Glendalough

I love escaping out to Glendalough for a meander around the monastic village, a stroll round the board trail to the great lakes, then out up the hill side. Early morning is best — especially as it gets very crowded with tourists as the day runs on. Free car parking (and lots of it) — though disappears fast on a sunny day.
For the less energetic there’s a car park closer to the lake, so you can just get out your car, grab an ice-​cream and take in the peace and serenity.

Love going out to Glendalough!!! its so pretty and you can get there in under a hour from the city. if tehres a weekend with even a little bit of sun you should get out there. you can take a walk around the whole lake in just over a hour thats really easy going. Or if you want to something a little more of a challenge you have the spink loop which takes about 3 hours.
You have the visiters centre and the monastery aswell as the Glendalough hotel for some food and a drink if the mood takes you. I like the spink loop there its very scenic. If your driving down be sure to take a spin down to lough tay which has a great view! and is only down the road from glendalough

Ive lived in Ireland for nearly 3 years now, and i haven’t done much travelling so I decided to take a tour bus to Glendalough. It was a glorious day at the end of May when I got on the bus on Dawson St to head to Wicklow. The drive up through the mountains was lovely. The scenery and ruins were absolutely stunning. It was crowded, but what could you expect on such a warm sunny day? The tour bus left us there for 5 hours, and I had seen all I wanted to see after 3 hours, but I was content to just lay in the grass and soak up the sun while I waited for the bus. Definitely a must see spot.

Glendalough is what everyone thinks of when they think of Ireland, whether they know it or not.
St. Kevin’s monastery had so much history and wonder to it. Loved walking through the cemetery, taking pictures of the church ruins and the Round Tower… you could very easily kill an entire day in this park.
I was carrying my whole life on my back, so I took the Miner’s Trail, which was one of the longer, easier hikes. The visitor’s center didn’t have any lockers or places to store your things, so if you’re visiting, it’s best to leave your things in the hotel. If you’re backpacking… more power to you. The Miner’s Road was supposed to take maybe three hours there and back. With an extra 40 lbs on me and stopping every few feet to take a picture of something gorgeous, it ended up being a five hour trek for me. Thank goodness the weather held.
There are some shorter trails, I’m sure, but the Miner’s Road was definitely worth checking out. Got up close and personal with some wild goats, got some great shots of the village ruins, and some beautiful views of the glen and lakes.
Don’t pass it up, just go! Trust me on this!

Slice of Heaven. You must go see this beautiful country while in Ireland. Just Stunning.

When the Irish weather and calendar align to provide the rare ‘Sunny Saturday Morning’, you need to get to Glendalough. From the drive through the Sally Gap, the monastery and hiking around the valley, it’s a place of unique natural beauty and historical significance.
The monastery has 1500 years of history to explore and the National Park runs events throughout the year. Great picnic location as well and an excellent place to walk your dog too!

Simply amazing ! Could have stayed there for days, contemplating the wonders of nature… Our favorite spot so far: o)

If you live in Dublin, own a dog and have access to a car — you need to visit gleann da loch. Perfect morning/​afternoon scenic walk amongst woodlands and both lakes. A dogs dream!

What to do on a beautiful morning on the first day of February? A wee walk in the Glendalough valley of course!
At the start of the white trail, go right through Miners’ Road to get to the Miners’ Village ruins before your climb to the summit. Otherwise if you go left, you will have to climb the 600 steps first.
There was a lot of snow and ice in some areas but was manageable and makes the walk a bit more challenging. Views are stunning, not a difficult walk and definitely worth doing. Would have preferred less boardwalk and more hiking.

One of my favourite nature spots in Ireland.
Unfortunately not just for me, so the carparks (and sides of the road) can be very busy, especially on a sunny weekend. But the charme is, as soon as you go just a bit away from the cemetery or lakes you can enjoy the peace of the place. And even the cemetery or lakes are not THAT overcrowded. But it is a tourist attraction and locals love it so to be there on your own you should go very early in the morning or late in the evening. But then the carparks are closed.
As mentioned I love the peace in Glendalough. It’s quite clear to me why St. Kevin chosed to settle down here. And the amount of walks around Glendalough cater for every occasion, need, circumstamce. Easy around the lakes and cemetery, longer walks up at the waterfall and then following the signs rather to the left, manageable with some level of fitness to do Spinc or it’s a very good base for a full days hike across the mountains. The latter rather in a group as that’s often off track through bog but everything else you can even walk on your own — provided you have the fitness for your chosen way.

This place is so beautiful and full of history. You can park there for 4 euros. There is no public bus service from Dublin to Glendalough but you can take the Private bus service that run a daily called St Kevin’s.

This place is just magical !
I knew that the Ireland’s countryside is beautiful but there… I just fall in love with that place!
Everything is so quiet and pure! You feel like in a movie of the middle age with amazing landscapes!
You can try the trails in Wiclow Way according to you level of sportivity but every walks are accessibles. You just have to follow the arrows and to enjoy the air, the atmosphere and the nature.
After a big walk, you can have a picnic on the border of one of the two lakes or in the the middle of the mountains!
At night, enjoy the warm atmosphere of a typical restaurant or a bed a breakfast…
Excellent to have a break during your busy year of work !!!

I was hesitant at first to agree with my friend to take a day trip here as we only had less than 3 days in Dublin. I’m so glad we went. This was actually the highlight of my stay in Dublin. It was a nice drive out here through Sally’s Gap, the scenery was amazing. I’m not much of a movie watcher, but our guide informed us of the many movies and TV shows that had been filmed in the area, including Braveheart. I can see why, the area was amazing.
We had an excellent tour guide, learned a lot of history in a short amount of time. Walking around St. Kevin’s Church, better known as St. Kevin’s Kitchen, this 6^th century monastic city, rich with celtic crosses, headstones, and tons of great Instagram photo opps!
Make sure to take to walk up to the upper lake. I didn’t walk for up enough and I missed the waterfall (I was afraid I was going to miss the bus).

The 6^th century monastic site of Glendalough is an amazing place and well worth a visit. The site itself is free, including parking, although there is a museum onsite for a small fee.
After parking, you can proceed to either the paths to the lakes through the hills (which also has a side path to the monastic site) or directly to the monastic site through an archway near the hotel and bus parking area.
The site itself is beautiful and well maintained and includes many 6^th century buildings and the large circular tower which Glendalough is known for. If you have time, also take the walk to the lakes. I believe the sign said it was about 1.6 kilometers from the monastic site, but well worth the walk to see the lake nestled between the two hills.
This is a great place to visit and a key places which I like to take visiting guests while in Ireland.

Glendalough is once of those places that makes you wonder if you are awake or just dreaming. It is that beautiful.
The name means the Glen of two Lakes. It is also one of the most important sites of monastic ruins in Ireland and was founded in the 6^th century.
It is a nice place to stroll on the foot paths or hike amongst the trees. I saw backpackers walking through there and I can imagine that camping would be nice if you don’t get too soaked from the rain.
There is the Glendalough Hotel right there or more B & B’s in the Wicklow Mountains if camping isn’t your thing.
It is located inside the Wicklow Mountains National Park and it isn’t too far from Dublin.

This is one of my favorite places in Ireland. I loved the scenery and calming atmosphere. Got super unlucky with the weather and it rained on and off the entire hike but once I reached Upper Lake. the sight was well worth the soaked clothes. The sun peaked out of the clouds and it was perfect. Just beautiful. I put my feet into the cold water and it was so relaxing! I would definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Ireland.

Great place to go on a sunny day. Went on a hike around the lake, up the mountain, the views are amazing.
If you like the outdoors this is a good place to come. A bit dependent on the weather though, it would not have been half as much fun in the rain.
And the best part, its all free!

I love visiting Glendalough. Not for the monastic buildings, but for the scenery and hikes.
The Spink Loop is what I normally hike. On one occasion recently though we arrived into Glendalough from the Shay Elliot Recreation area near the Glenmalure valley over the peak of Mullacor and down into Glendalough via the Spink ridge. You need two cars for this, one at each end. But it’s well worth it and gives you some new amazing scenery to view.
The Spink Loop is a good hike, 9 KM with tough up hills. But there are good railway sleeper paths as well as regular paths. Fairplay to the National Parks & Wildlife Services for the maintained pathways here.
The first carpark is free, but will make your walk longer. The second carpark will cost you 4 EUR in exact change.

Glendalough is always one of those places I recommend in Ireland when people ask me. Its in Wicklow so its not too far from Dublin. The name means Valley of the Two Lakes, and its a historic monastic settlement in a glacial valley. Its very beautiful and there’s a series of marked walks around the lakes, with greater and lesser steepness. There’s a visitor centre and free parking.
Feeling just about fed up with being couped up for the winter, we decided to hit the road today and head to Glendalough. It was one of those lovely crisp, non raining days that you sometimes get at this time of year. We got a map in the visitor centre for 50c and asked for walk recommendations. As we said we’d like to go for about 2 hours, they suggested the orange walk. It took us a little over two hours and was quite steep in parts, but we got fantastic views of the valley and monastry from above. There’s a good few shorter, flatish walks if you prefer less exertion, but there’s also serious hikes if you feel that way inclined. You still get beautiful views down by the lakes even if you don’t take a walk up the mountainside.
You’ll see lots of people especially on weekends — families, couples, ramblers and people just walking their dogs. Definitely a high point of ‘the Garden of Ireland’

I really enjoyed visiting Glendalough. To see an old monastery in Ireland with so much history really was a moving experience. It dates back to the 6^th century AD and flourished for nearly 700 years before being partially by of course, the British. Since then, it has been rebuilt to about as good as it could to be to the original structures.
The graveyard in itself is worth taking a hard look at. The graves dating back to as far as they do is really interesting. I personally enjoy that kind of stuff. The old buildings have plaques and some markers saying what they are. Just make sure if you do decide to do a self guided tour instead of a guided tour to get a brochure to get your information. It is fun to just look on your own, but the meaning behind it won’t be as significant if you don’t read about it.
It is a very short commute from Dublin to Glendalough. If you do plan to visit, I would recommend taking a tour bus. They give you a long enough time to visit and to enjoy it at your own pace. If you drive, you might get a tad car sick! The roads to get there are extremely windy.
Totally worth visiting if you visit Ireland or Dublin, better yet the Wicklow Mountains!

Wow, qué excursión, la Irlanda pura y dura. Este antiguo cementerio medieval representa la pureza y el sentimiento irlandés al 100%. Las construcciones de las torres, las cruces, un mar de cultura tradicional irlandesa arquitectónica, histórica y natural. El cementerio ya de por sí bien merece una visita, y la ubicación entre montañas y lagos hacen una visita única e inolvidable.
Rodeada por los montes de Wicklow, hay una excursión de un par de horas rodeando lagos donde incluso te puedes bañar. Un paisaje precioso que no hay que olvidar y hacer sí o sí.

Glendalough ist, inmitten des Naturschutzreservates Wicklow gelegen, eines der größten Schätze der Iren. Nicht nur das hier einer der bedeutensten Stätten der Kirchengeschichte der Iren liegt und der Upper Lake eine fantastische Aussicht bietet, nein auch die wanderer kommen hier nicht zu kurz. Ob durch die Mountains oder nur um den Upper Lake ist hier vieles möglich.

Ohne Auto, kaum zu erreichen, liegt ca. 40 Km südlich von Dublin in den Wicklow Mountains.
Zu besichtigen gibts, alte Klosterruinen, einen 33 Meter hohen Rundturm aus dem 11. Jahrhundert, einen alten Friedhof. Der heilige Kevin hat hier gelebt so ist die Gegend zu einem bekannten Pilger Ort geworden. Es gibt viele tolle Wanderwege zu den 2 Seen und den Hügeln rundherum von wo aus man eine tolle Aussicht geniessen kann. Kleine Wasserfälle, viel Wald und eine romantische Landschaft laden zum verweilen ein.