Exploring Ireland- Wiclow

After Tipperary, my next stop was Glendalough, to me a very spiritual place in Ireland with the ruins of the old 6AD monastery.

A true piece of national heritage set in the Wiclow Mountains.

The route to Glendalough took me through Hollywood and over the misty passes, and the heath covered moores of the Wiclow Mountains.

Arriving at the Glendalough Hostel.

I have been to Glendalough on all my trips to Ireland and do feel a special power at the old monastery site.

In the past, though, I has only passed through this time I spent a few days to.explore the Wiclow Mountains …

The lake…

The waterways…

The forests…

And, local pubs serving delicious Irish Red Ale.

Exploring Ireland- Tipperary

Those of you who may have followed my blog over the years may remember that back in 2021, I travelled to the Old Fremantle Gaol in search of the story of my Great Grandfather who was transported to Australia as punishment for stealing during the Irish Famine.

The Nenagh Gaol, in Tipperary was completed in the 1830’s and was where my Great grandfather was incarcerated prior to transportation to Australia.

Amazingly, the Genealogical Centre is in the old gaol offices!

Having confirmed that this was the place of my ancestors, it was time to explore.

This is my third trip to Ireland, and this was a chance to visit some special places.

Cahir Castle is one of the historic tourist attractions in County Tipperary. But my B&B host had suggested the “Swiss Cottage” was a more interesting place to visit.

The Swiss Cottage is a wonderful example of a “cottage orne“. A place where the rich played at being ordinary peasants.

Around the cottage and the 2.5km. riverside walk from Cahir Castle, there are lovely trees and community facilities.

But my favourite tree was the 1000 year old Yew Tree standing by the cottage.

From Nenagh, there is a beautiful road that runs along Lough Derg to Ballina/Killaloe, where the Shanon River starts.

Killaloe is the birthplace of Ireland’s great great High King Brian Boru. King Brian in around 1000AD drove the Vikings out of Ireland and united all the then Irish Kingdoms.

A stone church stands on the site of an wooden church of Brian Boru. His story lives on in the stone church.

But the most beautiful aspect in the church were the patchwork quilts that told the tale of High King Brian Boru.

I felt this very Irish. Both proud and humble at the same time.

A visit to Gariwerd ( The Grampians)

Gariwerd, in Victoria, is the southwestern tip of the Great Dividing Range that runs 3,500 km up the east coast of Australia.

Its a beautiful place for riding the back roads, walking in beautiful bushland, and taking in the views from mountain top lookouts.

Geriward is also a place of significance for Australian Aboriginals. There are over 200 sites of Aboriginal Rock art in Gariwerd. It has the largest number of rock art sites in southern Australia.

Gariwerd can be translated as meaning Mountains created by Bunjil. Bunjil is part of the Aboriginal creation story.

I visited a couple of sites on this trip.

‘Bunjil shelter’ is the only known representation of Bunjil with two dingo helpers.

Ngamadjidj is another site that is accessible.

The art is generally found in rocky outcops in Gariwerd.

There are beautiful walks through the forests…

To waterfalls…

And mountain top views…

For the motorcyclist, the riding both on and off road is excillerating.

Some little adventures around Melbourne – my home

As Summer morphs into Autumn, the volatile weather that Melbourne is renowned for eases and the days are more constant making it more predictable for outdoor activities.

Like sailing…