DAY 12e
GLENDALOUGH (County Wicklow, IRL)
Tuesday September 9th, 2008
TODAYS MILEAGE – 48 miles or 77 kilometres
TRIP MILEAGE – 12140 miles or 19573 kilometres
Just around the corner from Laragh, a mile and a half (2.5 kilometres) in fact, is the town of Glendalough and the Monastry of St. Kevin which was founded in the 6th century.
The English name Glendalough comes from the Irish Gleann Dá Locha which translates to the "valley of the two lakes".
Since settlement, Glendalough continued to expand for about 600 years before it was destroyed in 1398. The buildings which you see, date from the 8th and 12th centuries. The most famous is the round tower which is 112 feet (34 metres) high and 52 feet (16 metres) in circumference at the base. A cathedral, stone churches and numerous decorated crosses also survived.
