Making Waves

Yesterday, Sunday, a wild and windy day as we headed for the Wicklow Mountains.  Just outside Roundwood we passed the Vartry Reservoir as the wind whipped up the water.

Upper Vartry Reservoir

Today we're at the Upper Vartry Reservoir, near Roundwood, County Wicklow and you can fish here for brown trout, should you have the required fishing permit.

The Draw Off Tower

Yesterday, we showed a photo of the picturesque Lower Vartry Reservoir, near Roundwood, Co Wicklow which has been in the news of late. Today we feature the Draw Off Tower which is located on the southern edge of the reservoir.

The Tower was featured in a scene from Wild Decembers, a major RTE TV drama based on the book of the same name by Edna O'Brien, shown during the Christmas holiday.

Water is piped from here right under the dam I'm standing on into the treatment plant behind and, after extensive filtration and purification, flows through a supposedly unstable 150 year old rock lined 4km-long tunnel bored through the Wicklow Mountains.  Its daily flow of 80 million litres represents about 20 per cent of the total of the water supply to the greater Dublin area.

Investigations undertaken within the past two years by external consultants on behalf of the city council uncovered a fault line in the rock which could collapse at any time.

The good news is that it's been there for 150 years.  We won't contemplate the bad!

Lower Vartry Reservoir

 

This is the Lower Vartry Reservoir on the outskirts of Roundwood, Co Wicklow. Much in the news of late, the Vartry Reservoirs are crucial to the supply of water to the South Dublin area.

Water, Water

Today, we're on the outskirts of Roundwood, Co Wicklow, and standing on the dam which was constructed in the 1860's to form the Lower Vartry Reservoir, left, after a Dublin Water Works Committee was established to develop a new water supply to Dublin and it's suburbs.  This work was particularly important in the improvement of living conditions and public health in Dublin city. It improved sanitation and helped reduce outbreaks of cholera, typhus and other diseases associated with contaminated water.This new Varty water was piped to Stillorgan, Co Dublin,  and changed the city in the days of James Joyce. Joyce made several references to the Vartry in Ulysses.

Below is the Draw Off Tower, through which water is extracted from the reservoir and conveyed
by pipe under the dam to the water treatment plant, which is our main picture above.

Indian Sculpture Park VII

This is the last post from our visit to the wonderful and amazing Indian Sculpture Park at Victoria's Way, Roundwood, Co Wicklow and today we look at the 30 ft sculpture, located in it's own park, entitled Create or Die which represents the belief that "creating difference is spiritual, i.e. life giving" and that "abiding in sameness is un-spiritual, i.e.life denying."  Click here for a more comprehensive explanation from the Sculpture Park's owner and creator Victor Langheld.

So that's it - we finish with a picnic in the park surrounded by some of the more randomly placed sculptures.  All this for the princely sum of € 2.50 (a little more than 3 bucks!). The Park is open daily from 12.30 pm till 18.00 pm, May 1st to September 12th.

Indian Sculpture Park VI

 The marathon post/visit continues at Victoria's Way, Roundwood, Co Wicklow. This magnificent 15ft bronze of ‘the Buddha-to-be suppressing the urge to life’ represents the ascetic (or ‘wilderness’, or ‘Dark Night’) phase through which all wanderers pass. For the full dissertation click here.

 The bronze is a copy of a 2ft stone Gandhara (Roman provincial) period sculpture carved in the 1st century AD in what is now Pakistan.

And yes, it's good to talk!

Indian Sculpture Park V

We are still here in the Indian Sculpture Park at Victoria's Way, Roundwood, Co Wicklow and in a small clearing in the forest we happen upon the startling sculpture of the Split Man.  Again we defer to our oracle, Victor Langheld : "Failing to realize the true self leaves the Split Man incomplete, unfulfilled and miserable." He therefore needs to die in order to start again.  Only when he has attained his goal of enlightenment and joy can he become like the figure on the left, with all stress extinguished - Nirvana Man aka Mr Cool!

Indian Sculpture Park IV

Back in Victoria's Way, Roundwood Co Wicklow, and continuing along our chosen forest path we happen upon this sculpture, in a pond, called the Ferryman's End. "The sculpture is a metaphor for the individual who is losing touch with the real world, personal or general" - according to owner Victor Langheld.








Thought provoking as all this is, here among the unspoilt surroundings of the forest there are other distractions such as these two below:

Indian Sculpture Park III

So, into the enchanted forest at Victor Langheld's Indian Sculpture Park at Victoria's Way, Roundwood, Co Wicklow, to meander through the maze-like paths in search of peace and enlightenment.  The sculptures we encounter "symbolize the stages of the journey from un-wholeness to wholeness, to awakening, enlightenment, fulfilment and the happiness that is the reward for complete fulfilment."

The title of this piece is Awakening Or Birth of Conciousness and, as I am now totally out of my depth, it is time for me to refer you to Victor's website for a real commentary on the sculptures by clicking here.

Indian Sculpture Park II

Continuing our visit to Victor Langheld's Indian Sculpture Park at Victoria's Way, Roundwood, Co Wicklow we see some more of the amazingly detailed Ganesh figures. Above, Flute Ganesh.

On the left, side view of Uileann Pipes Ganesh also known as PaddyGanesh - notice the pint of Guinness!

Below, Tabla Ganesh.

Indian Sculpture Park

The Indian Sculpture Park at Victoria's Way near Roundwood, Co Wicklow is a privately owned property with an amazing collection of 12 stone carvings, four bronzes and a 30-tonne gate sculpted by Indian artists.

The sculptures were dreamt up and sketched in Roundwood by the Park's owner, Victor Langheld and were made in Mahabalipuram, India by the sculptor T. Baskaran and the stucco artist, D.V. Murugan. The Park covers an area of 22 unspoilt acres where you can wander along the many pathways marked by obscure signposts and dotted with random sculptures.

On entering the park you encounter 9 black granite carvings of the Hindu deity Ganesh ranging in size from 5ft 6 ins to 9 ft and weighing between 2 and 5 tonnes.