For the past two years I have been working with a day
tour company in Dublin and it goes without
saying I meet a huge number of tourists looking for the best places to visit
around Ireland.
The Wicklow Mountains
is usually my first recommendation to new arrivals as it is a beautiful
national park and very close to Dublin.
Along with the gorgeous countryside, Mountains and scenery you can visit a very
historical place in the middle of it called Glendalough (Gaelic translation:
Valley of two lakes) which is home to a 1500 year old Monastic Site.
I was always amazed by the amount of girls who arrived
wanting to visit the film locations for the movie PS I Love You. It’s insane
how much an effect the movie/book has had and being a typical guy I genuinely
knew little to nothing about the movie itself.
So as part of “research” for my new tour company, I
thought it would make sense to watch the movie to hopefully understand better
what it is that all these excited visitors were so eager to see….the results of
this research were very interesting.
The movie itself was good but what surprised me was
that I didn’t find the much talked about scenery in the movie all that
inspiring?! How can I explain this, I love Wicklow, it has some of the most
beautiful remote scenery you are likely to find anywhere but the movie, for me,
didn’t take advantage of the scenery in this area. Basically it is far more
beautiful than the movie portrays.
The first scene where Holly meets Gerry was shot close
to a place called Sally Gap. The scene took place beside a small bridge and I
admittedly always liked this little spot….I took the picture below when I
stopped my motorbike for a sandwich yesterday and I have to admit, after
watching the movie, I can see how anyone would fall in love here. I sat for
half an hour, alone, with not one passer by or a body in site but really, As I
sat there drinking in the views I wondered why the cameras didn’t shoot more of
the surroundings in this area. I took some more pics to show you what I mean.
The farmhouse scenes were taken in a small town called
Enniskerry. It’s a lovely little town in fairness so I couldn’t fault how they
made use of the “farm” parts of the film. But the clips in between of the Irish
Countryside, again while beautiful, I just didn’t find very inspiring compared
to what they could have used. Check out some of the photos I took in the
same Mountains and compare them to what you see in the movie.
Just for your information another scene that I am
often asked about is the “bar scene” where Holly and her friends are ogling
over the guitar player. This is Whelans pub on Wexford Street in Dublin – It’s a great bar, very local with
great music. I was happy to see a genuine non touristy pub used rather than the
more contrived traditional pubs you see in places like Temple Bar. You should
definitely visit the bar during a visit to Ireland and meet some locals here!
Conclusion
It might sound like I’m giving a negative write up
about the movie here, I’m not. I liked it, I was glad they chose to shoot it in
Wicklow and despite big competition it inspired me to organise a tour around it and also to put the Wicklow Mountains
onto my list for the best places to see in Ireland.
I’m just surprised they didn’t use some of the more
dramatic scenery up there in the Mountains. If anything it only serves to
prepare visitors for a surprise in that the scenery is even better than in the
movie, usually it’s the opposite right?!
After watching PS I Love You I now understand what it
is that is so intriguing. While watching the movie, you fall in love but not
just with Holly and Gerry, you fall in love with the idea of a vacation to Ireland which somehow allows you
to be cast in your own little version of the movie, then maybe you too will
find love here….The irony of all of this is that you will!
Thumbs up!
How to get there
The Wicklow Mountains are 30 minutes from Dublin
and accessible by car or with one of the many Day Tour Companies operating in Dublin. There is also a
regular service bus for anyone wanting to visit Glendalough, It runs daily at
11.30 from Dawson Street,
Dublin 2 and you can pay the fare
on the bus.
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