Photos: (Center) The ancient monastic settlement of St. Kevin at Glendalough is a focal point of most Co. Wicklow sightseeing tours; (top, left and right) two road signs along the Wicklow sightseeing trail are at Roundwood, highest village in Ireland, and Shillelagh, home of the famous blackthorn walking stick; and (bottom) the medieval village of Carlingford, Co. Louth, ideal for walking tours.
 

Sightseeing around Counties Wicklow, Kildare, Louth and Meath is best done by car or via guided tour starting out from Dublin City (see Dublin Area – Sightseeing Tours into the Countryside). In addition, here are a few organized touring opportunities, walking tours or trails that you can do individually.

Following Film Footsteps: County Wicklow has long been a favored setting for major film productions over the years including: Henry V (Enniskerry, 1944); The Blue Max (Kilpedder, 1966); Zardoz (Wicklow, 1973), Excalibur (Powerscourt Waterfall, Roundwood, Enniskerry, 1981), The Dead (Glendalough, 1987), The Miracle (Bray Head, 1991), Into the West (Kilruddery, 1992), Braveheart (Blessington, Sally Gap and Glendalough, 1995), Michael Collins (Rathdrum, Avoca, Arklow, 1996) and Dancing at Lughnasa (Blessington, 1998), as well as the popular BBC-TV and PBS-TV series, Ballykissangel (Avoca, 1996-2002). The Wicklow Film Commission has mapped out three different “film trails” with appropriate sign-posts. To find the film locations as you drive around County Wicklow, get a copy of “County Wicklow Film Location Trails” or “Ireland – Film Locations” from any tourist office. For more information, contact the Wicklow Film Commission (tel. 0404-20176 or web site: : www.wicklowfilmcommission.com).

On the Wild Side: Sally Gap, Lough Tay and other off-the-beaten-track parts of County Wicklow are often overlooked on standard day tours. Wild Coach Tours takes visitors into these remote bog and mountainous areas, as driver/guides provide a light-hearted commentary along the route. Transport is via 26-29-seater Mercedes coaches. For more information, contact Aran Tours Ltd., 14 Lower Albert Road, Sandycove, Co. Dublin (tel. 01-280-1899 or web site: www.wildwicklow.ie).

Guided Walking Tours of Medieval Carlingford – Stroll the streets and lanes of medieval Carlingford and learn the history and local lore with a well-versed guide. July – August, Wednesday – Saturday at 2 p.m. Departs from Carlingford Tourist Office car park. More information: Carlingford Tourist Office, Old Railway Station. Carlingford, Co. Louth, tel. 086-352-2732 or 042-937-3033.  Web site: www.carlingford.ie

Take a Farm Tour: Co. Meath has several open farms that welcome visitors including the 330-acre Newgrange Farm, where Willie and Ann Redhouse and their family welcome visitors to join in the daily chores such as milking the cows, feeding the ducks, bottle-feeding the baby lambs and kid goats, checking on the hatching chicks in the incubator house, or grooming a calf. A walk-around tour takes you through a courtyard to see the hen house, chicken house, rabbit den, dove/pigeon loft, and stables with horses, as well as a working forge and a rural life museum with demonstrations of spinning and making rush candlesticks. Step outside to see exotic pheasants, turkeys and other fowl; as well as sows and piglets, and sheep of all sizes being kept in order by working sheep dogs. In addition, there are horse-drawn farm vehicles, vintage farm machines, crop and wool displays, and an herb garden. To cap your visit, Willie (known as “Farmer Bill”) will take you on a narrated tractor ride tour to see the fields of corn, wheat, oats, and barley, and other far-flung parts of the farm as it slopes down to the waters of the River Boyne. The tractor ride also provides sweeping “insider” views of the adjacent Newgrange prehistoric site, not normally seen from the road. On Sundays and bank holidays, there are also sheep races. Open daily Easter Saturday to August 31. For more information, contact Farmer Bill (tel. 041-982-4119; farmerbill@newgrangefarm.com or www.newgrangefarm.com).

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