Dublin: Glendalough, Wicklow, Kilkenny and Sheepdog demonstration

About This Tour

This is one of Dublin’s most popular day trips, and it’s easy to see why. In 10 hours you’ll go from the grey streets of the city to the valley of Glendalough, over the Wicklow Mountains, onto an Irish farm for a real sheepdog demonstration, and finish up with two hours to explore medieval Kilkenny. A professional guide keeps the commentary going throughout - on the road, at the sites, and everywhere in between.

The drive out of Dublin is part of the experience. You’ll pass Trinity College and Temple Bar, along the Liffey past the Guinness Brewery, and up through Kilmainham before the landscape opens out into the green uplands of Wicklow. The shift from city to countryside happens surprisingly fast.

What’s Included

• Professional guide with live commentary
• Air-conditioned vehicle

What’s Not Included

• Food and drinks
• Hotel pickup and drop-off

Itinerary

Meeting point: Outside Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Parnell Square N, Dublin 1, at 8 am. Please arrive 5-10 minutes before departure. Return point: Outside Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Parnell Square N, Dublin 1, between 6:30pm and 7:30pm.

1. Dublin City - The tour departs from the city, passing Trinity College, Temple Bar, the Guinness Brewery on the Liffey, and through Kilmainham - where the Viking settlers of Dublin once buried their dead. The scenery shifts from city streets to Wicklow’s green roads within a short drive. (pass by)
2. Glendalough - The Valley of Two Lakes - Buried in the heart of the Wicklow uplands, Glendalough is one of Ireland’s earliest and most significant monastic sites. Your guide leads a walking tour of the old monastic city, covering the Round Tower, the wish-granting Cross of St Kevin, and the stories of St Kevin himself and the pre-Christian Celts who came before him. You’ll have free time afterwards to explore the ruins, walk by the lakes, or just sit beside the streams. (120 min)
3. Wicklow Gap - One of only two roads over the mountains. A short stop at the top, surrounded by rushes, heather, and freely roaming sheep, with a viewing platform offering a long view down towards Dublin Bay. (15 min)
4. Sheepdog Demonstration at an Irish Farm - Meet a working shepherd whose family has been farming these lands for generations. Ireland has evidence of settled farming going back 5,500 years, and this stop puts you right at the living edge of that story. The shepherd and his well-trained sheepdogs demonstrate the skill of herding - you’ll also learn about the history of wool and sheep farming in Ireland, and what Irish farmers face in the modern age. Demonstration lasts approximately 45 minutes. (45 min)
5. Kilkenny - Two hours to explore one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Ireland. Wander the narrow stone streets worn smooth over centuries, visit Kilkenny Castle, track down the haunted pub with connections to Ireland’s first ever witch trial, or try a pint from a brewery older than Guinness. From old bookshops to medieval abbeys, there’s no shortage of things to discover. (120 min)
6. Return to Dublin - arriving approximately 6:00pm.

Good to Know

• Not recommended for travellers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travellers
• Not recommended for travellers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travellers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
• Not recommended for small children unless they are very used to bus travel and long walks - if booking for a child, book one seat per child and bring your own child seat
• Maximum group size of 53
• Tours run in English

Local Tips

At Glendalough: the tour gives you free time after the guided walk, and the best use of it is the flat Green Road between the Lower and Upper Lakes - about 25 minutes each way, easy underfoot, and it takes you past the ruins of Reefert Church and down to the beach at the foot of the Upper Lake. If you only have thirty minutes, even walking as far as the Upper Lake shore is worth it. The 30-metre round tower had its doorway built three and a half metres off the ground for a reason - when the Vikings came up the valley for monastery silver, the monks pulled the ladder up. Your guide will tell the story; worth listening to on the walk in.

Glendalough food: there’s a café at the visitor centre, but if you have a few minutes to spare, the actual village with the pubs and better food is Laragh, 1.5 km east of the monastic site. The Trinity Mountain Bothy there does soup, sandwiches and cake that suit walkers better than the visitor centre café does.

At Kilkenny: two hours sounds generous until you try to do everything. The Medieval Mile runs from Kilkenny Castle at the bottom to St Canice’s Cathedral at the top - roughly 18 minutes walking slowly, with plenty to stop at along the way. Kyteler’s Inn on St Kieran’s Street is the pub with the witch-trial connection - Dame Alice Kyteler was accused of heresy and witchcraft in 1324, Ireland’s first recorded case. Even if you don’t stop for a drink, the medieval cellars are real and worth a look through the door. For a pint, the locals rate Tynan’s Bridge House on John’s Bridge as the best pint of stout in the city: tiled floor, mahogany bar, no food, no music - the room does the work.

Smithwick’s: the old brewery on Parliament Street has been making Kilkenny’s local ale since 1710 - three hundred years older than Guinness’s 1759 founding. The Smithwick’s Experience offers tours if you want to go deeper, but even on a two-hour stop the brewery ruins are visible from Parliament Street as you walk.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• Glendalough - a 6th-century monastic city at the bottom of two glacial lakes, with a 30-metre round tower that survived Viking raids and the doorway still three and a half metres off the ground
• Kilkenny - the Medieval Mile connects a Norman castle to a 13th-century cathedral through a kilometre of limestone laneways, with a witch trial on record, a brewery older than Guinness, and Tynan’s bar pouring what locals call the best pint of stout in the city