Day One | Wicklow Mountains

Our morning journey took us south to the Wicklow Mountains. According to David, the organizer extraordinaire of all of our international trips, “the level of rebel activity in these hills just outside the capital city of Dublin was such that the British Government built a military road to cross the mountains to enable troops to be deployed quickly into the area. Today the principal activity is sheep farming and recreation with over 54,000 acres of woods, bogs and upland heath forming Wicklow National Park.” By the way, anything in this blog that sounds anything close to educational is from David’s excellent trip summaries he prepares prior to the trip. I merely incorporate them into my blog as added value to accompany the photos, some of which might not even be mine!

POWERSCOURT ESTATE

Our first stop today was the Powerscourt Estate, a 47-acre garden, reportedly the finest in Ireland, both for its design and for the dramatic setting at the foot of the Great Sugar Loaf. The estate boasts 100’s of varieties of trees, shrubs and flowers and is meticulously maintained for the thousands of tourist who visit every year.