Glendalogh and Horse and Jockey 4

Our day started with packing and a mild clean of the apartment in Dublin.  Heading out of Dublin was a chore, with all the rush hour traffic and negotiating of cyclists.  They were everywhere!  We headed to Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains.

Glendalough is a valley with two lakes that is the home of a monastic site with a giant round tower and chapel ruins.  Saint Kevin was here in the 6th century, where he lived in seclusion in the side of the mountain.  From the 11th century and on, it has been a religious pilgrimage for many.  The graveyard is spectacular, with tombstones tilted and grown over with lichens.  We did a walk around the lower lake on a boardwalk and then around through the forest.  The day was cloudy and breezy with an ever ominous fog about.

The tombstones

This archway is still in great shaper from the 1100's.  Wowza!

The hiking trail took us up the steep steps to St. Kevin's site.  The cell area, I later found out, was actually a Druid site.

Mossy little trees

We ran across a few beautiful streams as well.

The entire site is walled in by steep mountains.  We could only see them when the clouds would clear.

Giant old trees

Andrew snapped this beauty of the chapel and round tower.

The pass through the Wicklow Mountains was impressive.  While at Newgrange, the guide said that the rocks came from this area many miles away.  I can only imagine what it would be like lugging those giant stones back in the day without the aide of the wheel.  Whew!

We drove some more and ended up at the Horse and Jockey Hotel.  Our rooms were super nice with a cozy little pub that is 200+ years old.  That evening we even saw a horse and jockey out for a ride behind Horse and Jockey Hotel in the village of Horse and Jockey.