Glendalough: Remnants from the Age of Saints and Scholars

A wooded area with a river, stones, and a tall stone tower in the background.

Located in the Wicklow Mountains National Park of Co. Wicklow, Ireland, Glendalough is a beautiful, tranquil valley with hills, lush foliage, and two sparkling lakes. It is also the site of an early medieval monastery from Ireland’s great age of saints and scholars, a time when Ireland’s monasteries were the intellectual capitals of Europe. Featuring stone ruins alongside breathtaking scenery, Glendalough feels just a bit magical to visit. A great chance to enjoy history and fresh air simultaneously, it’s an easy day trip from Dublin by car or bus.

In the 6th century, the hermit and nature lover St. Kevin came to Glendalough (Irish for “valley of the two lakes”) to live in solitude. Eventually, he founded a monastery there, and it flourished until about 1200 CE. (Both hermit saints and monasteries in the wilderness were staples of early Christianity in Ireland.)

The Monastic City

Buildings within the Monastic City at Glendalough. All photos in this post are by A Scholarly Skater.

The association with St. Kevin made Glendalough a destination for pilgrims, but you won’t see much from Kevin’s lifetime there today. The surviving ruins mainly date to the 11th and 12th centuries. The core grouping appears in the so-called Monastic City. It includes a church, a few smaller buildings, and a 100-foot-tall round bell tower – all surrounded by a still-active graveyard with grave markers from several centuries. (There was even a burial there earlier in 2024.) These structures seem to be fairly humble, with a few eroded remains of architectural carvings. Glendalough was certainly not the opulent and wealthy type of monastery we hear about from later in the Middle Ages or elsewhere in Europe. Aside from the intact tower, the buildings are in various states of decay, which allows for interesting glimpses of their construction. The Monastic City is a wonderfully picturesque place, and I could easily understand why monks would want to live here.

Unfortunately, the Monastic City is light on interpretive content, since there is very little signage to help you understand what you’re seeing. I was lucky to come across a talkative and knowledgeable park employee who shared some information about the round tower, but I was unable to secure a guided tour. There are some educational exhibits and videos inside the Visitors Center, but you have to pay to see them, which seemed pointless when you can see the actual sites for free.

The Lakes and St. Kevin’s Bed

A lake between mountains
The lower lake at Glendalough.

After the Monastic City, I walked to the lower and upper lakes. The scenery gets progressively more stunning along the way. Past the upper lake, there is a small, man-made cave called St. Kevin’s Bed. According to tradition, he carved out this cave himself and lived alone there for seven years. The cave is old enough that this might actually be true. However, it’s very difficult to access St. Kevin’s Bed because of its location high up on a steep cliff face. Needless to say, I did not visit it. I did see a nearby site called St. Kevin’s Cell, although it’s too late and large to have actually been his cell.

Not all the ruins are in the Monastic City or lakes area. There are also numerous other churches, stone crosses, and monastic buildings scattered throughout the park, but they aren’t easy to access. First of all, there doesn’t seem to be any map or list that identifies each structure, so it’s hard to even know what’s there. Plus, the distances can be extensive. I think you’re looking at hour plus hikes to see some areas, and that’s once you figure out where you’re going. Because of all that, I definitely did not see all the structures, about which I am rather disappointed.

Safety Considerations

A day at Glendalough is spent mostly outside walking around in the elements, so come prepared for that with a jacket, water, walking shoes, etc. It was chilly and windy on the June day I visited, and Ireland’s weather in general isn’t the most forgiving. I heard visitors being advised that the weather in the park can turn bad really quickly.

Visiting the Monastic City doesn’t require any hiking, since it’s just a very short walk from the Visitors Center. (The terrain is uneven, but otherwise, the journey isn’t much further than between the average museum and its parking lot.) Walking to the lakes takes longer, but the trails are well marked and didn’t feel overly strenuous to me. Lots of people were taking them on the Monday of my visit, including those who didn’t seem to be experienced hikers. I don’t know anything about the paths leading to the further ruins or if other entrances to the park will get you closer to them.

Practicalities
A round stone tower in a green Irish landscape

Glendalough is a really easy day trip from Dublin, since it’s only about an hour and a half away. You can drive and park onsite for €5, but you can also take a daily bus from St. Steven’s Green (a lovely park in the city). A round-trip bus ticket costs €23. Either way, transportation is really your own expense, since admission to the site itself is free. If you take the bus there and back in the same day, you’ll have 3-4 hours at the site. This is enough to see the Monastic City and lakes at a leisurely pace but not to venture further than that. Whichever way you get there, the journey to and from Glendalough takes you through some spectacular Irish landscapes.

There aren’t a ton of amenities at the site. There’s a fairly minimal Visitors Center with toilets, an information desk, a few exhibitions, and a place to refill your water bottle. The Glendalough Hotel just next door to the Visitors Center has a nice food stand, and there are also some food trucks near the upper lake. Supposedly, there is a bookshop somewhere, but I couldn’t find it.

Resources

National Monuments Service’s Glendalough video
Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, Ireland – Official website
Heritage Ireland’s Glendalough page
Wicklow Mountains National Park website


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2 responses to “Glendalough: Remnants from the Age of Saints and Scholars”

  1. Sher Schwartz

    I wondered when you wrote the graveyard is still active , did you mean people are still being buried there today? The scenery is so lush , historic, and inviting especially since I’m baking right now is sagebrush country. I love how off the track this excursion is. Thanks again for this pleasurable and interesting trip for us!

    1. Alexandra Kiely (A Scholarly Skater)

      Yes, there was actually a burial there earlier this year. I’ll change that in the article so it’s clearer.
      I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Check back soon for another one on a different site.

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The mission of A Scholarly Skater Art History is to make historical art and architecture accessible to everyone.
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