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SOUTH COAST WICKLOW MOUNTAINS ADVENTURE & GLENDALOUGH
From the Coast to the Mountains Go "completely off the beaten track"
. Discover remote Film locations – Braveheart, Excalibur, Michael Collins, Reign of
Fire, Ballykissangel, King Arthur (2003) .
County Wicklow , known as the Garden of Ireland, is 750 square miles of rolling hills, mountains, and waterfalls, there is only one way to see the real County Wicklow.
Leave the city behind for the east coast, travel along Dublin Bay to Dun
Laoghaire visiting The James Joyce Tower, passing through Dalkey home to Bono of
U2, Enya, Van Morrison, Maeve Binchey, Dalkey is also a heritage town complete with its very own historical castles.
Discover A mysterious rugged land of doomed granite, purple glens with silvery streams rushing cool and clear from Mountain and bog land to swell the rivers or dash headlong towards the sea "The Garden of Ireland"
Kilruddery
has been home to the Brabazon Family (the Earls of Meath) since 1618. Killruddery House is the most successful Elizabethan-Revival mansion in Ireland and also one of the earliest. In the 1820s the 10th Earl engaged the fashionable architects of the day - Richard Morrison and his son William - to remodel Killruddery. In the 1950s the house was greatly reduced to its present day proportions, but much of the Morrison's design and architecture still remain.
Visit
Powerscourt House and Gardens, located in a stunning natural setting at Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, approximately 45 minutes from Dublin city centre. A magnificent period home dating from mid 18th century, overlooking wonderful terraced gardens and an ornamental lake, Powerscourt House was partially destroyed by fire in 1974. A long restoration project ensued during which the ballroom and the garden rooms were rebuilt.
On site at Powerscourt is also Ireland's premier shopping emporium "Avoca Hand Weavers".
Explore Glendalough, follow in the footsteps of Saint Kevin, who established this spectacular 6th century monastic settlement, deep within the Wicklow Mountains, surrounded on all sides by steep mountain passes. Glendalough the valley of two lakes is one of the most spectacular locations to visit in Ireland. We will guide you through this mystical location, explore the round towers, cathedrals, high crosses, and enjoy a truly memorable stroll through the valley of two lakes.
Return to Dublin
THE COAST AND HOUSES OF NORTH DUBLIN
Leave the city behind rand travel north into County Meath. Travel from the Neolithic ritual passage tombs at Newgrange, through the Boyne valley, and onto the Hill of Tara, where St.Patrick lit the Pascal fire.
The
Casino is located at Marino, just off the Malahide Road and only 3 miles north
of the centre of Dublin. It was designed by Sir William Chambers as a pleasure
house for James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont. It is one of the finest 18th
century neo-classical buildings in Europe. The Casino, meaning "small
house", surprisingly contains a total of 16 finely decorated rooms.
Drive to Malahide via the North Dublin coast road taking in picturesque views of Howth surrounding areas. The Howth peninsula is situated at the north end of Dublin bay, 15kms from the city centre. The name Howth is derived from the Danish word 'hoven', which means head and it is picturesque fishing village with an abundance of pubs and restaurants and plenty of places to stroll.
Malahide, which means "on the brow of the sea”, is a village nine miles north of Dublin. The castle is close to the village and is built on a small rise, which commands a view of the bay. There are many magnificent oaks, chestnuts and sycamores dating to the days of the Tudors
Malahide is a 12th century castle; one of Ireland’s oldest and most historic with excellent collection of period furniture, oil portraits. The castle belonged to the Talbot family from 1185 to 1976 when it was sold to Dublin County Council. The castle itself is a combination of styles and periods; the medieval Great Hall is the only one in Ireland that is preserved in its original form while the National Portrait Gallery features many fine portraits of the Talbot family and 18th and 19th Irish Notables.
Newbridge
House is a delightful 18th century manor is set on 350 acres of parkland,
twelve miles north of the city centre and has one of the finest Georgian
interiors in Ireland. Each room has its own style of antique and
original furniture - indeed the house appears more or less as it did 150 years
ago.
The house was built in 1740 to a design by James Gibb for the Archbishop of
Dublin and contains elaborate stucco plasterwork by Robert West.
Ardgillan
is a large country house with castellated embellishments built by the Rev.
Robert Taylor in 1738. It stands on the elevated coastline commanding
magnificent views of the Irish Sea. The house consists of two storeys over
basement, which extend under the south lawns. The ground floor rooms of the
Castle are furnished in Georgian/Victorian style.
Explore
Fourknocks passage grave, which dates to around 2,500 BC . It is a cruciform passage tomb with many scribings, one of which is said to represent a human face, the only one we know of from this period. Around Fourknocks are the remains of an ancient burial trench and a cremation trench.
Return to Dublin by way of Glasnevin.
THROUGH
ROYAL MEATH
Guided Tour of Newgrange, a 5,000 year old passage tomb.
Battle of the Boyne Location of the first major clash in Ireland between Williamite and jacobite forces in 1690, a watershed in Irish and European history. Enjoy the Irish countryside as we travel along the banks of the river Boyne.
Experience Monasterboice High Cross and
the old monastery of St. Buite where you can see the amazing craftwork of the early Irish monks in the form of the Spectacular Muiredeach's High Cross.
Visit
Mellifont Abbey, one of the first Cistercian abbeys in Ireland
Visit Slane where St. Patrick arrived in the early 5th century, He challenged the Druids authority by lighting the Pascal Flame - advancing the cause of Christianity in Ireland.
Hill of Tara Visit the ancient coronation site for Irish High Kings, where our Druid forefather ruled supremely before the arrival of Christianity. Traditionally this location was used for Pagan festivals. View 23 of Ireland's 32 counties from this vantage point.
Return to Dublin
THE PALE & KILDARE
Castletown House: This magnificent stately home is rated as one of the finest examples of Palladian (classical) architecture in Ireland, and makes a trip to Celbridge worthwhile. It was built in 1722 with profits from land-grabbing after the 1691 Battle of the Boyne and has recently undergone extensive restoration. The house is well endowed with the trappings of a Georgian home and the extensive gardens feature clipped yew trees and a folly obelisk.
Trim Castle, the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, was constructed over a thirty year period by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter. Hugh de Lacy was granted the Liberty of Meath by King Henry II in 1176 in an attempt to curb the expensionist policies of Richard de Clare, (Strongbow).
Construction of the massive three storied Keep, the central stronghold of the castle, was begun c.1176 on the site of an earlier wooden fortress. This massive twenty-sided tower, which is cruciform in shape, was protected by a ditch, curtain wall and moat.
This magnificent site experienced a renaissance in 2000 when it opened to the public after an extensive period of excavation and restoration. Access to the keep is by guided tour only for safety reasons
Grange Castle is a fine example of a late 15th century Tower House, which was embellished in the mid 17th century with ornamental battlements and Jacobean chimneys, (probably influenced by Carbury Castle, only 3 miles away). It is close to the source of the River Boyne, in the barony of Carbury (which forms the North West corner of Co. Kildare between the borders of Meath and Offaly) and about three miles from Edenderry.
Ballindoolin is a medium size demense of some 250 acres, situated approximately 5 miles north of Edenderry in the county of Kildare. It was built around 1820 by the Bors who were timber merchants of Dutch origin.
The interior of the house is for the most part in an intact state, with all of its original plasterwork, joinery and fireplaces.
Much of the furniture is of significant historic interest as it was specifically designed and made for the house in 1822 when the Bor family first moved in. The furniture is the work of Mack, Williams and Gibton who were a successful and distinguished firm of Dublin Cabinet-makers in the early nineteenth century.
Kildare Town: This pleasant historic town, built around the medieval cathedral of St. Brigid. A perpetual fire was kept here until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537. There is a round tower in the graveyard which is also open to the public.
The National
Stud in the village of Tully, is the nations premier horse stud farm. It consists of 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of arable land where some of the world's finest horses are trained, is the National Stud, a testament to the perfectionism of racehorse-breeding. A museum of horseracing is the last resting place of Arkle, the legendary steeplechaser whose skeleton is on display. You don not have to be a racing fanatic to appreciate a visit here; the beautiful setting makes on its own the journey worthwhile. Next door to this are the Japanese Gardens.
Laid out in 1906 these are one of the finest of their type in Europe and through the use of trees, shrubs, rocks and water it tells the story of man’s progress through life.
Other tours are available that could include
Russborough House
Russborough was built for Joseph Leeson, later Earl of Milltown. Building began in 1741 and took ten years to complete. The architect was Richard Castle (Cassells). The house is built of granite and is in the Palladian style.
Maynooth Castle
In 1176 Strongbow granted the manor of Maynooth to Maurice Fitzgerald who erected a castle for protection against the native Irish. In 1426 the sixth Earl of Kildare enlarged and rebuilt the castle. In the latter half of the fifteenth century, Maynooth Castle became the centre of the Geraldine powerbase.
The Steam Museum Straffan
This museum is housed, appropriately, in a church which once stood in the Inchicore railway works in Dublin. Inside the museum, there's a fine collection of models of steam locomotives, including two used in the late 19th century by the Great Northern Railway. The museum also has a fine selection of steam engines used for industrial propulsion, including a huge beam engine used in the Midleton whiskey distillery in County Cork,