Nov. 23, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
653 
MEETING OF THE WATERS, VALE OF OVOCA. 
Through Charming Wicklow on an Irish Jaunting Car 
I N a country such as Ireland, where admittedly 
nature has been lavish in her distribution of 
scenic attractiveness, it would seem almost 
invidious to suggest a comparison between one 
district and another. But any one who has paid 
a visit to the glens and hills of the county Wick¬ 
low will readily admit that there is enough of 
natural beauty and charm there to satisfy the 
tastes and aesthetic ideals of the most fastidious 
lovers of nature and art. 
I have a very lively and pleasant recollec¬ 
tion of a few holidays spent there not long ago, 
during which I visited several well-known and 
prominent places of interest, not only on ac¬ 
count of their natural attractiveness, but also 
because of their association with some of the 
sweetest poems of Ireland’s famous bard— 
Thomas Moore. 
Taking the train at Harcourt street station 
of the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway, 
I proceeded to the lovely seaside resort—Bray, 
County' Wicklow, familiarly known as “The 
Brighton of Ireland,” which is about twelve 
miles from Dublin. 
On arriving there I was very much struck 
with the prominence, beauty and grandeur of 
Bray Head, which is an abrupt termination on 
the verge of the sea of a mountain chain em¬ 
bracing the larger and smaller Sugar Loaf. The 
termination is so sudden that it looks as if a 
portion of the mountains were cut clean away, 
leaving a sheer declivity of about 700 feet to 
the water’s edge. The Head is well wooded to 
about half way up, and heather-clad on the 
upper portion. 
When this heather is in full bloom, about 
the month of August, it affords a sight of 
beauty which is not likely to be soon forgotten. 
Leaving Bray, I drove on an Irish jaunting 
ear to the demesne of Lord Monck, which is 
only a few miles distant. Here is the famous 
Dargle River flowing at the bottom of a very 
deep glen, which on its sides is beautifully 
wooded by a natural growth of a great variety 
By W. J. MURRAY 
of trees and shrubs. This glen stretches across 
the greater part of the demesne, and is noted 
for the charming picture it presents. 
Another little drive brought me to the 
demesne of Lord Powerscourt, and I visited 
here the far-famed Powerscourt Waterfall, which 
very much reminds one of Tork Waterfall in 
Killarney. It must be about 800 feet in height. 
It falls from a projecting ledge of rock on a 
mountainside, clear over a portion of the 
demesne wood, in its course toward the valley 
underneath. The surrounding scene is beauti¬ 
ful in the extreme, and one likes to tarry there. 
However, I wanted to get along, so I con¬ 
tinued my drive to the Glen-of-the-Downs, 
which has the appearance of a mountain which 
was cleft in two by an earthquake, in which no 
doubt it had its origin. Both sides of this ravine 
are richly wooded by purely natural growth, and 
also by planted trees and shrubs from among 
which great cleft rocks of rugged aspect project 
here and there, the whole exhibiting a most pic¬ 
turesque scene of natural beauty. This is a 
favorite resort of holiday makers and picnic 
parties. 
Some miles distant from here is the Devil’s 
Glen, which bears a very great resemblance to 
the Dargle in its general features and is equally 
beautiful. 
Several miles from the latter place I visited 
the classic region of the “Seven Churches” in 
the valley of Glendalough, with its ancient round 
tower, and the fragmentary remains of its Seven 
Churches. The lake of Glendalough is small and 
its waters always look dark and gloomy, perhaps 
due partly to the shade cast by a dark-colored 
hill overhanging the lake. On this hill there is 
a natural outlined figure of a couch or bed, 
called “St. Kevin’s bed.” It was of Glendalough 
Lake that Moore wrote: 
“By that lake whose gloomy shore 
Skylark never warbles o’er.” 
Within an easy distance from here I visited 
the well-known Vale of Ovoca immortalized in 
song by Thomas Moore in his “Meeting of the 
Waters,” from which the following lines are an 
extract: 
“There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet 
As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet, 
Oh! the last ray of feeling and life must depart 
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.” 
The meeting of the waters, which means in 
this case the junction of the River Ovoca with 
one of its tributaries, takes place in a valley of 
most charming woodland and hill scenery, and 
is quite in keeping with the general character and 
natural features of the County Wicklow. 
Before concluding my round of Wicklow, I 
paid a visit to Lough Dan, where I had some 
good sport with rod and fly. The disciple of 
the far-famed Izaak Walton would find his ideal 
fully realized by paying a visit to this celebrated 
haunt of the enthusiastic angler, where the 
mountain trout are both abundant and gamy. 
Lough Dan is situated at a high altitude in 
a mountainous region of the County Wicklow, 
“far from the busy haunts of men,” but in a 
beautiful and wild surrounding of rock and 
heather. The lake is about fifteen miles from 
the town of Bray. 
On arriving at Lough Dan the fisherman will 
find an old-fashioned inn overlooking the fish¬ 
ing ground, and here he will also find every 
convenience and comfort during his sojourn— 
everything clean and good, both eating and 
drinking, with plenty of fresh air and delight¬ 
ful scenery, etc. 
The lake is not very large, as is the case 
with most mountain lakes. It is about a mile 
and a half long, and a mile wide, but it is teem¬ 
ing with trout of a good sporting sort. They 
seldom grow over one pound in weight and their 
usual size is that of a herring. They are rather 
deep golden color, except on the back which is 
brownish, but they are well spotted with a bright 
red color and they look very pretty when taken 
out of the water. 
The “take” is usually very good, often uf> 
