Today i had to drop my girlfriend off in Dublin for a meeting which was an all day thing (well, morning to afternoon thing). That meant a 6.30am start for me but it also presented me with the opportunity to do something or go somewhere… i basically had the whole day to myself in or around Dublin…
Wicklow Mountains
Because it was ‘dodgy’ to say the least (weather wise), i didn’t want to head in to the city and walk about. I wanted to stay in or near my car to shield myself from the elements plus on the off chance i got an early call to collect herself.
So i decided to ditch the concrete jungle and head for the hills… the wicklow mountains. I took over 300 photos today in total so it was definitely worth it. The day would have been ‘wasted’ had i been camera-less. It just wouldn’t feel the same had i seen everything but couldn’t share it…
These are just a select few (unedited) from my adventures today. I had the roads and the mountains to myself. It was so quiet i could just stop the car in the middle of the road, get out and take photos of whatever i wanted. That’s pretty much what i did.
Glendalough
I then took a spin down to Glendalough because i knew it was closeby and it’s on my list of things to do / see in Ireland. It’s free to get in / park which was a nice surprise, i was expecting to have to pay something. There were plenty of students / class groups wandering around and the odd American couple or two (you just know by dress). There were also some japanese (yes, with the big cameras, taking photos of everything). So it seems to be a pretty big tourist spot, busier than i would have imagined on a Tuesday morning / afternoon.
I didn’t actually head over to the round tower / ruins because it always seemed to be jammed with groups of students, but i did go on a long walk and passed the two lakes plus i made it up a steep climb to get some pictures of a waterfall.
So much colour & scenery there which makes it picture perfect but the drive through the mountains was probably the best bit of my day. Open, bendy roads with a view and deafening silence. Much less stressful driving than on any ‘regular’ road. In fact, if you question the sense in driving these days, this is one of those few spots which makes you appreciate having a car / being able to drive.
Gotchya!
Speaking of driving, i’ve been thinking bout getting a dash cam to record everything. Why? It’s good peace of mind. If there’s ever an accident or i stumble upon one, it’s invaluable evidence. I’ve been ‘trialing’ a new ‘secret’ camera i got last week (i’ll review it at a later date) and for the first time it picked up something interesting or potentially dangerous…
I was turning right at a set of lights and had right of way just as a woman was merging. She was supposed to ‘yield’ (you can see the ‘yield’ sign and markings on the road in the video), but she ploughed out in front of me without looking. If she was merging half a second earlier or if i had went through the lights half a second quicker it would have been a collision and i’d have it all on video just in case there was any dispute.
I don’t expect to be involved in collisions, but i like the idea of youtubing drivers like this, hopefully one day they’ll see themselves on camera & learn from it.