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The sacred monastic village of Glendalough - and Ireland's highest waterfall

Our last two motorhome trips in Ireland were to the sacred monastic village of Glendalough and to Ireland's highest waterfall, Powerscourt. Walking around the old (and new!) graves in the medieval monastic village of Glendalough was a very special experience. The waterfall provided a spectacular end to the motorhome trip. But, even though we returned the motorhome, the trip in Ireland was not over!

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Beautiful landscape!

After our visit to Kilkenny we set the GPS to the monastic village of Glendalough, in Wicklow National Park. We came in on back roads, which meant it took a while to get there ... but what a fantastic landscape we got to drive through!

Irland kartbild
The monastic village of Glendalogh and Ireland's highest waterfall Powerscourt on the map
Irland landskap
The road went through beautiful landscapes!
Irland fors
There, at the bottom of the valley, is the monastic village of Glendalough.

The sacred monastic village of Glendalough

Glendalough, or Gleann Dá Locha, means the valley between two lakes in Irish. In the 5th century, a priest named Kevin arrived here, initially living as a hermit in a cave. Many people sought out Kevin for spiritual instruction, and over time a village was built here with several houses, churches and a tall tower.

St Kevins Church i klosterbyn Glendalough
St Kevin's Church, and in the background the round tower which is about 30 metres high.

The small monastic village in the east of Ireland flourished for several centuries, until 1398 when the village was destroyed by British forces. However, Christian pilgrims continued to make pilgrimages to the site. Today you can come here to visit the monastic village, or to hike in the beautiful surroundings. You can find more information at Glendaloughs official website.

Glendalough katedral
Remains of the great cathedral

Glendalough Cemetery

Although the buildings in the village are impressive, we were perhaps most fascinated by the cemetery. Many of the gravestones look as if they have been here since ancient times, with stones that look more like the stones of a shipwreck than graves in a modern cemetery. The ground has moved and the stones lean in all directions. If it hadn't been so bright, and if we hadn't been surrounded by other tourists, it would have felt like walking around in a scary ghost film ...

Glendalough kyrkogård
The cemetery is full of ancient gravestones.
Gravar Glendalough
The stones tilt in all directions ...

Although many of the graves seem ancient, others are much more recent. Some are decorated with Celtic crosses and others have brand new stones and are decorated with flowers and wreaths. What first appears to be a mere historical memorial turns out to be a cemetery that is still in use today.

Kyrkogård Glendalough
Many of the tombs are decorated with Celtic crosses.
Gravstenar Glendalough
In the foreground, ancient gravestones with moss - in the background, a modern grave decorated with flowers.

Powerscourt - Ireland's highest waterfall

After visiting Glendalough, we drove on to Ireland's highest waterfall, Powerscourt. The waterfall is 121 metres high and impresses with a steady stream of rushing and thundering water. The waterfall is on private land and can be visited for a fee. You can find out more about prices and other practicalities on the Powerscourt website. website.

Irlands högsta vattenfall!
Ireland's highest waterfall!
Helena vid vattenfallet Powerscourt
Helena at the Powerscourt waterfall
Peter vid vattenfallet Powerscourt
Peter at the Powerscourt waterfall

Camping in Dublin

After 14 days of travelling around Ireland in a campervan, we had reached our last night in the campervan. As we had to return the campervan in Dublin the next morning, we decided to stay at the Camac Valley Caravan and Camping Park in Dublin.

This turned out to be a really big campsite with lots of places. WiFi didn't work when we were there, but otherwise this was a perfect place to stay. If you had more time, you could have started from here and taken a bus into Dublin to experience the city.

Was our trip to Ireland over? No, not really! As soon as we left the motorhome at the company, we took a bus to Belfast, where we checked into a hotel... Check back here tomorrow for more details!

Camping Dublin
Our last night in a motorhome in Ireland

Mini film: When things don't go as planned

And then there was the matter of left-hand traffic ... It was actually quite possible to drive on the left side. At least most of the time ...

All our top tips about Ireland. Click on the image!

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