Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains

Glendalough is the day trip that most rewards a first visit to Ireland, because in a single day it gives you the two things people come for: deep early Christian history and wild, empty landscape, barely an hour south of the city. The name means the valley of two lakes, and the setting is a glacial trough in the Wicklow Mountains National Park, with the dark Upper Lake hemmed in by steep wooded slopes and the smaller Lower Lake below it. In the sixth century a hermit named Kevin came here to live in solitude, and the monastic settlement that grew up around him became one of the most important centres of learning and pilgrimage in early medieval Ireland. What survives is extraordinary: a slender stone round tower about thirty metres tall, roughly a thousand years old and still capped with its conical roof; the roofless cathedral; carved stone crosses in a graveyard that is still in use; and St Kevin's Church, a tiny stone-roofed oratory with a miniature round belfry, known to everyone as St Kevin's Kitchen. The monastic site is free to wander, and the OPW visitor centre near the entrance tells the story with an exhibition and audio-visual show. Most visitors come on a guided coach tour from Dublin, which crosses the mountains by the Military Road and the high pass of the Sally Gap, stopping above Lough Tay, the dark lake with a white sand beach on the Guinness family's Luggala estate. Tours sold through this link come from several operators, are highly rated, and some extend the day to the medieval city of Kilkenny. Expect a full day, a lot of fresh air and some of the most photographed scenery in the east of Ireland.

How to spend your time at the valley: tours typically allow a couple of hours at Glendalough, which is enough to see the monastic city properly and walk to the Upper Lake. Start at the stone gateway, the only surviving entrance arch to a monastic city in Ireland, then explore the round tower, the cathedral and St Kevin's Kitchen before following the flat Green Road through the woods past the Lower Lake. It takes around half an hour on foot to reach the Upper Lake, where the views open out toward the cliffs and the ruins of an old miners' village at the far end. If you have longer, the Spinc loop climbs onto a boardwalk along the clifftop above the lake, one of the finest short hikes in Ireland, but it needs a few hours and decent footwear, so it suits independent visitors with a car or a full free day more than tour groups.

Choosing a tour: the main formats are a straightforward Wicklow and Glendalough day, which leaves the centre in the morning and is back by early evening, and longer combinations that add Kilkenny's castle and medieval streets. Smaller-group tours generally spend more time at the lakes and less on the coach. Read the inclusions carefully: transport and guiding are standard, while lunch is usually at your own expense in a village pub or café. In winter, daylight is short and the mountain passes can be closed by snow or ice, in which case tours reroute through the valleys; in summer, the monastic site gets busy by late morning, so tours that arrive early have the edge.

Doing it yourself: driving gives the most freedom, with car parks at both the visitor centre and the Upper Lake (the latter charges a parking fee), and the St Kevin's Bus runs between Dublin and Glendalough for those without a car. Whatever you choose, bring a waterproof and layers, since the weather changes quickly in the mountains, and wear shoes that can handle mud. Pair the day with an evening pub session back in the city: after a day on the hills, a pint by the fire in a Dublin bar feels well earned.