NEWGRANGE and GLENDALOUGH

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Day 106 Newgrange

Today I went on a day tour out to see the Newgrange Tomb. Our first stop was to Tara Hill were the High Kings/Queens of Ireland would rule from. The hill offered a fantastic view of the majority of the country. On the site there is also some ancient burial mounds. From here we moved onto the Town of Trim. Here we walked around Trim Castel which is the only standing castle in Ireland that was built before gunfire and hence used to have a functioning moat around it.
By now it was close to lunch and when we reached Newgrange visitor’s centre we had enough time to eat before heading out on the guided tour of the Newgrange tomb which is 500 years older than the Pyramids. The tomb is situated inside a mound and therefore appears a lot larger than it actually is. The most fascinating thing about this place is that for 5 days around the shortest day of the year the tomb at sunset is lit by the rising sun!! It is also amazing to realise that the stone tomb was put together with no concrete or mortar to hold the stones together and is still standing!
After our tour we went straight back to Dublin where we headed off in our separate directions.

Day 107-109 Glendalough

These three days I spent in the lovely quite town of Glendalough situated in the Wicklow mountains. From there I was able to do a variety of the different day walks and see the fantastic views of the area. Whilst out walking I saw several families of deer including some little fouls prancing around. It was beautiful, peaceful and calming the perfect place to relax and unwind!
Glendalough is also famous for it’s Round Tower, St Kevin’s Cross and St Paul’s & St Kevin’s Church.

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