Wicklow is the county Dubliners disappear into on weekends and bring blow-ins back from at the end of Sunday. It is technically commuter country at its northern edge, but most of it is mountains, valleys and lakes that have been used as the backdrop for half the costume dramas you have ever watched, including Braveheart, Vikings and Excalibur.

The headline destination is Glendalough, a 6th-century monastic site set in two glacial lakes. Powerscourt Estate and its waterfall are nearby. Beyond those, the Wicklow Mountains National Park covers most of the rest of the county, with the Sally Gap and Wicklow Gap roads cutting across it from Dublin in the east to Blessington in the west.

Wicklow has its own train line, the DART south to Bray and Greystones, and onward services to Wicklow town and Arklow. Most visitors drive though, because the best of the county is in places without train stations.