Den heliga klosterbyn Glendalough - och Irlands högsta vattenfall

Writer: Helena Bergström

Our last two motorhome trips in Ireland were to the sacred monastic village of Glendalough and to Ireland's highest waterfall, Powerscourt. Walking around the old (and new!) graves in the medieval monastic village of Glendalough was a very special experience. The waterfall provided a spectacular end to the motorhome trip. But, even though we returned the motorhome, the trip in Ireland was not over!

Table of contents

Beautiful landscape!

After our visit to Kilkenny we set the GPS to the monastic village of Glendalough, in Wicklow National Park. We came in on back roads, which meant it took a while to get there ... but what a fantastic landscape we got to drive through!

Irland kartbild — The monastic village of Glendalogh and Ireland's highest waterfall Powerscourt on the map

Irland landskap — The road went through beautiful landscapes!

Irland fors — There, at the bottom of the valley, is the monastic village of Glendalough.

The sacred monastic village of Glendalough

Glendalough, or Gleann Dá Locha, means the valley between two lakes in Irish. In the 5th century, a priest named Kevin arrived here, initially living as a hermit in a cave. Many people sought out Kevin for spiritual instruction, and over time a village was built here with several houses, churches and a tall tower.

St Kevins Church i klosterbyn Glendalough — St Kevin's Church, and in the background the round tower which is about 30 metres high.

The small monastic village in the east of Ireland flourished for several centuries, until 1398 when the village was destroyed by British forces. However, Christian pilgrims continued to make pilgrimages to the site. Today you can come here to visit the monastic village, or to hike in the beautiful surroundings. You can find more information at Glendaloughs official website.

Glendalough katedral — Remains of the great cathedral

READ MORE: Kilkenny is more than beer - rain and castles in Kilkenny
READ MORE: Killarney National Park - and the town of Killarney

Glendalough Cemetery

Although the buildings in the village are impressive, we were perhaps most fascinated by the cemetery. Many of the gravestones look as if they have been here since ancient times, with stones that look more like the stones of a shipwreck than graves in a modern cemetery. The ground has moved and the stones lean in all directions. If it hadn't been so bright, and if we hadn't been surrounded by other tourists, it would have felt like walking around in a scary ghost film ...

Glendalough kyrkogård — The cemetery is full of ancient gravestones.

Gravar Glendalough — The stones tilt in all directions ...

Although many of the graves seem ancient, others are much more recent. Some are decorated with Celtic crosses and others have brand new stones and are decorated with flowers and wreaths. What first appears to be a mere historical memorial turns out to be a cemetery that is still in use today.

Kyrkogård Glendalough — Many of the tombs are decorated with Celtic crosses.

Gravstenar Glendalough — In the foreground, ancient gravestones with moss - in the background, a modern grave decorated with flowers.

READ MORE: Two caves in Ireland - Europe's largest stalagtite
READ MORE: Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland - kissing the Blarney stone

Powerscourt - Ireland's highest waterfall

After visiting Glendalough, we drove on to Ireland's highest waterfall, Powerscourt. The waterfall is 121 metres high and impresses with a steady stream of rushing and thundering water. The waterfall is on private land and can be visited for a fee. You can find out more about prices and other practicalities on the Powerscourt website. website.

Irlands högsta vattenfall! — Ireland's highest waterfall!

Helena vid vattenfallet Powerscourt — Helena at the Powerscourt waterfall

Peter vid vattenfallet Powerscourt — Peter at the Powerscourt waterfall

Camping in Dublin

After 14 days of travelling around Ireland in a campervan, we had reached our last night in the campervan. As we had to return the campervan in Dublin the next morning, we decided to stay at the Camac Valley Caravan and Camping Park in Dublin.

This turned out to be a really big campsite with lots of places. WiFi didn't work when we were there, but otherwise this was a perfect place to stay. If you had more time, you could have started from here and taken a bus into Dublin to experience the city.

Was our trip to Ireland over? No, not really! As soon as we left the motorhome at the company, we took a bus to Belfast, where we checked into a hotel... Check back here tomorrow for more details!

Camping Dublin — Our last night in a motorhome in Ireland

Mini film: When things don't go as planned

And then there was the matter of left-hand traffic ... It was actually quite possible to drive on the left side. At least most of the time ...

13 Comments

Add yours →

Thomas i Vässan says:

How many miles did you cover around Ireland on your trip?

17 May 2018 - 7:10

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  What a great question Thomas! We actually don't know anything about it... But the island is quite small! Going from a city in the far north to a city in the far south only takes about 5.5 hours according to Google's odometer.
  
  17 May 2018 - 7:18
  
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

I don't know how many times we have said, "What a trip"! You have really promoted Ireland as a tourist destination. It's possibly the left-hand traffic that makes us a little reluctant to drive ourselves...?
I also find it fascinating to wander around cemeteries, among all the human destinies.

17 May 2018 - 7:35

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Peter found the left-hand traffic a bit tricky for the first three days, then it got better 😉.
  
  17 May 2018 - 13:13
  
Ama de casa says:

Very nice and a little "mystery" there in Glendalough. But we missed the waterfall. Too bad. I am a bit of a waterfall fetishist 🙂.

Have a great day!

17 May 2018 - 9:46

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Waterfall fetishist, haha. I've never heard that word before 😉
  
  17 May 2018 - 13:14
  
Anna/Bo i husbil says:

What a fantastic trip you have made! Hope to experience the entire British Isles one summer in the future. Thanks for the inspiration!

17 May 2018 - 11:49

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Great if we could inspire! 🙂
  
  17 May 2018 - 13:14
  
BP says:

Good thing there is at least one post left from you guys. The posts surpass each other and I will miss them. Ireland has everything, except the weather, but even there you were very lucky:-)

17 May 2018 - 17:36

Matts Torebring says:

Thank you for allowing us to travel, albeit remotely. It has been instructive and inspiring.

17 May 2018 - 19:10

Our Vantastic Travels says:

Through your reporting, you have really made us aware of Ireland's many attractions and beautiful landscapes.

17 May 2018 - 20:25

Camilla Sandmark says:

We also stayed there on our last night with the motorhome. A motorhome that we first swore over, then really agreed with and finally also missed 🙂 A really cosy campsite that I miss sometimes when I think back on our wonderful winning trip.

18 May 2018 - 21:26

pilla says:

What a beautiful waterfall!

20 May 2018 - 10:09

The sacred monastic village of Glendalough - and Ireland's highest waterfall

Writer: Helena Bergström

Beautiful landscape!

The sacred monastic village of Glendalough

Glendalough Cemetery

Powerscourt - Ireland's highest waterfall

Camping in Dublin

Mini film: When things don't go as planned

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13 Comments

Thomas i Vässan says:

Helena says:

Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

Helena says:

Ama de casa says:

Helena says:

Anna/Bo i husbil says:

Helena says:

BP says:

Matts Torebring says:

Our Vantastic Travels says:

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