The Expat Astrologer

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Getting out of Dublin: Hiking in Glendalough & Exploring the Wicklow Mountains

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Getting out of Dublin: Hiking in Glendalough & Exploring the Wicklow Mountains.Read this post for tips on how to make the most out of this day out!We recently celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary by taking a bus trip through the Wicklow Mountains to Glendalough. And of course I had to share with you the review of the tour! Some quick facts/tips about the tour and area:

  • Glendalough is pronounced Glendalock
  • The tour costs EUR27 per person, there are lots of tours going out to Glendalough, we went with Wicklow Mountain Tours. Our tour guide/bus driver really made the trip!
  • There are two pick up and drop off spots (City Center and Ballsbridge) – I recommend getting on and and off at city center, this is because we got on at Ballsbridge and by then spaces were limited to two individual seats only so we weren’t able to sit together. If you want to sit together, then get on the bus early. We were lucky that we asked the bus driver and he was able to make a plan for us to sit together. Since you are travelling on the bus for a large part of the trip, it makes sense that you would want to sit next to each other.
  • The Tour starts at 9am and you arrive back in town around 5pm. It is a long day, so bring snacks!
  • You stop for photos at various spots along the way but the bulk of your time is spent at Glendalough exploring the upper and lower lakes, and the monastic cemetery yard.
  • I recommend you pack a lunch (saves you cash too!), even though the tour does stop at a restaurant in Avoca Village. It arrives at the pub quite late in the day, and you get an hour there – enough for a pint (or two) but a bit rushed for a full meal.

This particular tour stopped at various scenes from the popular rom-com PS I love you. So it was full-on romantic cheese for our wedding anniversary (I am still not sure how I managed to rope Rob into doing it). I also managed to get Rob to watch the movie the night before so we would know where we were going. Naturally, I balled my eyes out when we watched the movie – it’s such a sweet film! Rob and Jack eye rolled so hard I wasn’t sure they were going to see properly ever again!

Scene from PS I Love you with Gerard Butler, Wicklow Mountains, Ireland

Even if you are not a fan of the movie (who doesn’t love Gerald Butler, swoon). The trip is definitely a must-do and if you are without a car, taking an organised bus tour is a great way to get out there and explore it just for one day. The Wicklow mountain tour group offers a bunch of tours, we chose the Glendalough and Avoca village tour. In hindsight, I am sure there may be better tours to go for. The reason I say this is that we mainly just wanted to see Guinness Lake and take a walk around the Wicklow mountains. There were one or two stops that in my opinion could have been shortened or removed completely from the agenda as they just weren’t that amazing or necessary for me.

[bctt tweet=”Before you take a bus tour to Glendalough in the Wicklow mountains, read this post!” username=”Thisisus_living”]

Guinness Lake, Lough Tay, Wicklow, Ireland

The best part of this tour and the main reason we did it, was to see Guinness Lake and to take a hiking trail through Glendalough in the Wicklow mountains. The trail is fairly straight forward, barring a steep section for about 10 minutes at the start. But it is well worth the effort, the views and the wilderness were beautiful to look at and you can walk at a slow pace (there is enough time to stop and take lots of pics!). If you are not up for the hike, then you can stay at the visitors center, but I loved that our bus driver offered us the option to take a walk with him. It was a great way to see it and experience in real life instead of being inside the visitors center.

Glendalough, County Wicklow, Ireland

The walk ends by cutting through the monastic cemetery, in the last little while we have found ourselves in quite a few cemeteries (look out for my next post about all the places to visit in Dublin for Halloween!). It was interesting to walk around, but heavily populated by other tourists, which in my opinion, kinda ruins it. I realize I was part of a tour group, but kids running and screaming through a cemetery is hugely disrespectful (not part of our tour group thankfully!)!

Glenfalough Monastic Church and Cemetery, Wicklow, Ireland

The restaurant at the end of the tour in Avoca village is quaint, but definitely not the best Irish pub we have visited. Although the food look good and is well priced, I think the ambiance and atmosphere is lacking. We had a pint and people watched the locals and other tourists in our group.

Avoca Village, Wicklow, Ireland

As I said in the beginning, it is a great tour to take if you don’t have a car, but I think once we do own a car – driving there yourself is probably heaps better because you can skip the random spots and head to the mountains early, take a longer hiking trail (there are several routes) and stay for a slow picnic.

DO OTHER TOURISTS ON TOUR BUSES ANNOY YOU, OR IS IT JUST ME?

Unlock the simple life,

~Meg~

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Getting out of Dublin: Hiking in Glendalough & Exploring the Wicklow Mountains.Read this post for tips on how to make the most out of this day out!

Getting out of Dublin: Hiking in Glendalough & Exploring the Wicklow Mountains.Read this post for tips on how to make the most out of this day out!

{Travel}: Weekend Exploring Bray, Co. Wicklow

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So many things to do in Bray, county Wicklow. Just a short train trip from Dublin. Bray to greystones cliff walk, the oldest pizzeria, and a walk up bray's head - plus more!So many things to do in Bray, county Wicklow. Just a short train trip from Dublin. Bray to greystones cliff walk, the oldest pizzeria, and a walk up bray's head - plus more!

bray wicklow

Bray is a quiet little seaside town, it is similar to Dun Laoghaire in it’s set up. I think it relies on passing tourist trade for the most part – although it definitely is a lot bigger than I thought it was! Most people who live in Dublin will tell you to go to Bray and do the Bray to Greystones Cliffwalk (followed by a stop at the Happy Pear in Greystones). But after some further digging about what else Bray has to offer, I realised there is so much more in this town to do! It helped that we stayed the night there, so we got to fit in a lot more than most.

How to get to Bray: We took the DART (train) down to Bray; 34 minutes and you are there! You can also travel on a bus, that would make the trip there a little over an hour (from Dublin City).

Warning: Once we arrived in Bray, we did a HUGE amount of walking! I am sure it would have been quicker in a car but we stuck to walking (plus walking is free).

5 things you HAVE to do in Bray:

  • Promenade and ice cream: I think Bray and Dun Laoghaire might have a secret battle on who has the best ice cream. Bray also has a Teddy’s (not the original I am told!) but a ton of other shops along the promenade offer ice cream – including a Gino’s (which we have yet to try!). Grab a cone and hit the prom for a bit of a walk, I loved that there were pebbles on the beach! I have been dying to see that sort of beach here. Coming from Sunny South Africa beaches and which are filled with hot sand dunes, it is a real treat to see pebbles!

bray promenade

  • Bray’s Head: Google maps will tell you is a 1,2km walk to the Bray’s Head. But dont’t let that fool you – the walk is tough! There are no paved pathways, you are literally hiking up the hill. On the day we did it, it was wet and raining. I don’t think I would recommend to people who are not steady on their feet. It was a challenging walk up the hill, but like everything in Ireland – the view was incredibly sweet. The walk down was a bit tricky to manoeuvre, with loose ground and rock to walk over. But I definitely think the view makes it so worth it.

bray head

  • Bray to Greystones Cliffwalk: The walk is really do-able. It is on an actual path, and not at all strenuous. It is about 6km, and most people walk one direction and then take the train back – which is what we did. I think next time, I would be keen to walk there and back. Rob, ofcourse, is keen to run both ways! A popular pit stop in Greystones is The Happy Pear. It is owned by twin brothers, and it is a vegan restaurant. They even have a recipe book – and are a bit famous here in Ireland. We tried to stop here but the lines out the shop were almost down the road! Like I said, it is very popular. I would be keen to go back and visit, they have a beautiful outside area around the back which I think would be even more congested in summer!

bray cliffwalk

  • Pizza’s n Cream: Following a tip about visiting a vegan, healthy spot, why not suggest to rather stuff a large pizza in your face? (Don’t mind me, I am a fitness blogger who advocates a balanced lifestyle!) But seriously, the pizzas here are well worth a cheat meal or five. They claim that they are the oldest pizzeria in Ireland. (sidenote: I absolutely love that every irish establishment is the oldest or best or highest or longest in Ireland – they are all very good at choosing a highlight and marketing it well!) The menu selection is broad, the wine is good, and I found the prices very affordable.

bray pizza

  • Harbour Bar: or what I like to call “the inside of Rob’s head”. This place is incredible. It is filled to the brim with knick knacks and loads of nooks and crannies; all while playing great music tracks. It has several seating areas: bar; lounge, outdoor area, upstairs area – and all of them offer something different dependent on what you are looking for. We popped in for a pre-drink and chill. We sat upstairs listening to pipe music. It felt like we were at home. Downstairs there was a band playing, and a party just getting started. We will definitely be back.

bray harbour bar

  • Random bonus: And if you are a silly tourist, just looking for quirky finds, this is possible the prettiest McDonald’s I have ever eaten at (yes, we had breakfast here!).

bray mcdonalds

Would you believe that we ran out of time, and so we have to head back (and soon) to visit Bray some more, here are things that I know we need to still see:

  • Kilruddery House: We walked out to the see the house (which is owned by the Earl and Countess of Meath) but it was closed for winter and will reopen in March. There is also farm market, 9am – 3pm every Saturday. It was also closed for winter – but I am very intrigued to visit the market soon!

killruddery house

  • Dockyard No. 8: is THE spot in Bray for the best brunch. This restaurant is right next to the Harbour Bar, and is on the other side of town, away from Bray’s head which is where we were going that day. We ran out of time with only one morning to visit, but I will be back!

Have you done the Bray to Greystones Cliff walk?

~ Meg ~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

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