The magic of the Dublin-Wicklow Hills when the sun shines

You may remember Saturday was a sun-filled day, at least in Dublin.

When living in Tallaght it was part of the staple diet for Dominican students to head to the hills on Thursdays.

One of the cycles was to Glencree via Killakee and then on over the Featherbed and down into the valley. We cycled on some miles, as they were then, and cooked our food at the side of the Glencree River.

Great days.

On Saturday an Italian friend and I took more or less the same route. He starting in Ranelagh and I in Rathgar. 

Back in the late 1960s, early '70s there were so few cars on the road. Last Saturday it was a very different story. As if the place had been discovered.

Glencree is still a charming place. Our destination was the German graveyard, where we 'wined and dined' before heading back over the Featherbed.

The memorial to Noel Lemass needs some restorative work and a tidy-up. As indeed, does the German graveyard at Glencree. It is well nigh impossible to read what's written on the headstones.

But whether the sun shines or not, the Dublin-Wicklow Hills are always magic, especially from the viewpoint of a bicycle.

And all so close to Dublin.

The memorial to Noel Lemass on the Featherbed.