Glendalough Upper Lake
Glendalough Upper Lake is a glacial lake a mile long and almost 600 yards wide[1] in the valley of Glendalough in County Wicklow. This, the Upper Lake and Glendalough Lower Lake are the two waters which gives the valley its name, Gleann Dá Loch ('Valley of Two Lakes').
Geography
- Location map: 53°0’10"N, 6°21’57"W
The lake lies in the Wicklow Mountains area west of Glendalough's Early Mediæval monastic settlement.[2] Near the southern shore stands a small rectangular church named 'Temple-na-Skellig', only accessible by boat and a series of steps from the landing stage; within a nearby cliff is a cave called 'St Kevin's bed', reputedly a retreat for St Kevin, founder of Glendalough, and later for St Laurence O'Toole.
Geology
The lake is classified as a ribbon lake. The Upper and the Lower lakes were at first united but one of their inflow brought an amount of sediment large enough to divide the original lake into two parts.[3]
Hiking
Close to the eastern tip of the lake passes the Wicklow Way, a long distance waymarked walking trail, on its way from Rathfarnham in the north to its southerly point of Clonegal.[4]
Nature conservation
The Upper Lake is part of the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Among the plants living near the coast can be cited the white waterlily and the broad-leaved pondweed. Some of its shore is occupied by a marsh with horsetail, bottle sedge and common reed, which is a convenient place to spot dragonflies.[3]
See also
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Glendalough Upper Lake) |
References
- ↑ The Upper Lake /An Loch Uachtair, Glendalough -, Waymarking.com
- ↑ Glendalough - Brockagh Resource Centre
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Lakes & Rivers' (Wicklow Mountains National Park)
- ↑ Wicklow Way: Roundwood to Glendalough