourt
— trees and shrubs have been introduced here from all parts of the
globe and are planted alongside and amongst wild woodland. Like all the
great gardens of Ireland, Mount Usher offers ever-changing scenes as the
seasons tramp through the land. Magnificent magnolia trees in spring are
worth the trip alone, but try not to miss the Davidia involucrata, the
‘Handkerchief Tree’ in bloom — a truly well-named, and
totally weird tree.
At any time of the year the eucalyptus trees of Mount Usher are impressive,
their white and caramel coloured trunks appearing like some crazy army’s
attempt at camouflage.
The number of trees here is vast — maples, palms, limes, plus some
fine specimens of one of the few conifers native to the country —
the Scots pine.
For a horticultural experience as well as a culinary encounter, with opportunities
for retail therapy, make your way to the Avoca Cafe, Kilmacanogue, near
Bray. The cafe is just one element of the Avoca Handweavers’ Complex.
Dating from 1723, this cluster of whitewashed stone buildings and a mill
houses the oldest surviving hand-weaving company in Ireland. It produces
a wide range of tweed clothing, knitwear, and accessories, all for sale.
But if you’re like me and you believe that once you’ve seen
one shopping centre you’ve seen a mall, then you’ll be more
interested in the many fine trees planted in the latter half of the 19th
century.
Again, like me, they’re now reaching their prime — one of
the most famous is the Glencormac weeping cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa
pendula), a huge brooding hulk of a tree that almost looks like six trees
masquerading as one.
Glendalough and Avoca
 Despite the glories
of the gardens of Wicklow and the wonders of walking through its glens,
most people head for Wicklow for two reasons — Avoca and Glendalough.
And to be honest, most people are unlikely to be disappointed.
If ecclesiastic matters are high on your agenda have a stroll round the
1,400-year-old monastic city of Glendalough first. Gleann
D· Loch, the Valley of the Two Lakes, has a double attraction,
neither of which I have ever tired of in nearly 40 years of visiting the
place. Firstly, it is perhaps the most picturesque of the glens of Wicklow,
plus it has the extensive remains of St Kevin’s monastery, one of
the most important centres of medieval Christendom.
It’s hard to put your finger on it. It might be the grey stone
huddle of buildings clustered about the round tower, built to withstand
old-fashioned Viking debauchery. Or it might be the clear waters of the
lough, which in autumn mirrors the golden deciduous trees and turns itself
into a shimmering golden pond. Or it could be the steep wooded sides of
the valley dotted with small monastic sites, covered now with the softest
of moss and surrounded by iridescent ferns. Whatever it is, this place
to me seems one of the most beautiful and most atmospheric places in all
Ireland.
Avoca is equally as exquisite as Glendalough, but with an altogether
more 20th century ambience. In place of the religious element is the late
20th century substitute - it’s been on the telly.
Because this breathtaking valley — immortalised in Thomas Moore’s
Vale of Avoca — is the home of Ballykissangel. BallyK transformed
Avoca into a top telly-tourist destination overnight, although with the
demise of the show the place has somewhat reverted to its former tranquillity.
(The odd, almost whimsically BallyK aspect of the programme was that it
was made by BBC Northern Ireland. How the Northern Ireland Tourist Board
must wish that the local telly company had decided to set the programme
in the Glens of Antrim or the Mountains of Mourne.)
Minimally enlightening about Ireland though the series was, it still captivated
thousands of British people, giving them an interest in our country which
many of them never had.
Still, whatever the social ramifications of the series, the village and
vale of Avoca remain among the most enchanting areas Ireland has to offer.
As, indeed, does the whole of the county they call The Garden of Ireland. | 
