Ireland/Irish > Lakes of Killarney

THE ROUTE TO THE LAKES.
17
extent; and in beauty, as well as in size, it excels
the finest of the parks in London. We may also
visit the Zoological Gardens.
There are also numerous delightful drives in the
immediate vicinity of Dublin, which, in our limited
space, we can only refer to but may not dwell upon.
THE ROUTE TO THE LAKES.
The distance from Dublin to Killarney by the
Great Southern and Western Railway is 186 miles.
The station from which we start is at Kingsbridge.
CLOUDALKIN is the first station out of Dublin.
There is a Round Tower here, visible from the line,
which is 84 feet high, and is considered one of the
most perfect in Ireland. The line, for the first 15
miles after leaving the city, runs along the high
southern banks of the Liffey, and it would be difficult
to imagine more beautiful scenery than that through
which it passes—corn-fields and cottages; villas and
villages; mountains and valleys; groves, meadows,
and gardens; every species of scenery, in short, that
can warm the heart or charm the eye of man. From
the midst of this terrestrial paradise, a short time
after leaving Dublin we plunge suddenly in a dreary
waste called
THE BOG OF ALLEN. Truly, it is a strange desolate
scene, rendered all the more gloomy by contrast with
that which preceded it. Dark pools, dingy brown
heath, miles and miles of slimy morass, alone meet
the eye in all directions, with here and there the low-
B