Powerscourt Gardens and Glendalough

Trees at Powerscourt

e love going to gardens of all kinds, and Powerscourt, just southwest of Dublin, is Ireland’s gem. Lots of grand houses and wealthy families have done great gardens over the centuries, but the cool thing about Powerscourt is the conservation management they have accomplished over all these years. It is a splendidly laid out and organized combination of formal garden and the wild beauty of the surrounding land. We especially enjoyed using the tree map to see the wonderful variety of conifers and deciduous trees planted here. At the end there was a pair of gorgeous borders, and two huge dahlia and rose beds. Even though it is the end of September, there are flowers blooming everywhere in Ireland. All along the roads there are huge hedges of fuchsia and stand and stand of blazing orange Crocosmia. There are still Gladioa blooming and lots dahlias, begonias, and other things that would be long gone elsewhere. The whole island is a garden.

After Powerscourt (where it seemed the whole population of Spain had descended) we headed, with one brief wrong turn, to the ancient monastery site of Glendalough. This is a very popular weekend and holiday destination for the Irish and, as this was a Sunday, they had definitely arrived! But we managed to find a parking spot and wandered off into these very old stone buildings. St. Kevin was the founder, and his chapels and huts fill not only the little village where the main monastery buildings are, but move right on up this mountain valley with hermit huts and special chapel spaces. I am always astounded at the ingenuity and care that went into all these communities. There is a round tower here, as there is for each monastery site in Ireland. When the Vikings, or the Normans, or whoever was on the attack, the monks would put a ladder up and haul all the treasure up into the top windows of the tower and then go there themselves and wait it out. Very smart.

Glendalough

Our day ended at Bailey’s Hotel in Cashel for a two-night stay. It’s a good spot, and we’re looking forward to exploring the famous Rock of Cashel in the morning.

The next day in Cashel proved exciting - rain, rain, rain. The Rock of Cashel is an old friary and cathedral that is largely intact in its wall structures. It sits high on a rock above this lovely town. It was a short walk from our hotel. And it was rainy horribly! Just buckets and buckets and buckets of water. We were relieved to be able to sit in a room for a video which wasn’t happening, but we had a good conversation with a couple from Los Angeles who used to be from Seattle. We finally got to see the video and the explore the ruins of this pretty amazing sight.

The Rock of Cashel

The need to be dry finally got the better of us, and we headed back to the hotel and hung up our wet clothes. Yikes! We had dinner again in the excellent bistro at Bailey’s Hotel and closed the place down in a long conversation with an English couple.