I have started to become fascinated by these round towers and this one is special. It is special because of the beauty of its surroundings, seated at the mouth to the Vale Of Glendalough. There is an 'Interpretation Center' nearby, but I didn't check this out. Why the importance of this place? Because of its location, at the other end of St. Kevin's Way from St. Kevin's Seat & Bed.
The tower is in very good condition and stands in a beautiful cemetery with an astounding scenic backdrop.
At the picnic area there are several ancient crosses, now weather beaten and beautiful in their own way. The lake is a delight to walk around and at its far end is a deserted mining village. This place looks like quite a site of pilgrimage due to its St. Kevin association, but don't let that put you off.
Being bored I decided to stop off here and have my lunch. I took a few more photos and wandered down to the Miner's Village.
With such a beautiful day and a need to escape from the madness that is St. Patrick's Day in Dublin I brought the kids out to Glendalough for their first time.
Great fun was had by all and I was able to see much more this time because I was here to be a tourist and not specifically for the web site, although I have managed to add a lot more here from this day.
Take the R115 south from Dublin. From Laragh take the R756 west and turn down the R757. Follow this road until you pass a pub and can park by a little stream. Walk through the gatehouse to reach the round tower. The picnic area and crosses lie further down this road right at the very end. Parking is �1.50 during the day.
This is an explanation of (and a bit of a disclaimer for) the coordinates I provide. Where a GPS figure is given this is the master for all other coordinates. According to my Garmin these are quite accurate. Where there is no GPS figure the 6 figure grid reference is master for the others. This may not be very accurate as it could have come from the OS maps and could have been read by eye. Consequently, all other cordinates are going to have inaccuracies. The calculation of Longitude and Latitude uses an algorithm that is not 100% accurate. The long/lat figures are used as a basis for calculating the UTM & ITM coordinates. Consequently, UTM & ITM coordinates are slightly out. UTM is a global coordinate system - Universal Transverse Mercator - that is at the core of the GPS system. ITM is the new coordinate system - Irish Transverse Mercator - that is more accurate and more GPS friendly than the Irish Grid Reference system. This will be used on the next generation of Irish OS maps. |