Kildare Wicklow Driving Routes
Bracing coastal runs. Wild mountain passes. Palladian mansion pit-stops.
Welcome to the open roads of Kildare Wicklow, to a choice of classic driving routes where raw landscape, cultural treats and charming villages surprise you at every turn.
Grand Tour
Grand Tour
Approximate Distance: 201.3 miles / 324km It’s Ireland in a nutshell.Coastal Tour
Coastal Views
Approximate Distance: 79 miles / 126km Like coastal views? Then you’ll love this scenic driving route.Country Gardens
Country Gardens
97 MILES/ 149 KMWicklow is known as Ireland’s Garden County.
Gordon Bennett Route
Gordon Bennett Route
They did things differently in 1903.Great Houses
Great Houses
Approximate Distance: 74 miles / 118kmStately houses and sweeping country estates are a dramatic – and often surprising – feature of the Irish landscape… and you’ll find the absolute highlights in Kildare Wicklow.
Think of Killruddery House & Gardens, Ireland’s finest Elizabethan Revival mansion and lately a location to movies like ‘Becoming Jane’ and ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’.
Great Plains of the Curragh
Great Plains of the Curragh
Approximate Distance 86 MILES/ 138 KM“Racing fans who have never been to Ireland are like food lovers who have never visited France, or artists who restrict their painting to a coat of emulsion on the bathroom ceiling.”
So said the great Racing Post writer, Alastair Down.
Don’t worry, Mr.
Pilgrims, Saints & Scholars
Pilgrims, Saints & Scholars
Approximate Distance 65 MILES/ 105 KM Did you know the lark doesn’t sing at Glendalough?According to legend, workers building St.
Wilds of Wicklow
Wilds of Wicklow
Approximate Distance: 122 miles / 196 kmWicklow is Ireland’s Garden County, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s a manicured or formal kind of place.
It’s Ireland in a nutshell. Whether you’re cruising through spectacular mountains and valleys, exploring Early Christian heritage or enjoying a slap-up meal at a gastro-pub along the way, a short drive from Dublin’s air and ferry ports is all it takes.
From specialist runs to a breathtaking Grand Tour, Kildare Wicklow combines a compact landscape with a captivating diversity of touring routes. There’s something for everyone here.
Like your history? Drivers can tour from ancient monastic settlements like Glendalough and big houses like Castletown to quirky museums, Victorian promenades, war cemeteries and movie locations ranging from Michael Collins to PS, I Love You.
Are you a lover of landscape? A single run could whisk you from Wicklow Mountains National Park to the great plains of the Curragh, the heart of Ireland’s horse country.
Got green fingers? Try our dedicated garden route, roaming from heathery wilderness to an oasis dedicated to St. Fiachra, the patron saint of gardeners, at the Irish National Stud.
Ireland doesn’t get any easier. Roads range from state-of-the-art motorways to remote mountain passes, but best of all, there’s minimum mileage in getting here. Free-spirited drivers can immerse themselves in the best of Irish heritage, lifestyle and scenery in as little as an afternoon.
With more time on your hands, of course, you could dig a little deeper… spending days (or even weeks) roving from cultural hotspots to craic at country pubs, from coastal views to canal towpaths, from the here and now to the hidden depths of Irish history and heritage.
Kildare Wicklow: it’s your introduction to Ireland.
Content © Kildare Wicklow Grand Tour 2013 |