spend a weekend in wicklow ireland

we spent a few days in wicklow ireland during our 10 day road trip. wicklow is a cute little town only about an hour south of dublin and on the eastern coast of ireland. the scenery is beautiful here and we were blessed with only a little rain during our stay.  it is a perfect weekend getaway from dublin to get back in touch with ireland’s natural beauty.

we stayed in a bnb on the edge of town where we had breakfast cooked for us by our host, who is also a chef, each morning. we got to enjoy the view from their enclosed sun room. the mornings were relaxed, the food was delicious, and the location was perfect for our adventures. 

we used airbnb to book all of our accomodation for our ireland trip. it is a great way to get more of a local flavor including meeting locals and getting their recommendations of things to do in the area. if you’ve never used airbnb before, i highly recommend it. we have used it for all our travel for the last four years or so and haven’t had a bad experience. if you use this link to sign up you will get $40 off your first booking and i will get some credit too. 

wicklow national park

we decided to visit wicklow national park which includes the wicklow mountains and is not far from wicklow town. this scenery is in p.s. i love you, so it was on nick’s list to see! unfortunately it was fall during our visit so we didn’t get to see the beautiful purple flowers, but the fall colors had their own sense of beauty! 

we drove through the park for a while enjoying the scenery, stopping for pictures whenever the narrow roads would allow, and even getting stopped for some grazing sheep to cross the road. 

this isn’t like a national park in the u.s. so i recommend just planning a route to drive through it and stopping whenever you see something beautiful

glendalough

glendalough is a great free place to visit while you’re in the wicklow area as well. here there is and old cemetary with ruins that are fun to walk around. from there you can walk to upper and lower lake for some great views. it is an easy paved walk and nice even in a little rain. 

there is also a visitors center with an admission charge that we skipped, but there are public bathrooms there as well. 

lough tay/guinness lake

this lake is not far from glendalough and is just outside the wicklow national park boundary. the dirt in this area gives the lake its unique black color making it look like a pint of guiness. we were told this lake is on private property, but you can view it from the road. white sand on one end of the lake gives it the look of foam on top of a pint. 

brides head

brides head walk began just down the road from our bnb and was highly recommended by our hosts. when we took on this walk at sunset it was easy to see why it is so popular. this walk takes you on an path along the eastern coastal cliffs of ireland. 

this path is not well worn, so good shoes are recommended. as our reward for this hike we got to see a local seal colony! there were multiple seals swimming off shore as well as 3 we got to see on the cliffs and private beaches. it was a really special treat to see these amazing animals in their natural habitat. 

if you aren’t up for this trek, a nice paved path also continues down to lighthouses. one all the way down the path is a working lighthouse. an older one you can actually rent to stay at for the holidays. 

wicklow gaol

our final stop in wicklow was the local gaol, or jail. they were decorated for halloween during our visit. i was able to get a groupon for our visit for half price tickets. 

being so close to dublin, this jail was where many political prisoners from the fights for irish independence were kept. there is a restaurant there as well. we didn’t get any food, but the plates looked and smelled great. 

it is an interactive tour that takes you through the jail from the basement, individual cells, and a replica of the ships used to take prisoners to australia. they also talk about prison reform and all the changes that have been made in prisoners rights. it was a cool tour and we learned more about the fight for irish independence

final thoughts

if you haven’t been to wicklow and all the surrounding attractions i highly recommend you go! there is a lot to do, see, and explore! the beautiful scenery and seeing the local seal colony were my favorite parts.

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have you been to wicklow? what would you add to do in a weekend?