By Jane Lasky
Entering an Irish Monastary where ruins and graves preside (Photo: Wikipedia, public domain)
Seeking something special and just a bit spooky from Sugarloaf?
A surprising treasure hidden in Ireland's Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough is a prominent Monastic City stuck far back into the wilds of one of Ireland's most popular national parks.
Hailing back to the 6th century, these ruins surprise with round towers and old church remains existing amongst a myriad unkempt headstones that lean this way and that.
The graves belong to those who lost their lives to the many droughts, famines, and diseases that plagued the Irish from 775 to 1095. Their final resting places were then ravaged by harsh Norsemen invasions. Many walking trails lead to the downtrodden Monastic City and beyond, making the visit both cultural and health-driven.
Looking for even more from a day in the Irish countryside?
Take a drive or bike the narrow roads of County Wicklow, peppered with wild fields, rolling hills, violet-hued glens, and ancient granite mountains. This description sounds like the perfect cinematic backdrop which, well, it has been -- most memorably by showing up in the Mel Gibson epic, Braveheart, where, ironically, Ireland stands in for Scotland.
More on Ireland's myriad assets -- ghoulish and otherwise - soon.
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