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Just look at what Co. Wicklow has to
offer....
Avondale
House and Forest Park, Rathdrum
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Visit
one of Ireland's most historic houses at Avondale House and
Forest Park near Rathdrum. The house, designed in 1777 by the
famous English architect James Wyatt, is best known as the home of
Charles Stewart Parnell, the great nationalist and advocate of
land rights for Irish peasants. |
It
was the original owner of the house, the barrister Samuel Hayes,
who planted many of the trees still standing in the 550 acre
estate, an undertaking that has earned Avondale the title of
"Cradle of Irish Forestry". The Forest Park is now owned
by Coillte, the Irish Forestry Board, which conducts research into
silviculture here and also welcomes walkers to the miles of roads
and woodland paths. An informative leaflet provides details of
various scenic walks. There's the River Walk, The Pine Trail, The
Cairn Walk and The Exotic Tree Trail that guides visitors to
splendid specimens of such trees as the Western Red Cedar, the
Araucaria or Monkey Puzzle tree, and some giant Sequoias the
largest and oldest of all living things.There is a restaurant
located in the old kitchen area of the house serving delicious
quality food.
Opening Times
Open daily
March 17 - October 31
11.00am - 6.00pm (last admission 5.00pm). |
Meeting of the Waters
| At the
meeting of the Waters, 3 km North of Avoca, the Avonmore and
Avonbeg rivers come together to form the Avoca river. It was here
that, on a rustic seat formad by the root of a tree, the famous
peot Thomas Moore penned his famour Irish Melody "The
Meetings of the Water". |
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Avoca
| Visit
this traditional mining village with the remnants of old chimney
stacks and engine houses scattered around. Copper and Sulphur were
mined here since the Bronze Age. By the 1980s all mining activity
ceased.
Visit
the world famous Avoca Handweavers
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Wicklow's Historic Gaol
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A £2 million
restoration and interpretive plan has been carried out by Wicklow
County Council to develop the old county Gaol which is situated at
the southern end of Wicklow Town, beside the Courthouse (where
many of the inmates were tried and sentenced), and adjacent to
Market Square. |
There
has been a gaol on this site since 1702 and it remained active
until 1924. During this time thousands of prisoners, young and
old, men, women and children, guilty and innocent passed through
its doors. The story of Wicklow's Historic Gaol is their story.
Opening Times:
Daily March-October, 10am-6pm (last admissions 5pm) |
Powerscourt House and
Gardens
| One of
the World's Great Gardens. Powerscourt is situated in the village
of Enniskerry 40km north of Rathdrum in the foothills of the
Wicklow Mountains. It is a sublime blend of formal gardens,
sweeping terraces, statuary and ornamental lakes together with
secret hollows, rambling walks and over 200 varieties of trees and
shrubs.
The 18th Century
Palladian House now incorporates an innovative shopping
experience, terrace cafe and house exhibition. Facilities include
speciality shops, interiors gallery, garden pavilion and 18-hole
golf course. |
Opening Times
House and Gardens, daily, 9.30am-5.30pm in summer.
Closed 25th and 26th of December.
Gardens close at dusk in winter. |
Glendalough
| Located
about 10km north of Rathdrum, Glendalough, the valley of the two
lakes, is one of Ireland's most notable locations for scenic,
historical and archaelogical reasons. Approaching from the east or
descending upon it through the Wicklow Gap from the west, it is
shrouded in beauty, mystery and tranquility.
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