Roundwood

There is much to see in Wicklow though we were eager to move on and did not really make the most of it.

Our first stop was at Glendalough late in the afternoon. A beautiful day and the park was mobbed with people: locals, tourists and loads of buses full of Italian teenagers or Blue Rinse yankees. We were lucky to find a space to park and most of the time we just pockled about near the visitor centre waiting for the presentation to begin. Did a short cycle but too many people about.

Decided to retire for the evening to Roundwood, quite a formal site and our first introduction - this year anyway - to the "competitive hospitality" of campsite owners. Seems the ITB offer an award for this and our host for the evening was the most recent winner; he demonstrated his ability admirably, up-selling the local area without too much blarney. Being so close to the city, the local area has been the focus of many block-buster movies including the likes of "Braveheart". So much so, there is trail takes you round the county through all the locations featuring in a dozen or more films.

We were tempted, by this and other local attractions. For moment we got on our bikes and cycled round a local reservoir. By now it was getting quite late still there was plenty of heat an light about the day. This was a real summer.

Dublin City Arms

At the end of the reservoir, the water was dammed and passed through several filtration units. This particular  reservoir dated from Victorian times and apart from the extensive stone-work of the dam itself, several nearby houses were of interesting design.The waterworks had been constructed to feed the people of Dublin City as proclaimed by the plaque on the wall wonderfully painted with cannonballs raining down on some unfortunate invader. I find it hard to believe that modern industrial construction will survive as long as these engineering wonderments and even if they do, will they look as interesting and worthy of preservation.

Roundwood Reservoir

The route back, over the dam, took us through the village itself. We paused for a bite to eat in one of the local hostelries - there was quite a choice though its unlikely any of them will be making it into a Michelin guide. Still the Guinness was good, the sun was still up and it was warm enough to sit outside. As good as it gets I reckon.