Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [132]
The long-established Wicklow Regatta Festival ( 0404-68354; www.wicklowregatta.com) is held every year for 10 days from late July into early August. The extensive program of events and activities includes swimming, rowing, sailing and raft races, singing competitions, concerts and the Festival Queen Ball.
SLEEPING & EATING
Town lodgings are not that great, but if you are planning on staying in the area, you’re better off staying in one of the beautiful country homes within a few kilometres of town.
Grand Hotel ( 0404-67337; www.grandhotel.ie; Abbey St; s/d from €80/130; ) Wicklow town’s best accommodation is this mock-Tudor hotel that is quite a bit short of ‘grand’, but it’s a handsome, comfortable place nonetheless. The rooms are immaculate, and the smallish size of the place assures a personalised, friendly service.
Leitrim Bar & Lounge ( 0404-67443; www.leitrimlounge.com; 15 Leitrim Pl; mains €12-20; 12.30-8.30pm) Above-par bar food with a bit of imagination is the staple at this old-fashioned public house in the middle of town. Burgers, steaks and sandwiches are there, but you’ll also find some Asian-influenced stir-fries and duck dishes.
Donelli’s ( 0404-61333; www.donellis.ie; Market Sq; mains €17-20; 9am-4pm Mon-Wed, to midnight Thu-Sat) From great coffee and cakes to an excellent menu of inviting dishes – including the likes of Penang chicken, vegetarian curry and Asian marinated salmon – this is a wonderful place to eat or linger in.
The town hosts a weekly farmers market ( 10am-3pm Sat) on Market Square, just off Main St.
GETTING THERE & AROUND
Bus Éireann ( 01-836 6111; www.buseireann.ie) runs bus 133, serving Wicklow town from Dublin (€7.90, 1½ hours, 10 daily); Wicklow town is also served by express bus 2 running between Dublin (one hour, 12 daily) and Rosslare Harbour (11/2 hours, €15.80).
Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail; 01-836 6222) serves Wicklow town from Dublin on the main Dublin to Rosslare Harbour line (one way/return €13/16, one hour, five daily). The station is a 10-minute walk north of the town centre.
Wicklow Cabs ( 0404-66888; Main St) usually sends a few cabs to meet the evening trains from Dublin. The fare to anywhere in town should be no more than €6.
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DETOUR: TINAKILLY COUNTRY HOUSE & RESTAURANT
Wicklow has no shortage of fine country homes converted into luxury manor hotels, but Tinakilly Country House & Restaurant ( 0404-69274; www.tinakilly.ie; Rathnew; s/d from €150/300, dinner mains €14-22), a magnificent Victorian Italianate house just outside Rathnew (about 5km west of Wicklow town) stands out for sheer elegance. The guest rooms are divided between the period rooms in the west wing, decked out in original antiques, four-poster and half-tester canopy beds; and the shockingly sumptuous suites in the east wing, which have gorgeous views of either the richly colourful garden or the Irish Sea, albeit somewhere in the distance. And then there’s the restaurant, which takes country-house cuisine to a whole new level of sophistication.
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SOUTHERN WICKLOW
South of Wicklow town, the landscape gives way to rolling hills and valleys cut through by rustling rivers and dotted with lovely little hamlets, including the especially beautiful Vale of Avoca, favoured by song and busloads of tourists.
Rathdrum
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The quiet village of Rathdrum at the foot of the Vale of Clara comprises little more than a few old houses and shops, but in the late 19th century it had a healthy flannel industry and a poorhouse. It’s not what’s in the town that’s of interest to visitors, however, but what’s just outside it.
The small tourist office ( 0404-46262; 29 Main St; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Fri) has leaflets and information on the town and surrounding area, including the Wicklow Way.
SIGHTS
Woe be to the man by whom the scandal cometh…It would be better for him that a millstone were tied about his neck and that he were cast