Wicklow I - The Hike

Our jet-lag plan for this trip was to take a day tour on our second day. We decided on Wicklow as I have seen only small parts - and long ago. I wanted to see more of the mountains and Glendalough. DH was open to anything.

We went on a small tour with Hilltop Treks.* Our guide was Michael Byrne.  Michael clearly loves Wicklow and shared that with us. We had a marvelous time. From the hike in the mountains and forest to the views of Glendalough and St. Kevin's monastic settlement to singing my "party piece," it was delightful.

We started by dropping off people to ride horses and walk the gardens of Powerscourt.** I would have loved to have visited the Powerscourt Estate (although the property had burned just before I visited in the 70s it has been completely renovated). But St. Kevin and the mountains called.

We took a long hike through forests and climbed up into the mountains. Wicklow is a popular site for films (The Vikings, PS I Love You, Excalibur and the list goes on). We saw (and missed) a few of those sites too.***

Hiking in the hills:

The paths were long and rocky

Part of our group moving uphill and skirting the woods.

No, this is not one of those ancient round towers.

It is the chimney of an old lead smelter. I am sure the land around was terribly contaminated.

We could see Dublin in the distance.

The stairs were partially destroyed to keep people from harm (climbing while intoxicated was an issue according to our guide).

Below we could see construction.

A close-up showed a former "ghost estate"**** was being re-worked into a hotel/resort.

We passed a dog-walker. Only two of the dogs were hers. (I see a bit of a reflection in her "dog walking clothes."

I almost cried when I saw this sweet chocolate Lab. He was about twice the size of our guys and very well behaved.

Walking through the forest.

Parts of the trail were very rugged.

Sugar Loaf Mountain

The forests in Ireland are generally carefully managed. Most are planted and harvested regularly. At one point most of Ireland had been deforested requiring extreme efforts to replant.*****

Blackberries, not yet ripe. We saw and ate wild blackberries on almost every day of the trip.

The yellow-blooming spiky stuff is gorse.

At one point I looked down and saw this guy shining in the sunlight. [And that is why "slow and steady" is how I walk.]

The our guide Michael was telling us about gorse and heather and I looked down again and added, "and shamrocks."

God knew about color play. The yellow gorse against the purple heather was still beautiful, but must be insanely gorgeous at the height of the blooming. We were very lucky.

Still enough color to hint at what the summer sees.

Dublin Bay can be seen over the trees.

Really, THIS is the path we were walking.

But the walk was worth it.

Yeah, sometimes it was straight up and those rocks were loose. I am still surprised there were no twisted ankles or falls...another reason to go slow and steady.

Our guide skips this trip when it is foggy. Again, we realized we were very lucky with the weather.

Ha ha! All I can do is laugh when I see this view!

Another of Dublin Bay.

The countryside.

What goes up...starting back...

Heather...

Good to know there are dandelions everywhere.

Ferns in the woods.

Another woods view.

I don't know what this flower is.

It was lovely, blooming everywhere, and going to seed. [No, I was tempted, but brought no seeds home.]

Lunch break!:

More hoarder instinct. Isn't this pretty?

We were running late (horseback riders - just sayin') and so DH and I were designated to lead the group into Enniskerry town to find this restaurant for lunch. We did not fail.

Stream above the bridge

A slightly different view.

Looking down (and downstream) off the bridge. Really, this bridge is not much to look at and the area is desolate, but lovely.

Downstream

Somewhere during our long drive through the heather covered hills and the old turf cuts*******  we listened to Irish music.  I was telling one story or another when the music came on and it was my "party piece" (for my uncles, there was another for the ladies). In 1977 I learned and later sang this dear song for the family. Anyway, I started singing. Michael, our guide, started singing (and slapped the top of the bus to clap) and DH was singing too. I have no idea what the rest of the group thought, but we enjoyed ourselves.

The Wild Rover

(Traditional - I learned from The Dubliners)

I've been a wild rover for manys the year
And I've spent all me money on whiskey and beer
But now I'm returning with gold in great store
And I never will play the wild rover no more

And it's No, Nay, never, (clap 4 times)
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover,
No never no more

I went into an alehouse I used to frequent
And I told the landlady me money was spent
I asked her for credit, she answered me nay
Such a custom as yours I can have any day

And it's No, Nay, never, (clap)
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover,
No never no more

Then I took up from me pocket, ten sovereigns bright
And the landlady's eyes opened wide with delight
She said, "I have whiskeys and wines of the best
And the words that ye told me were only in jest"

And it's No, Nay, never, (clap)
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover,
No never no more

I'll go home to my parents, confess what I've done
And I'll ask them to pardon their prodigal son
And, when they've caressed me as oft times before
No I never will play the wild rover no more

And it's No, Nay, never,
No, nay never no more
Will I play the wild rover,
No never no more

A good deal of this land is public and a good deal owned by the Guinness Estate

Lake is part of the Guinness Estate. Off to the right is a big house.

No words.

You can tell in some pictures that the forests are planted and harvested. I think our guide said 20-year cycles.

The best part of the trip was sharing with DH. I think Ireland is growing on him.

NOTES:

*http://www.hilltoptreks.ie/day-tours-from-dublin/wicklow-glendalough (I provide this information in case anyone is going and wants a recommendation. We loved Michael - the tour was great and he was full of information.)
**http://powerscourt.com/house/history [And they have the Monkey Puzzle Tree - more on that.]
***For anyone who has seen and enjoyed the movie Excalibur, a visit to the Powerscourt waterfall is a must (see link above). The PS I Love You bridge is nothing to write home about (I didn't crawl around in the stream to get good photos either), but the heather is beautiful there.
**** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_estate
*****http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_forests_in_Ireland
******* http://iwt.ie/what-we-do/turf-cutting/ [Turf cutting in Ireland is now restricted. These are efforts to protect the bogs. I suppose I should have mentioned that much of this heather and gorse covered land is peat bog. Hence we did not go walking on it.]

Date: September 10, 2014