Ashford, County Wicklow


Ashford, historically known as Ballymacahara, is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on the River Vartry and at the meeting of the R772, R763 and R764 regional roads. The village was formerly on the main Dublin–Wexford route, the N11, but was bypassed by the new N11 in 2004. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 1,425 people.

Geography

Ashford is about north of Rathnew, which is on the outskirts of the county town of Wicklow.

Attractions

The Mount Usher Gardens and Arboretum are located in the village. The gardens were previously owned and operated by Madelaine Jay and the Jay family, but recently the gardens and shopping courtyard were leased to the Avoca Handweavers company, which originated in Avoca, County Wicklow, and which has been owned and operated by the Pratt family for many generations.

Transportation

Ashford is served by Bus Éireann route 133, linking it with Wicklow and Dublin. This route now operates to and from Dublin Airport while since 2012 routes 002 and 006 linking the village with Rosslare Harbour and Waterford no longer serve the village with route 006 terminated from the network altogether.

Notable people