Glendalough: the valley of two lakes where monastic Ireland rests

Glendalough means "valley of the two lakes", and the name alone tells the story of the place. Nestled among the Wicklow mountains, less than an hour from Dublin, this early-medieval monastic site was, by tradition, founded around the sixth century and for centuries became an important religious centre. Today what remains is moss-covered stones, a small church, headstones tilted by time and a slender round tower that rises above the trees like a finger pointing at Ireland's grey sky.

Easily reachable though it is, Glendalough has nothing of the tourist circus that besieges other Irish icons. Most visitors gather around the main cluster of ruins and the Lower Lake, staying only a couple of hours. But set out towards the Upper Lake, or take one of the paths climbing the flanks of the valley, and you regain the silence almost at once: wind, water and the distant bellowing of deer in autumn.

The advice for those seeking quiet is simple: avoid weekends and the middle of the day, when the day-trip coaches arrive from Dublin. Better to turn up in the early hours of the morning, when the mist still lingers on the water and the ruins seem to emerge from another age. The shoulder-season months and winter leave the valley almost deserted, provided you accept rain and mud. The visitor centre helps you understand the site's history without rhetoric.

Glendalough is visited on foot and free of charge: bring sturdy shoes, a waterproof jacket and time to spare. Do not seek spectacle, but contemplation. It is a place to move through slowly, letting the landscape and the stones tell, unhurried, the long spiritual history of this hidden valley.

Getting there

Glendalough lies in County Wicklow, among the mountains south of Dublin. By car you follow the N11/M11 southbound and then the R755 through the village of Laragh, on a route that takes in stretches of dual carriageway and mountain roads. Without a car there is the historic St Kevin's bus service, which departs from St Stephen's Green in central Dublin and stops at the valley's Visitor Centre. The nearest airport is Dublin.