County Wicklow: See
Glendalough is a must-see and needs a full day to explore, a scenic valley with an extensive complex of medieval monastic buildings.
Gardens: top gardens routinely open to the public are Kilruddery near Bray, Powerscourt at Enniskerry, Mount Usher and Kilmacurragh near Wicklow, and Russborough near Blessington, which also has the two Blake gardens. Several more are occasionally open in summer through the Wicklow Gardens Festival.
Russborough House near Blessington is a grand Palladian mansion with a big-name art collection.
The Pyramid: did you ever get suckered into an Egyptian excursion that made an interminable stop at a tourist-trap gift shop then hurried your visit to the Pyramids? Some excursions of Glendalough and Powerscourt make a big thing of visiting the Avoca outlet shops, and most of them miss out the Pyramid entirely. It's 2 km north of Arklow, walking distance from the train and bus stations. There isn't a Sphinx, but given the astonishing discoveries they've made in Ireland's bogs, that's only a matter of time.
Wicklow Gaol was notorious in the 19th century.
Rathgall Hill Fort on the southwest county boundary is easiest reached from Tullow, 5 km west in County Carlow.
The Military Road is a north-south switchback road along the mountain chain, badged R115 for much of its length. It starts at Brookwood in the south suburbs of Dublin: the closest M50 access is junction 12, turn east along Scholarstown Road for a km to pick up R115. It climbs into the hills past Hell Fire Club, where debauchery and demonic manifestations are not what they used to be in the rip-roaring days of 1735-41. The road descends into Glencree, where a lane branches east to Powerscourt, then with Kippure to the west it climbs to the crossroads and pass of Sally Gap, see below. Continuing south it twists and turns along the flank of Mullaghcleevaun to Laragh near Glendalough. R115 ends here but the military road continues as a lane up Glenmalure then skirting the south shoulder of the hills at Aughavannagh. Descending to pastoral lowlands, the lane runs on west to Baltinglass.
1 Sally Gap is the mountain pass at the crossroads of R759 and R115, but the term has come to mean the entire scenic road east-west through the mountains. From the east R759 starts near Roundwood and passes the corrie lake of Lough Tay, the usual start point for climbing Luggala. The "Gap" is the crest of the ridge at 503 m / 1650 ft, with Kippure looming to the north and Gravale and Duff Hill to the south. Descending west on R759 you pass watery bog and boggy water as the ditches and runnels coalesce into the headwaters of the Liffey. Kippure Bridge is worth a photo; Kippure Lodge is used for events but doesn't have hotel facilities. …