Last weekend I had the amazing experience of spending the weekend in Wicklow with my friend Sally and her family at their home in Baltinglass.  Three of my other American friends came, too, which made the weekend one of discovery and adventure for all of us.  Looking back, I can definitely say that last weekend was one of the best I’ve had in Ireland by far!

On Friday we boarded the train in Galway and traveled across the country to Kildare, where Sally’s mom picked us up and drove us to Baltinglass.  Once there, we were introduced to Sally’s family and were allowed to spend some time relaxing before heading down to the shop, which was only a two minute walk from Sally’s front door.  At the shop we picked up ingredients to make brown bread, which is a staple in Ireland and is served as a side to many dishes.  It’s also a bread I have fallen completely in love with and plan to make at home.  Thankfully, Sally’s mom gave us her recipe.

Brown bread baking in the oven!

Sally then set us all to work – we teamed up and began making a loaf of brown bread each.  Team Mary and Kelly competed against Team Maddison and Nicky… and things got pretty competitive.  In the end, though, Sally and her mom said that it was a tie because both loaves of brown bread turned out well.

Two perfect loaves of brown bread!

The next day we woke up early, got ready, and headed out to Glendalough, which is a national park in Wicklow with medieval monastic origins.  Sally drove and I read the map to ensure we knew how to get to and from where we were going.  A lot of the roads we drove on were narrow country or mountain roads with a lot of hills, so even the ride to Glendalough was really fun. Before we arrived in Glendalough, Sally stopped to let us have a look at the incredible beauty of the Wicklow mountains.

A lovely view on a foggy day.

Once we arrived at Glendalough, we walked around the grounds, taking in all of the natural wonder and history of the site.  A large, old cemetery takes up a large portion of the land; it is eerily beautiful.  Some of my favorite parts were visiting the immensely large round tower and attempting to get my arms around Saint Kevin’s cross, which is a large stone Celtic cross that visitors hug in an attempt to get their fingers to meet around it.

I didn’t quite get my fingers to touch, unfortunately!

Luckily I found one that was more suited to my size.

We also visited the lakes around Glendalough and were overwhelmed by how picturesque the views were.  It was easy to see why scenes from the movie “Leap Year” were filmed at the upper lake in Glendalough – cameras simply can’t capture how breathtaking it is to stand at the bottom and look out at the lake and up at the mountains.

The Upper Lake at Glendalough.

After we spent hours walking around Glendalough, we all boarded our lovely coach and drove to Avoca, which is another town in Wicklow.  Avoca is better known to some as Ballykissangel, which was a television series filmed in Avoca in the 90’s.  The town was called the fictional name Ballykissangel in the show, but Avoca, looking vastly unchanged, still represents its claim to fame today.

Ballykissangel sign at the front of Fitzgerald’s Pub.

My parents and I watched Ballykissangel back home and really enjoyed it, so naturally I was very excited to be visiting Avoca.  It was strange to arrive in a town and know exactly where everything was and how to get around, even though I’ve never been there before.  We walked up and down the main street, admiring the quaint atmosphere and then eventually stopping into the most recognizable film location, Fitzgerald’s Pub.

I was so glad to be at Fitzgerald’s!

Once inside, my friends and I enjoyed chocolate cake and Guinness (the epitome of health!) while watching Ballykissangel on a television that the pub plays on a loop.  There were also several decorations around the pub that denoted its involvement in the show.  I was a little bit disappointed because the main bar area is where most of the show was filmed, but I couldn’t sit in that area because there was a rugby match on and the bar was full of people who were invested in nothing but ensuring a good view of the television.  But even so, it was really cool to see how all the locals gathered in the pub to watch a match, just like many of the characters did in Ballykissangel.

Standing proudly in the front bar area where much of Ballykissangel was filmed.

We left Avoca and headed back to Sally’s, where we got fish and chips from the “chipper” just down the road from her house.  We were all really hungry, so we were glad to see that the portions were generous.  They were, by far, the best fish and chips I’ve had in Ireland so far… I might have to stop back sometime or ask Sally to bring some to Galway!

Thanks for reading about my adventures in Wicklow!

-Maddison

Location: County Wicklow, Ireland