When I think of Ireland, I don’t actually think of Dublin City. I think of lush landscapes, fluffy-looking sheep, and jaw-dropping ancient ruins. When Ange came to visit me a few weeks ago, we decided to take a trip to Glendalough, which is an hour or so away by bus from the city center, to have a taste of the Ireland that we imagined in our heads.
We stayed at a three-star hotel called “Lynhams of Laragh” which currently holds an average rating of “4” on Trip Advisor. I personally did not find the exterior to be very promising at first. Inside, it is very old-timey and doesn’t give the impression of being a “luxurious” place to lodge. However, these weren’t necessarily bad things. I thought that the room we had was spacious and warm and I quite liked the rustic vibe. The only issue was that the floorboards were rather creaky. I do recommend this hotel if you are thinking of visiting Glendalough, which is a half an hour away by foot. Some other options would be youth hostels nearby and to stay at a hotel in Glendalough to save yourself the walk.
On our walk to Glendalough from Laragh, we encountered dozens of sheep! I can safely say that clapping eyes on these creatures for the first time was my favorite part of the trip. Naturally, we stopped to take a bunch of pictures.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a trip with Ange if it didn’t involve such constant stops. He had purchased a travel-friendly tripod and took every opportunity to use it during the trip. It seemed like there were way too many opportunities someti
The tripod (“carbon fiber,” he kept repeating) was pretty handy in taking quality pictures of the ruins but also of non-selfie couple photos like so. 😉
After the lengthy yet surprisingly bearable walk, we arrived at Glendalough, the 6th-century monastic site founded by St. Kevin who had become a renowned holy man during this time. There were many different trails you could take, each leading to areas of breathtaking wonder. The place we kept coming back to during our three-day stay was the monastic ruins. Pictured above is “the Gateway” to the city.
My impression of Glendalough right after the first moment that I laid eyes on it was that it was utterly picturesque. Honestly, and this will sound ridiculously cliché, but my pictures really don’t do it justice. The picture above is by Ange though and it definitely captures the beauty of the place far better than I could at that moment.
Here, we saw the famous Round Tower, an astonishing 30-meter high bell tower. The door that leads to the inside is actually a couple of meters or so from the ground and one can only enter through a ladder that can be pulled up from the inside. Supposedly, this made the tower a refuge when the city was under attack.
It is said that St. Kevin’s Cross was masterfully carved out of a single, granite stone. The ring in the center of the cross represented the sun, an allusion to the pagan belief of people from that period. This is combined with the symbol for Christianity to portray the adaptation of the new religion.
The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul – apparently the largest of the churches on the site and, based on my observation on Instagram, one of the most photographed.
This is St. Kevin’s Kitchen, which wasn’t an actual kitchen, but a church. Safe to say there wasn’t much cooking that happened here.
I was pleased to see even more sheep contentedly munching on grass in Glendalough. This picture may not be the most technically advanced, but I think this is one of my favorite pictures of the trip – mostly because there’s more than a dozen sheep in there.
My stay in Ireland has not come to an end yet but I predict that this short trip to Glendalough will ultimately be the highlight of my four months here. While I understand that Irish people don’t quite live in places that look like this (and this is quite a letdown tbh lol), this definitely satisfied my craving for the picture-perfect, touristy side of Ireland.
Sources: the info plaques on-site but mostly the Wicklow website.
Photos of me are by Ange Yaghi.
Ferna’s interests include blogging, reading and learning all things digital media! She hopes to soon become a half-decent baker.
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