Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
beam, visitors are lined up against the wall of the “day room” and
confronted with some dark facts of prison life in 1799, when more
than 400 prisoners, most of them rebels, occupied the jail's 42 cells.
After being fed once every 4 days and allowed to walk in the prison
yard for just 15 minutes a month, prisoners must have warmed to
the idea of facing the hangman's noose. Within the main cellblock,
you can roam the jail's individual cells and visit a series of exhibi-
tions and audiovisual presentations. The impact of these stories is
immediate and powerful for children as well as for adults, because
this jail held both. Because many prisoners were sent off to penal
colonies in Australia and Tasmania, that story, too, is told here, with
the help of a stage-set wharf and prison ship. There's an in-house
cafe, but your appetite might have been killed off by the time you've
finished your tour. Overall, it's very informative and moving.
Kilmantin Hill, Wicklow Town, County Wicklow.
&
0404/61599.
www.wicklows
historicgaol.com. Tour
€
6.50 ($7.85) adults,
€
4.70 ($5.65) seniors and students,
18 ($21) families with up to 3 children. Apr 17-Sept daily
10am-6pm (last admission at 5pm).
SHOPPING
Wicklow offers a wide array of wonderful craft centers and work-
shops. Here is a small sampling:
Avoca Handweavers
Dating from 1723, this cluster of white-
washed stone buildings and a mill houses the oldest surviving hand-
weaving company in Ireland. It produces a wide range of tweed
clothing, knitwear, and accessories. The dominant tones of mauve,
aqua, teal, and heather reflect the local landscape. You're welcome to
watch as craftspeople weave strands of yarn spun from the wool of
local sheep. The weaving shed is open daily May to October from
9:30am to 5:30pm. The complex has a retail outlet and a tea shop
(p. 169). There are other branches throughout Ireland, including
one on the N11 at Kilmacanogue, Bray, County Wicklow (
&
01/
286-7466
), open daily 9am to 6pm.
Avoca, County Wicklow.
&
0402/
35105.
www.avoca.ie.
Bergin Clarke Studio
In this little workshop, Brian Clarke
hand-fashions silver jewelry and giftware, and Yvonne Bergin knits
stylish, colorful apparel using yarns from County Wicklow. Open
May to September daily 10am to 8pm, October to April Monday to
Saturday 10am to 5:30pm.
The Old Schoolhouse, Ballinaclash, Rathdrum,
County Wicklow.
&
0404/46385.
Fisher's of Newtownmountkennedy
This shop, in a converted
schoolhouse, stocks a wide array of men's and women's sporting
€
3.75 ($4.50) children,
€
