What a nice way to relax at the end of a week of studying English in the classroom! On Friday some of the English language students took the opportunity of a free school tour (guided by Bob, the school director) to Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains. Listening to the information is a great way to learn some more English too!
As Bob explained to the group, Glendalough ('valley of the two lakes') is famous for 2 reasons: firstly, as part of the Wicklow Mountains National Park, it's a very beautiful place; and secondly, it has an incredible history stretching back 1500 years. The hermit, St Kevin, came to live here in a cave known as Kevin's Bed in the first millenium AD. He was joined by a group of followers who lived here as monks and built the famous Round Tower (see photo) and the monastic city. For over a thousand years the site was a renowned place of pilgrimmage to which people from all over Ireland would come each year to pray in the cold water of the Glendasan River. (The pilgrimmage was eventually stopped by local police in the 1800s as there was too much drinking, gambling and fighting!!?)
Other features of the valley include the two lakes; the ruins of a miners' village from the 1800s; a network of marked paths through the woods and mountains; the waterfalls at Glendasan and Poulanass; a visitors centre; and a range of wild flora and fauna including deer (which we saw!), feral goats (which we saw!), foxes, badgers, falcons.
To get to Glendalough when there is no tour orgainsed by the school, you can take the St Kevins Bus Service from Bray - see http://www.glendaloughbus.com/. To see the paths and other information about the site, see http://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/. If you have a group and want to go any time, ask Bob, the school director, and he might be able to arrange a private tour for you. He can also facilitate treks through the mountains for our English language students.
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