Begin your walk from the Visitor centre car park at 11am and meet your Guide, an 8th Generation Wise Woman and traditional Seanachaí or storyteller. Together you will explore this iconic and ancient valley. Home to a famed ruined monastic city, stunning lakes, ancient trees and pure magic!
You will visit a secret Holy Well and Rag Tree Grove, one of the most obvious carryovers from Pagan times. Learn the correct way to use the well waters and leave an offering on the rag tree. Hear the storey of the Islands first people and first Goddess.
Move to the Monastic City and discover why Yew Trees grow in Churchyards and find the hidden Goddess Stones, you'll hear a little more modern history and be left to explore the place at your own pace and when you are ready, rejoin your guide!
Leave the monastery behind and take the “Green Road” to the Upper Lake. Stop along the way to try writing using a wooden quill and inks made from acorns, elderberries, and alder cones. Hear more tales of the Goddess Bríd as we work, she was said to be the Goddess of Poetry. How will She inspire your writings!
Take a look at some of the trees beloved of the Druids and find a secret Altar before reaching the Upper Car Park. Stop for a break, use the toilets, and enjoy optional refreshments from the coffee trucks.
Finally, take a short walk over to the Cashel Enclosure. Hear some of the many theories about this mysterious stone circle. Stroll over to the shore of the Upper Lake for your final myth, the tale of Macha. and how She cursed the men of Ulster!
Finishing up around lunchtime, guests can then return to the original starting point with the Guide or linger a little longer to climb the waterfall, enjoy a picnic from the food trucks or a pre-packed lunch and take the leisurely Boardwalk route back to the starting point. This route will show Glendalough Valley from another perspective and is only a slightly longer route back.
At a brisk pace, you can be back in your car in thirty minutes, but be aware, you won't want to leave!