Laragh, County Wicklow

Laragh
An Láithreach
Town

Pub in Laragh Village
Laragh

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 53°00′33″N 6°17′44″W / 53.0092°N 6.2956°W / 53.0092; -6.2956Coordinates: 53°00′33″N 6°17′44″W / 53.0092°N 6.2956°W / 53.0092; -6.2956
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Wicklow
Elevation 140 m (460 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Urban 340
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference T140966

Laragh (Irish: An Láithreach – meaning "the site, or ruins, of a building") is a small picturesque village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies at the junction of three roads (the R115, R755, and R756) through the Wicklow Mountains and is primarily known for its proximity to the monastic settlement of Glendalough. Sally Gap and the Glenmacnass Waterfall are to the north, to the west is Glendalough and the Wicklow Gap, and to the south is the Glenmalure Valley. The area is deeply wooded, the hills and mountains rising directly from the valley, and hill walkers, hikers, and other tourists converge on the village – given its closeness to Dublin – as their centre for recreational activities in the mountains. About 5 km from the village, on the Rathdrum road, the Clara Lara fun park covers an area of some 40 ha. Birdwatchers come here in particular to look for the great spotted woodpecker, Ireland's newest species, which breeds regularly in the area.

Laragh is also (especially on Sunday mornings and lunchtime) a regular meeting and stop-off point for motorcyclists and cyclists following a run over "The Gap" (the R756) before they head on to Rathdrum.

"Laragh" is the name of a fictional sheep station in Western Australia run by the Regan family in Nevil Shute's novel 'Beyond the Black Stump'.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.