Gorey - Avoca - Glendalough - Dublin

There was a certain sense of sadness in me this morning as I realised that this would be my last day with a significant road trip. Tonight and tomorrow night I am in Dublin, and I fly out on Wed night, so I won't be going far by car in the next few days....

It's been a remarkable journey and I have traversed a million miles across such different landscapes, but I suppose all good things have to come to an end. It's been one hell of a journey and I feel very lucky to have come so far....

Anyway, back to today as we still have journeys to describe!

Today started with another coffee with Paddy at the Book Cafe in Gorey.

Paddy at the Book Cafe

It's been lovely to sit and chat with someone who knows where you're from and can chat about people we both know. Tomorrow I will be meeting up with him again in Dublin and also his sister Mary and her husband Nicky. You may remember I was going to visit them when I first arrived in Dublin, but I was laid low with my cold....

So after a lovely cuppa I set off for the day.

My first stop was this town.... you may have to cast your minds back a bit to recognise these landmarks from a popular TV series...???

Mystery destination..???

This one's a give away...!

They were taken in the fictional town of Ballykissangel , which was largely shot in the town of Avoca in Wicklow. It was my Mum's favourite show, so I always think of her when I go there....
I lit a candle as I usually do....

Inside the Church

Plaque outside the Church recognizes the district's mining origins.

The bridge often featured in the series...

Bridge over the Avoca River

View from the Bridge

View from the Bridge

And you may recognize the main street of Ballykiss...

Main Street of Avoca (Ballykissangel)

After all that nostalgia I moved on about another 3 kms to another place that reminded me of Mum again...
The meeting of the waters....
Mum knew a song about this that she learned at Primary School and the first time that I went there and returned home she sang it for me...

Here's the actual meeting of the rivers...

Meeting of the Waters

Meeting of the Waters

Here's a youtube clip by Paddy Reilly in case you would like to listen!

Info on the Vale of Avoca

View of the river

View of the river

After all that excitement, I moved on a little further to Glendalough - a place that I have enjoyed visiting previously. Had some lunch and a coffee in the pub then I went down to the monastery ruins...

Here's some info about Glendalough and St Kevin, whose stories are inter-twined...

Glendalough is home to one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland. This early Christian monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century and from this developed the “Monastic City”. Most of the buildings that survive today date from the 10th through 12th centuries. Despite attacks by Vikings over the years, Glendalough thrived as one of Ireland’s great ecclesiastical foundations and schools of learning until the Normans destroyed the monastery in 1214 A.D. and the dioceses of Glendalough and Dublin were united. 
 From the VisitWicklow site

 More info from Wikipedia:
Kevin, a descendant of one of the ruling families in Leinster, studied as a boy under the care of three holy men, Eoghan, Lochan, and Eanna. During this time, he went to Glendalough. He was to return later, with a small group of monks to found a monastery where the 'two rivers form a confluence'. Kevin's writings discuss his fighting "knights" at Glendalough; scholars today believe this refers to his process of self-examination and his personal temptations.^[1] His fame as a holy man spread and he attracted numerous followers. He died in about 618, traditionally on 3 June. For six centuries afterwards, Glendalough flourished and the Irish Annals contain references to the deaths of abbots and raids on the settlement.^[2]
Around 1042, oak timber from Glendalough was used to build the second longest (30 m) Viking longship ever recorded. A modern replica of that ship was built in 2004 and is currently located in Roskilde, Denmark.^[3]

There were heaps of tourists there, swarming over the ruins... I think a couple of buses may have just come in... it really put me off a bit. To me, it's a bit of a sacred site, and they were just very noisy and I think a bit disrespectful... Maybe it's me just being sensitive again, but it really put me off.... I was going to go for a walk down to the lake, but there was a couple of big bunches just in front of me and they were really noisy and it just didn't feel right.

Anyway here's some pics of the ruins...

Glendalough monastic ruins

Glendalough monastic ruins

Glendalough monastic ruins

Info about the Cathedral

Glendalough monastic ruins

The drive into both Avoca and Glendalough was very different from other parts of Ireland. County Wicklow is often called the Garden of Ireland, with good reason. There are beautiful green trees just lining the road and overhanging it. It reminds me of parts of the Dandenongs in Melbourne where there are just trees and ferns all around... I took some pics at Glendalough to show what it's like... once again, as always, it can't really capture it, but gives you an idea.

Glendalough

Glendalough

Glendalough

After all the noise and commotion, I spotted a place advertised as a quiet house, so I went in there and I think it was a Catholic Chapel.... There was a lovely painting of Jesus in front of the lakes at Glendalough and I thought it was lovely...  but I am a simple soul... :)

Jesus at Glendalough

The lady there was a bit full on and was trying to pump me about my own faith etc... I wasn't having any of that though!!!

BTW Perth people please note it's pronounced Glenda-lock over here!!!

Time to move on again...

My Gmaps gave up the ghost in both Avoca and Glendalough... I think the valleys were too deep for it, so I turned back to Gaby Garmin and set her for Dublin. I wanted to go through the Wicklow Gap and over the Wicklow Mountains - she had other plans.... even on the last day of driving we still had different ideas!!!  Anyway, I saw the signpost for the Wicklow Gap, so I was off and she had to catch up!

Beautiful drive..

Wicklow mountains

Wicklow mountains

Wicklow mountains

Wicklow mountains

Wicklow mountains

Once again I had taken the road less travelled - that has become a theme for me on this journey!

Wicklow mountains

The road less travelled

The road less travelled

So, I set Gaby Garmin for Dublin and she brought me close to my hotel... but not quite!!! I had to get little GMaps to actually get me  to the exact place on the road.

And here I am in Dublin for the last 2 nights of my extra long holiday. It will be a strange feeling when I eventually arrive home and don't have to live out a of a suitcase, or worry about washing, or wonder where I will be staying on the next night.....

But it's been a real hoot and I've loved every minute of it, even the moderately stressful times, because they always produce the best stories.

Two more days to go.... let's see if I can eke out just a few more things to share from the road. 😄