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County Wicklow - the garden of Ireland

The county is also coastal and includes Brittas Bay - one of the best beaches in easy-reach of the city - and lovely country towns such as Aughrim, Blessington and Greystones, which also has a wonderful sandy beach and view of Bray Head.

There are also deep wooded valleys providing offbeat walks such as the Devils Glen near Ashford and the lakes of Lough Tay and Lough Tan at the Sally Gap - a stunning wilderness that borders on Luggala (Fancy mountain), a fairytale estate owned by a member of the Guinness family.

Points of Interest

Glendalough
Despite the number of tourists visiting, the dark valley with an upper and lower lake is one of the most beautiful in Ireland. Solitude-seeking monk St Kevin set up shop here in 198 and for seven years reputedly slept on stones and wore animal skins for clothes. The monastery that developed rivalled Clonmacnoise (see Co Offaly) in significance.

CThe Wicklow Way
Irelands longest walking trail that starts in Marlay Park in south Dublin and ends 132km later in Co Carlow, passing through the uplands but never the summits.

Lakes
There are a number of high altitude lakes within and bordering the Park, created by glaciers during the Ice Age including Lough Bray, Lough Ouler, Lough Firrib and Lough Nahanagan, a regular nesting spot for Peregrine Falcons. Here you can also see Turlough Hill hydroelectric power station

Brittas Bay
A long beach famous for its sand-dunes and a popular bathing spot for Dublin weekenders. Now also known for the wind-farm off the coast and visible from land.

Flora and Fauna
The National Park supports a great diversity of wildlife including otters, whooper swans, falcons, badgers and bats. On the floral side, heathers, gorse, bog cotton and the beautiful bog orchid. Eight plants are considered at risk and under protection including the rare Parsley Fern which has only been sighted three times recently.

Gardens
There are more than 40 private and public gardens that participate in the annual Wicklow Gardens festival. The following are two of the finest.

Kilruddery House and Gardens
The oldest formal gardens in the country lie just eight miles south of Dublin. Kilruddery has been described by British gardening guru Monty Don as a surreal, magical place, that give a childs-eye view of the world, lurching out of control, but infinitely more interesting. The garden was begun in 1862 with two canals leading to a circular pond. This vista was subsequently extended to include a pleasure garden, a cherry garden, a kitchen garden, a new garden, a wilderness, gravel walks and a bowling green.