Day 4 Wicklow Mountains National Park

We thought we would head out to Country Wicklow today and the plan was to have David do the driving ... on the opposite side of the road, and I was to navigate. Now there's a plan that could have gone either way!

Our start was a bit rough as we set off the house alarm and correcting that wasn't quite as easy as it might have been. Heading out to navigate our way on Irish highways and country roads had to work out better!

We made our way out of the city without incident and before long we were heading into the Wicklow Mountains. Wicklow National Park is the largest of Ireland's six National Parks at 20,483 hectares. We set out for the village of Laragh where we knew there was a car park at the start of one of many trail that winds through the mountains and valleys. It was a beautiful trail that led to the village of Grendalough and although it was an inclined stroll, we didn't complete the whole thing. While we were we clearly in the mountains, we couldn't actually see the mountains and valleys since the trail led deep into a forest.

We returned to the village for some lunch. On a local recommendation we settled on the The Wicklow Hearth and we were not lead astray! Lamb stew, corned beef and cabbage and roasted lamb were all delicious. While I know I have said this a number of times already, this really was the best meal we had since we got here. While we were there another local told us that we could not drive through Wicklow National Park unless we were driving a tractor! I had learned differently in my research so it was with some trepidation that I encouraged everyone to trust me and we headed up into the hills.

I believe I have found heaven on earth! Today I reached the point in the vacation where if we had to go home tomorrow, the entire trip would have been worthwhile, just for today! We drove up a narrow road through the park with small laybys. We pulled over often, sometimes hiked for extended periods of time, chatted with locals and while the pictures below don't do it justice...many need no further explanation!

A beautiful, and uneventful drive home from our mountain wandering, a trip to the local pub and another glorious day has come to an end!

                                                 

Hiking from Laragh to Glendalough.
Crystal clear mountain streams.
The charming little Wicklow Heather.
My daily effort to support local and keep my iron high 😉
The most delicious lunch!
Breath taking!
Irish thistles - deadly but so pretty!
Fields of heather.

Beauty in...
...every direction!


Stairway to heaven.
Sharing our path with the sheep, grazing in the heather.
The largest caterpillar I have ever seen!

The valley here is owned by the Guinness family. They have a home here and also own Lough Tay. The lough is very dark. They shipped in cream coloured sand for the beach so it would look like the head on Guinness. If you zoom in on the lough and beach, you will see a viking settlement! The family are sponsoring the the series Vikings and it is being filmed here currently. No one on set today though. The were down in the village working on something.


Cotton grass


Coming down from the mountains of Wicklow.

Comments

  1. sas.serraJuly 21, 2022 at 6:12 PM

    So beautiful and pristine! It's like going back in time!

    ReplyDelete

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