We took advantage of the nice weather and long weekend to drive down to Wicklow for a few days. It was my first time seeing Wicklow and Thomas's first visit since he was a child. May is really a perfect time to explore different regions of Ireland--the weather is balmy and everything is in bloom. While our bluebells in the North are already starting to fade, I felt like the ones in Wicklow were just hitting their peak. We stayed at this cute pink house and packed a lot of exploration into our days--it helps when the sun doesn't set until half nine! I started the day in this sweet Modcloth striped blouse and blue jeans with sneakers and switched to a simple denim skirt and espadrilles as the day warmed up. It was such a good weekend I couldn't resist putting together this post highlighting a few of the places we saw in Wicklow and my recommendations for anyone planning a similar visit.
Modcloth blouse c/o, jean skirt (similar), old espadrilles
Modcloth blouse c/o, jean skirt (similar), old espadrilles
We left the camera behind during most of our exploration in Wicklow, so I only have a few photographs from my phone to share, but those still do a pretty good job at capturing the majesty of Glendalough. Glendalough is probably the number one attraction for anyone visiting County Wicklow and it does have more crowds than a lot of other places you can visit in Ireland. It's a glacial valley (Glendalough means "Valley of the Two Lake"s) home to stone ruins from a monastic community built in the 6th century and numerous hiking and walking trails around the valley and lakes. Pictured here are the striking round tower and St. Kevin's Church. You leave most of the crowds behind as you walk to the lakes and the scenery along the way is lovely--we saw a deer hiding amongst the sheep and so many orange-tip butterflies floating around the marshy ground. I'd love to come see Glendalough in the autumn-time and maybe even take some outfit pictures here if we can find a time when it's less popular to visit!
Well worth the stop, was the Mount Usher Gardens. It's a "Robinson" style garden which means the gardening style is more natural and less formal; the manicured mixes with the wild--quite literally as many areas are seeded with wildflowers. It's definitely one of the best gardens I've ever visited with so many different areas to explore, from pathways lined with towering rhododendrons to trails of dappled light amongst ancient trees and gentle brooks. Outside of the gardens there's also an Avoca cafe and shops. Avoca has a long history in Ireland, first starting as a co-operative weaving mill in 1723 and growing since then; today there are still Avoca weavers, but also a cafe and retail chain for Irish products. Again I didn't take any pictures in the gardens on my camera (if you follow my Instagram stories you probably saw the videos and snaps on the day we visited), but this is definitely a stop I'd recommend for anyone planning a visit to Wicklow. If you're making a short visit to Wicklow, here are my top four picks:
Thomas fly fishing in the Avonmore river; a very peaceful spot on a sunny morning.
Our last stop on our way out of town was Britta's Bay; a 5km stretch of powdery sand and dunes. The dunes here are pretty verdant and there were even a few palm trees cropping up in the lush vegetation, which is a real rarity in Ireland. We didn't stay long as this was the only day on our trip that threatened rain and this beach wouldn't be at the top of my list of places to visit in Wicklow. It's hard not to compare this beach to those on the North Coast which are quite epic. Still the beach visit gave me an excuse to wear some more new (and old) Modcloth pieces. Can you tell my Modcloth package arrived just before we left for this trip? I basically threw all of my new clothes from the box into my bag! My rainbow slides are actually from last year, but Modcloth brought them back (they're perfect for beach or pool days since they're fully waterproof) and they're in good company with loads of other rainbow pieces in store right now. I liked the the more subtle rainbow theme of this sweater which is simple enough to pair with more busy prints, but has enough visual interest to also be the center of an outfit.
CONVERSATION