Sandra O’Connell for ‘The Irish Times’ in July 2011 – Kildare and Wicklow Fáilte Ireland Magazine
From there, we headed for home via the Sally Gap stopping at Kippure Adventure Centre on the way. Tim and Della Kyne’s holiday development and adventure course here has all sorts of high ropes and zip wires, climbing walls and abseiling towers, and the kids loved every inch of all of them.
Best of all however was when we were handed maps and a score sheet and given the run of the estate to explore. We had never been orienteering before, but it was such a hit with everybody we’re definitely going to do it again. For the kids it was a great big treasure hunt and, despite having no competitors, they raced from point to point like they were against the clock.
For my own part, I wandered about mesmerized by thousands of little pink butterflies that flew up every time I took a step. It was like being in a Disney movie. The Kippure Estate backs on to Wicklow Mountains National Park featuring 20,000 hectares of pristine wilderness.
Again, it’s an amazing amenity to have on a capital city’s doorstep and if you want to explore it away from the crowds of Glendalough, Kippure is about the best place I can think of to head for.
After all the excitement, driving home back over the Sally Gap – stopping only to look down at Gareth de Brun’s house – you could have bottled the feeling of contentment from the back seat. As the eldest put it: ‘Isn’t Wicklow just gorgeous’. Absolutely – and on our doorstep too.