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I’m in love with Ireland. The scenery, the people, the Guinness, the pubs, the music…it’s a great ‘craic’ as they say!
It may be a bit cheesy for some, but the movie P.S I Love You was one of my inspirations for visiting the Emerald Isle. If you’ve never seen it before, it’s about a woman called Holly, whose fun-loving Irish husband (played by the sexy Gerard Butler) dies of a brain tumor. He leaves her a series of surprise letters to help her overcome her grief and start a new life, which lead her back to where they first met…Ireland.
I loved this movie and it will definitely make you want to visit Ireland to see some of the filming locations. I hopped on a half day trip to Glendalough, Wicklow and Kilkenny with Paddywagon Tours, which takes you to the area where P.S I Love You and Braveheart were filmed.
They call this area the “Garden of Ireland” and it is seriously one of the most beautiful parts of the country to visit. As soon as we drove out of Dublin, the grey clouds cleared away, leaving a bright blue sky.
Read on to learn more about my experience and discover everything you need to know about taking a day trip to Glendalough from Dublin.
Glendalough
Our first stop was Glenadlough, which means the “Valley of the Two Lakes”. There are two lakes here – Upper Lake and Lower Lake.
In addition to the lakes you’ll also find the Monastic City, which consists of a 6th-century monastery founded by St. Kevin, and a round tower which stands 112 feet high.
The walk up to the two lakes is beautiful, and on a sunny day, the reflection in the water makes for some spectacular photos!
It’s completely free to see the Monastic sites and the Upper and Lower Lakes. The only parts that have a fee are the Upper Lake car park and the Visitor Centre at the Monastic Site.
If you have some time after your walk, I’d recommend stopping at The Glendalough Hotel for some scones and tea in the sunshine too.
Dogs are welcome as long as they’re on a leash and there are public bathroom facilities at the Monastic Site Visitor Centre and the Upper Lake Car Park area.
Wicklow Mountains
After walking around the lakes at Glendalough our awesome driver JJ took us on a scenic drive into the Wicklow Mountains, where we made a short photo stop at Wicklow Gap, at a height of 470m.
The flashback scene where Jerry catches sight of Holly in all her bright colours is shot in the Wicklow Mountains National Park. You’re not going to stand in the exact spot where they first meet, but you will get an idea of the stunning scenery of the area.
On the way to Kilkenny we visited this remarkable Megalithic Portal Tomb pictured below which is called Brown Hill Dolmen. It doesn’t look anything special when you look at it from the car park, but when you walk up to it, you can appreciate it a lot more. The capstone weighs around 100 tonnes, and the tomb was built between 4,900 and 5,500 years ago, so how they managed to move this stone without the technology we have today is anyone’s guess!
Kilkenny
Our final stop of the day was in the city of Kilkenny. This medieval city is located in the southeast of Ireland on the banks of the River Nore and has strong religious roots with lots of well-preserved churches and monasteries. Kilkenny is home to the magnificent 12th century Kilkenny Castle, which built in Norman times on a rocky an outcrop that offers a strategic vantage point over the river and city.
If you have time you can follow Ireland’s Medieval Mile, a discovery trail that runs through the city linking the 13th century St. Canice’s Cathedral to the Anglo-Norman Castle. On the way you’ll also discover numerous attractions including Rothe House and Gardens, the Medieval Mile Museum and Butler House.
We had a couple of hours to walk around the town, get some lunch, and do some shopping before heading back to Dublin.
You can have a pint of Kilkenny, visit the design centre for crafts and souvenirs and warm up with some Irish pub grub. There are lots of different restaurants and cafes here, but I went with JJ’s recommendation and had some traditional bacon and cabbage with a pint of Bulmers in Nostalgia Cafe. The food was fantastic and there’s a nice little outdoor roof terrace upstairs.
How to Get to Glendalough
Best Day Tours
The tour I did was this one with Paddywagon Tours. You can also book tours with Viator and GetYourGuide. Here’s a selection of tours:
Renting a Car
Your other easiest option for getting to Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains is renting a car. You can check prices on sites like Rentalcars.com and Kayak. The drive from Dublin to Glendalough takes approximately 45 minutes along the N11, passing through the beautiful Wicklow Mountains National Park.
Remember that they drive on the left in Ireland, so if you’re coming from places like the US or other countries in Europe then this may take some getting used to.
If you’re only used to driving automatic cars, be warned that the majority of cars are manual in Ireland. Some car rental places will have a few automatic cars so you’ll want to make sure you specifically request one of these, or learn to drive stick shift before you go to Ireland!
Bus
There are also buses that depart from Dublin and will take you to Glendalough Visitor Centre. The journey time takes 1 hour 5 minutes and you can check the schedules with St. Kevins Bus Services.
A Final Word…
Even if you’re not a fan of PS I Love You or Braveheart, the day tour is a great way to see on of the prettiest parts of Ireland and it’s only a short distance from Dublin. When you get back to Dublin, if you want to visit the pub where Jerry sings Galway Girl to Holly, that’s shot in Whelan’s Pub on Wexford Street!
Other Ireland blog posts:
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