Because we had minimal planning of
our impromptu trip to Ireland, our easy way out was to join a bus tour. Having very little knowledge of Ireland, our criterion for choosing the tour was that it was a full-day tour with both scenic and historical elements. We found a tour that satisfied this requirement --- with visits to several places south of Dublin, including the historic Glendalough and Kilkenny, and the scenic Wicklow Mountains.
 |
| St Peter and St Pauls' Cathedral, Glendalough |
The pick-up point of the bus tour was outside Ulster Bank at College Green, which is a 5-minute walk from the hotel in Temple Bar where we were staying.
 |
| Sculpture in front of Ulster Bank at College Green |
 |
| Former Irish Houses of Parliament, now housing the Bank of Ireland, College Green |
The first stop was in Glendalough, the location of an Early Medieval monastic settlement dating back to the 6th century. We were given over an hour to explore the remains of the settlement as well as some of the walking trails there.
 |
| First stop --- Glendalough |
 |
| Glendalough |
 |
The Gateway, Glendalough
 | Stone inscribed with a cross at the Gateway
|
|
 |
Looking out through the Gateway, Glendalough
|
The most notable structure in what remains of the historic monastic complex is the 30-metre tall Round Tower. This tower was the first of two that we would see on the day.
 |
| The Round Tower, Glendalough |
 |
| The Round Tower, Glendalough |
 |
| St Peter and St Pauls' Cathedral, Glendalough |
 |
| St Kevin's Church, Glendalough |
 |
| St Kevin's Church, also called the Kitchen, Glendalough |
 |
| A boardwalk trail towards Glendalough Upper Lake |
 |
| Boardwalk trail, Glendalough |
 |
| One of the remains in Glendalough |
 |
| Glendalough |
 |
| Lower Lake, Glendalough |
 |
| Glendalough |
 |
| Lower Lake, Glendalough |
 |
| Glendalough |
 |
| Glendalough |
 |
| Glendalough |
 |
| Glendalough |
Rejoining the group after the free time, we were taken to a local working sheep farm just a short walk up the road, with a very impressive demonstration of a Border Collie at work herding the sheep. We were told that the number of commands that a Border Collie, reputedly the most intelligent of dogs, can understand, can run into the thousands.
 |
| Border Collie at work at a sheep farm |
 |
| Border Collie in control |
 |
| Task completed |
The one disappointment of the tour was that the road-side stop at Wicklow Mountains was rather brief, lasting a mere 10 minutes or less, long enough for just a couple of photo shots. So, our only impression of the area was that it was very windy and chilly. In fact,
the woolly hat that we bought in Galway earlier in the trip proved to be of good use.
 |
| Wicklow Mountains |
 |
| Wicklow Mountains |
 |
| Wicklow Mountains |
After the brief stop, we proceeded to the next and final destination, the medieval city of Kilkenny.
 |
| Scenic route on the way to Kilkenny |
The drop-off point was outside the magnificent Kilkenny Castle. We had over two hours of free time here to see the historic city and have lunch.
 |
| Kilkenny Castle --- drop-off/pick-up point of the bus tour |
 |
| The medieval St Mary's Church, Kilkenny. Now houses the Medieval Mile Museum. |
 |
| Kilkenny District Court on Parliament Street |
 |
| Kilkenny District Court |
 |
| Cobbled alley through an arch leading to the Smithwick's Experience, a brewery museum |
 |
| Rothe House, a 16th century merchant's townhouse, on Parliament Street, opposite Kilkenny District Court. |
We walked as far north as the 13th century St Canice's Cathedral. The Round Tower at the Cathedral was the second of such towers we saw on the day, after the one at Glendalough.
 |
| Historic cathedral with round tower in Kilkenny |
 |
| St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny |
On the way back towards Kilkenny Castle, we had a late lunch at a small cafe, which turned out to be very popular with lots of customers.
 |
| Butter Slip, an alley linking High Street and St Kieran's Street, Kilkenny |
 |
| The Tholsel on High Street, Kilkenny |
 |
| Lodge at the start of Canal Walk along River Nore |
 |
| Bridge over River Nore, Kilkenny |
 |
| Bridge over Rive Nore, Kilkenny |
 |
| Bridge over River Nore, Kilkenny |
The Canal Walk by Rive Nore led us back to the open Kilkenny Castle Park.
 |
| Kilkenny Castle Park |
We didn't quite have time to see the inside of the castle, but admired its beautiful architecture from the grounds.
 |
| Kilkenny Castle |
 |
| Kilkenny Castle |
 |
| Kilkenny Castle |
 |
| Kilkenny Castle |
Back in Dublin, we had our last dinner of the trip in a small restaurant in Temple Bar. Irish stew with a pint of Guinness, of course.
No comments:
Post a Comment