Aled and Alex have come to the east of Ireland, to the area of Wicklow, ‘The Garden of Ireland’. The town of Wicklow is around 40 miles to the south-east of Dublin.
They go on a canal holiday along the Grand Canal from the village of Vicarstown to the town of Athy – a journey of 12 miles. They hire the boat for a day but you can also hire it for a week. There are very good facilities on the boat and there is space for 6 people to sleep.
There is a lesson on how to drive the boat before going out, or you can have a person to steer the boat for you. Aled and Alex try steering the boat first. How does it go?
Aled goes on holiday in a Volkswagen campervan from the 70s which is called Barry White! There is space for four to sleep in the van and there are very good facilities in it, including a sink, stove and freezer. He goes around the Wicklow area. You can hire the van for a day or up to a fortnight.
Aled goes to the Powerscourt estate. The mansion is around 20 kilometres from Dublin. The mansion and gardens are very famous and many tourists come here every year.
The Powerscourt mansion was a castle originally, but Richard Cassels did lots of work on it in the eighteenth century. The Slazenger family live here now.
Alex enjoys a photography holiday in Wicklow. She goes on a course with the photographer Brian McNulty. The course is for everyone – from novice to experienced photographers – and you can borrow a digital camera.
She stays in the old Wicklow lighthouse. It is a special lighthouse in the shape of an octagon with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge and a kitchen. There are 109 steps from the bottom to the top.
Alex goes with the course to Brittas beach around 10 minutes from the lighthouse. She takes pictures with her new skills, and then Brian looks at her pictures.
