For the last 5 years around St. Patrick’s Day I think about our trip to Ireland in 2018. After Becky and I spent the weekend in Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day, we took a tour out to the country. Our tour took us to Wicklow Mountains National Park and to the remarkable Glendalough.
About Wicklow Mountains
Wicklow Mountains National Park is the largest of Ireland’s 6 national parks and the only one in the East. The park stretches across almost 23,000 hectares which is almost 58,000 acres in the United States. Its largest peak is Lugnaquilla at 926 meters or 3,035 feet. And it’s just south of Dublin and can easily be a day trip by yourself or with a tour group. Though the weather here can be unpredictable. For more information, check out their website at: Wicklow – National Parks of Ireland.
In the winter time the Wicklow Mountains are one of the snowiest places in Ireland. But it’s very rare to have a heavy snow in mid-to-late March. But when we went in 2018, it snowed heavily the day before blanketing the Wicklow Mountains. We stopped at a spot at the Wicklow Gap on the way to Glendalough. Still really cold and windy, snow was everywhere. But after a quick stop, we headed on to Glendalough.
Glendalough and its Monastic Sites
Glendalough is a glacial valley (pronounced glen-duh-lok) meaning the ‘valley of two lakes’. And not only is it a beautiful place, but it contains one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland. One of Ireland’s most revered saints, St. Kevin, founded a monastery in Glendalough in the 6th century. And it continued to flourish after his death in 617 A.D. employing up to 1,000 people at one point. It thrived until annexed to the diocese of Dublin in 1152 diminishing its importance. However, it remains a spiritual place known as the Monastic City. Most of the building ruins are from the 10th-12th centuries.
Standing at the entrance to the monastic city of Glendalough is the arched Gateway. It is an interesting and totally unique piece of architecture in Ireland today. And though icy and slippery, we walked over the pavers that had been here for over a 1,000 years.
Once in the Monastic City, one of the 1st sites we saw was the large Round Tower. The tower stands over 30 meters high or about 100 feet tall. These landmarks for approaching visitors were also built as bell towers and storage. And today it still stands as a beacon of Glendalough with tombstones surrounding it.
St. Peter and St. Paul’s Cathedral was once the biggest of multiple churches here. And today there is not much left to the cathedral except some walls and the lone window. Still, covered in snow it is beautiful.
More of Glendalough’s Monastic Sites
St. Kevin’s Cross carved from a single granite stone stands about 2.5 meters or over 8 feet tall. It can be seen near the Priest’s House and may have marked the boundary of the cemetery here. It’s a great example of a Celtic Cross combining the cross with the circle representing the sun. And a local legend says that anyone who can wrap their arms completely around it by touching fingertips will have their wishes granted. So, of course I had to try it.
Still standing from the 12th century is St. Kevin’s Church, better known as St Kevin’s Kitchen. Though no food was ever cooked here, It was believed the bell tower was a chimney to a kitchen. The name stuck and it’s still called St. Kevin’s Kitchen today.
St. Kevin’s Kitchen is a beautiful stone church, especially dusted with snow. We walked to the entrance, but the gate was locked so we couldn’t enter. So we continued walking past it leaving the monastic city toward Lower Lake.
Walk to Lower Lake in Glendalough
Just past St. Kevin’s Kitchen is a paved walkway where you hit the Wicklow Way that traverses the park. You can turn left or right, but we took the right to head to Lower Lake. And after a short walk, we turned right again on the Green Road Walk trail. This trail is mostly boardwalk as we passed over a bridge. However, It was covered in snow and we had to walk carefully. We looked back and could see the Round Tower as well as the Wicklow Mountains in the distance.
We walked through a wooded area briefly before turning toward the lake. And in the clearing we saw sheep grazing on the hill. They had markings on them meaning they were not wild. However, we still enjoyed seeing them grazing and walking in the snow by the lake. After making it to the lake, we turned around to head back to where we started.
Heading Back
On the other side of the bridge from the Monastic City is the Glendalough Hotel. And in the hotel is Casey’s Bar and Bistro. This is a great stop for a drink or food while in the area. We got some waters and shared a beer and a slice of pie. It was the perfect ending to our time in Glendalough.
Once back on our bus tour, we headed to a local sheep farm to see a sheep dog demonstration. And afterwards, we got back on the bus toward Dublin passing through more of the Wicklow Mountains. And as we left the mountains, we saw the Sun setting over a perfect day.
You can read about our latest adventures here!