Adventures today took us to the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough, south of Dublin. We opted for an alternative route which took us along back roads, many of which were one lane, two-way roads. I forgot, somehow about my anxiety of driving. Before arriving, my fears had been on driving on the other side of the road and once again driving a manual. Sure, small hills in a congested town are the things nightmares are made of when driving a manual car, but that's not the really terrifying part. Driving is not the problem, manual cars are not the problem, driving on the other side of the road is not the problem, it's the narrow roads. Picture yourself driving down a long, one lane road in the countryside. There are rolling fields and billowing trees surrounding you. Often, there are stone fences so old that moss nearly completely covers them. There's even a little bit of grass growing in the middle of the narrow lane. Peaceful, right? It truly is. But wait, now there is a car driving directly at you, not a Sunday driver, but someone who seems to be preparing for the Indy 500. Remember the stones? Yeah, not quite as tranquil. And here comes a delivery truck...
This anxiety did not make the drive any less beautiful, just a bit more nerve-racking. Cows and sheep dotted the landscape as did quaint, picturesque villages and local pubs. We drove through a wee community (I'm not sure it would classify as a village) that enjoyed sharing a more famous sister city. The community of Hollywood had large white wooden letters that spelled out Hollywood on the hillside amongst the sheep.
Wicklow Gap in the Wicklow Mountains was our first stop to look out over the beautiful scenery. Green valleys amongst rising hills made for a great, yet blustery, stop.
Glendalough was not much further onward in the valley of these mountains. It was originally a monastic settlement first settled by St. Kevin over 1,000 years ago. The monks here enjoyed a life of solitude away from distractions. They were also a holy destination for penance-seekers as the pope once said seven visits to this settlement would have the same "abolishment of sins powers" as one trip to Rome. The community survived multiple Viking Raids while also acting as a sanctuary for criminals hiding from the law. As the story goes, criminals could seek refuge here for 90 days. On the 91st day, they were given the choice of becoming a monk or being tossed out to the authorities.
Glendalough itself is a wee village containing a hotel, a shop, a visitor's center, a religious book shop and several street vendors taking advantage of the large amounts of tourists that pass through. Built up right alongside a babbling creek and the ancient ruins in the center of the valley. A couple of the buildings of the monastery remain partly in tact: the chapel and some small buildings probably used for living quarters, storage and/or worship. But the round tower, which was used as a last round of defense, as storage, and as a beacon is still (at least on the outside) in seemingly perfect condition. Estimates on when the tower was built range from 900-1200, so, no matter what, it is very old. The grounds around the tower and the ruins is a graveyard with gravestones that mark a variety of years by the hundreds, some within the last thirty years, some with dates that have long since disappeared.
A large granite cross, St. Kevin's cross stands near the chapel. Legend says that if you can hug the cross and your fingers touch on the opposite said that your wish will come true. Neither Jessica nor I were so lucky... Or perhaps we're just not so long-armed!
We decided to wonder on to the two lakes (Glendalough actually means valley of the two lakes), and I'm so thankful we did. The journey there and back (with a couple excursions) was probably 3-4 miles and it was well worth it! The lower lake which we came to first was a lovely little spot complete with baby ducks and two young violinists serenading passers by. The walk there was immersed in greenery: large trees covered in moss and ferns showing off the damp climate. The upper lake was even more picturesque: a gorgeous blue water lapping onto a pebbled beach in the middle of two small mountains. We spent some time here getting lots of photos since it was so picturesque, then we walked up to see a waterfall and meandered back toward the car along a boardwalk spotting three deer who didn't seem to mind our presence at all.
After ice cream and some browsing, we ventured on to Sally Gap, another stunning example of mountains, valleys, greenery and overpowering winds. Just beautiful!
The mist began to settle in and obstruct our views a bit, so we headed towards home, stopping at a hotel first to enjoy some perfect fish and chips. We got home and have stayed up well past our bedtime visiting with our wonderfully generous hosts.
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