Welcome to my little tour of West Wicklow, the West Side Story Series! These are some of my favourite spots to be and I hope you enjoy them.
This one, the first of the series, is in Blessington. There are the most breathtaking views of the Blessington Lakes from the cache site. The is a fairly well hidden but quick cache and grab, make sure to bring a pen.
Why not take in a walk on the beach while youre here 
This is a huge man-made reservoir that was created by damming the Liffey Valley in the 1940s. The waters rose first in the Liffey Valley and then into the larger, adjoining, King's River Valley, a tributary of the Liffey. As there are two valleys involved, Poulaphouca Reservoir is commonly known as the "Blessington Lakes". The reservoir provides vital water and electricity for Dublin city.
Poulaphouca was originally the name of a small, deep lake located in the Liffey Valley. "poulaphouca", pronounced "Powel-a-Fooka" is Irish meaning "Pool of the Pooka". The Pooka was a terrifying male demon, much like the female Banshee (Bean Sí). These beings are part of the Irish fairy folk, and much different to the English concept of fairies, which are tiny benevolent magical sprites.
Irish fairies are often associated with areas with rich archaeological heritage. Underneath this reservoir there are the remains of many houses and some small villages from the early 20th century, and almost certainly undiscovered archaeological remains from much earlier periods.
Today the Poulaphouca Reservoir is popular as a venue for water sports and a very important habitat for wildlife, especially waterbirds. On rare occasions saw-billed ducks such as the Smew and Goosander have been reported, and Ospreys, which are quite exotic birds-of-prey.
Taken from http://www.gardenofireland.com/poulaphouca.php