Glendalough

Deep in the Wicklow Mountains in the Irish Republic lies the monastic settlement of Glendalough. The name means ‘valley of two lakes’ and was first settled in the 6th century by St Kevin, a Leinsterman who went into the mountains seeking a life of asceticism. The 30m round tower is the site’s icon - an extraordinary building symbolising refuge for the weary and sanctuary for the persecuted. This photograph, taken from a nearby brook, reminds me of a fairy-tale idyll; where art thou, Rapunzel?