We took a taxi back to the airport this morning to rent our car for the remainder of our trip. “Fergus” is a Skoda Octavia. From there, Dave had a quick reminder lesson how to drive and shift on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, then it was onto the M highway to the south. We have Starlink now as it’s cheaper than paying roaming fees and there are a likely a few places we’ll stay with no mobile data available.
At the Powerscourt Distillery, we had a nice tour with several tastings of their Fercullen whiskey, only one of which Dave has been able to get at home.
When they opened in 2018, the Powerscourt family wanted a name without Power in it as that is already a very popular whiskey brand. Fercullen is the anglicised version of “Fera Cualann”, the ancient Gaelic name for the Powerscourt Estate and surrounding lands. Literally translated it means for “Men of the Wicklow Mountains” and historical references date its usage back as far as 808AD.
They have only been producing whiskey onsite since 2018 so the 15 year Dave has at home was originally made up north at Cooley distillery. But two of the three whiskeys we tried today have just won their respective categories in 2025. Quite a feat for a smaller place. Somehow Dave talked the lady into letting him have a taste of the premium 21 year old. Or maybe she was just smart as she got a sale of a bottle by doing so.
Then we took a short walk to the Powerscourt waterfall, said to be the tallest in Ireland at 398’. Tourists complain that there is a fee to access this waterfall, but as it is on private property, the owners of Powerscourt House can pretty much do what they want. Ultimately it is just another waterfall, but it was worth the few euro to see it.
The tiny road we drove through the Crone Woods on our way to Glendalough was quite a change from the M highway this morning! Looking ahead, I bet the majority of our roads will look like this one!
There are lots of beautiful viewpoints in the Wicklow Mountains National Park.
For a short leg stretch, we walked into the Ballinastoe Woods. I don’t think the Ballinastoe Boardwalk has been used in any movies, but it definitely gives a Lord of the Rings/Game of Thrones vibe.
We finished our day with a nice dinner at the Glendalough hotel, a very picturesque property which we will take photos of tomorrow before you head out.
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