Wicklow Mountains - The Sally Gap

Update ~ I'm out of quarantine! So I've moved on from my Wexford hideaway yesterday to Wicklow where my family lives. This summer is about reconnecting with my loved ones, but lucky for me, they also have some adventurous spirit! Ireland hasn't had the best weather recently, however there is so much to be done even with the weather being how it is. For me, this holiday will be spent adventuring and making memories with my family who I don't get to see very often. Everything we do will be great for kids and adults alike and the experiences I have will be based on many aspects such as this. 

So today we loaded the kids and Nanna in the car and were off on a road trip around The Sally Gap - a stretch of road that spans the Wicklow Mountains and reveals true beauty not to be rivalled by any other on the East Coast. 

There are some recommendations to make before thinking about setting out on this beautiful scenic route. First, you should consider where you will stop for lunch. The Sally Gap is a vast and long drive, and you should be prepared! Due to the anxiety surrounding COVID-19 and having so many of us,  we chose to make a picnic lunch where we ate at the Devils Glen (picnic spot with forest walks and waterfalls). Secondly I would highly recommend that you do your business before leaving as there are no facilities along the majority of the drive. 

Along the route are some of Irelands most treasured sites and landscape. The Sally Gap is also home to the filming of Hollywood films such as Braveheart and P.S I love you. All along the stretch of road you will have flashbacks of scenes in these movies as with it being so untouched, it's hard not to imagine yourself living out the romance and drama of these movies. 

Some of the places we visited along the way were Lough Tay (The Guinness lake) and Lough Ouler (The famous heart shaped lake), and we came across wondrous waterfalls and the iconic hills of purple heather along the way. The roads are very narrow, however there are so many places to pull over to take photographs of the unruled beauty, and a bunch of places that offer walks and hikes. Unfortunately Lough Ouler was a large hill trek and with children this is something we had to skip. I will definitely be going back to experience that sometime alone. Along the route, on a regular day when social distancing isn't an issue, Glendalough and Powerscourt Waterfall are also close by nestled in the mountains. While these are close to the Sally Gap, I would recommend that you do these on different days, as they themselves have a wealth of opportunities for walks and hikes, adventures and exploration. 
We were out for just over 6hrs and we only drove and stopped in a hand full of places. It is truly one of those places you must go back and visit again- I certainly will be!