Glendalough
Glendalough "the glen of the two lakes", is a truly spellbinding place - an ancient monastic settlement and two clear water lakes beneath the sheer cliffs of a deep valley which was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age.The monastic settlement has been a centre for pilgrims and visitors since its foundation by St. Kevin in the 6th century. Kevin is thought to have come from the more fertile lands of county Kildare and like many other men of sanctity in early times, desired solitude for his life of prayer and contemplation. Thus he withdrew into the thinly peopled mountains and set up his hermitage at Glendalough.
The
settlement expanded and flourished for many years before being finally destroyed in the
16th century. The present remains, some of the most important of their kind in
Ireland, tell only a small part of the monastic story. The buildings which survive -
round tower, cathedral, stone churches and decorated crosses - probably date from between
the 8th and 12th centuries.The famous Round Tower, about 34m high and 16m in
circumference at the base, is still in near perfect condition even though it is almost
1,000 years old.
The excellent Visitors' InterpretiveCentre provides regular exhibitions, informative guided tours of the monastic site as well as an audio-visual show about the rich heritage of the area.
Elsewhere around the upper and lower lakes there are a number of well-known walking routes, which allow visitors to take in as much or as little of the surrounding scenery as they wish. These walks cater for both the experienced walker and for family day outs.
Once the monastic capital of Europe, Glendalough attracts up to 500,000 visitors annually. The ruins of the seven churches and the 6th century round tower owe their origins to St. Kevin, the hermit who founded the monastic city and who lived in a cave - St. Kevin's Bed - overlooking the Upper Lake.
Laragh
Laragh village lies at the junction of several large Wicklow valleys and many scenic roads meet here, the most important one being the road to Glendalough. Unless you approach this monastic site travelling east from the Wicklow Gap, you must go through Laragh. There are two options to the Laragh Walk, through woods, then over Brockagh Mountain and finally through the monastic site at Glendalough.Laragh is an anglicised form of láthrach, meaning a site or location. In his Placenames of County Wicklow, Liam Price says that Laragh is identified with Láthrach Dá Arad, the site of two charioteers, which is in the same neighbourhood as Mágh Dá Chonn, the plain of the two heads. It is interesting that an old Gaelic manuscript describing the portions of meat to be served to persons of importance at a ceremonial feast, says that "heads are the portion of charioteers"! Laragh is a quiet peaceful village but at the top of the triangular green stands the old police barracks, which is well worth noting. The Glenmacnass River running through the village which lies on the Wicklow Way route, a 132km/82mile Way-Marked Way following a North-South line over the eastern flanks of the Wicklow Mountains.