Walking the Wicklow Way
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WALKING THE WICKLOW WAY A WEEK-LONG WALK FROM DUBLIN TO CLONEGAL About the Author Paddy Dillon is a prolific outdoor writer, with over 100 guidebooks to his name and contribu- tions to 40 other titles. He has written for sev- eral outdoor magazines and other publications and has appeared on radio and television. Paddy uses a tablet computer to write as he walks. His descriptions are therefore precise, having been written at the very point at which the reader uses them. Paddy is an indefatigable long-distance walker who has walked all of Britain’s National Trails and several European trails. He has also walked in Nepal, Tibet, Korea and the Rocky Mountains of Canada and the US. Paddy is a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild and President of the Backpackers Club. WALKING THE WICKLOW WAY www.paddydillon.co.uk Other Cicerone guides by the author A WEEK-LONG WALK FROM DUBLIN TO CLONEGAL Glyndwr’s Way Trekking in the Canary Islands Mountain Walking in Mallorca Walking and Trekking in Iceland by Paddy Dillon The Cleveland Way and the Walking in County Durham Yorkshire Wolds Way Walking in Menorca The GR5 Trail Walking in Sardinia The GR20 Corsica Walking in the Isles of Scilly The Great Glen Way Walking in the North Pennines The National Trails Walking on Arran The North York Moors Walking on Gran Canaria The Pennine Way Walking on Guernsey The Reivers Way Walking on Jersey The South West Coast Path Walking on La Gomera and El The Teesdale Way (Martin Collins; Hierro updated by Paddy Dillon) Walking on Lanzarote and The Wales Coast Path Fuerteventura Trekking in Greenland – The Arctic Walking on La Palma Circle Trail Walking on Madeira Trekking in Mallorca Walking on Malta JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS, Trekking in the Alps (contributing Walking on Tenerife OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL author) Walking on the Azores www.cicerone.co.uk © Paddy Dillon 2021 First edition 2021 CONTENTS ISBN: 978 1 78631 050 7 Route summary table ............................................ 6 Printed in China on responsibly sourced paper on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd Map key ...................................................... 7 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Overview map ................................................. 8 Route mapping by Lovell Johns www.lovelljohns.com INTRODUCTION ............................................. 11 Geology ..................................................... 12 Scenery ..................................................... 14 Contains OpenStreetMap.org data © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA. History ...................................................... 14 NASA relief data courtesy of ESRI Wildlife ..................................................... 17 All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated. Plantlife ..................................................... 18 Wicklow Mountains National Park ................................. 19 Travel to and from the Wicklow Way ............................... 20 When to walk ................................................. 22 Updates to this guide Accommodation ............................................... 23 While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guide- Food and drink ................................................ 26 books as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an Money matters ................................................ 26 edition. This guidebook was researched and written before the COVID-19 Communications .............................................. 26 pandemic. While we are not aware of any significant changes to routes or Daily schedule ................................................ 27 facilities at the time of printing, it is likely that the current situation will What to pack ................................................. 27 give rise to more changes than would usually be expected. Any updates Waymarking and access ......................................... 28 that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www. Maps of the route .............................................. 30 cicerone.co.uk/1050/updates), so please check before planning your trip. Emergencies .................................................. 32 We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, Using this guide ............................................... 32 accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. THE WICKLOW WAY ........................................... 33 We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between Day 1 Marlay Park to Knockree ................................ 34 a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to updates@cice- Day 2 Knockree to Oldbridge ................................. 45 rone.co.uk or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Day 3 Oldbridge to Glendalough .............................. 56 Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL. Day 4 Glendalough to Glenmalure ............................. 65 Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers Day 5 Glenmalure to Moyne .................................. 73 and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk. Day 6 Moyne to Boley Bridge ................................. 83 Day 7 Boley Bridge to Clonegal ................................ 94 Appendix A Accommodation list ............................... 102 Appendix B Useful contacts ................................... 104 Appendix C Irish place names ................................. 106 Front cover: The prominent Great Sugar Loaf as seen from Knockree Youth Hostel WALKING THE WICKLOW WAY MAP KEY ROUTE SUMMARY TABLE Day Symbols used on route maps Day Stage Distance Ascent Descent Time Day 1 Marlay Park to 20km 650m 570m 6hr route Knockree (12½ miles) (2130ft) (1870ft) 30min Relief alternative route in metres Day 2 Knockree to 21km 720m 650m 6hr start point 800–1000 Oldbridge (13 miles) (2360ft) (2130ft) 30min 600–800 finish point Day 3 Oldbridge to 9km 300m 400m 3hr 400–600 Glendalough (5½ miles) (985ft) (1310ft) alternative finish point 200–400 route direction 0–200 Day 4 Glendalough to 14km 460m 460m 4hr Glenmalure (8¾ miles) (1510ft) (1510ft) 30min woodland Day 5 Glenmalure to 23km 750m 720m 7hr urban areas SCALE: 1:50,000 Moyne (14¼ miles) (2460ft) (2360ft) 15min 0 kilometres 0.5 1 railway 0 miles 0.5 Day 6 Moyne to Boley 23km 490m 540m 7hr peak Bridge (14¼ miles) (1610ft) (1770ft) 15min Contour lines are campsite drawn at 25m intervals Day 7 Boley Bridge to 19.5km 400m 440m 6hr and highlighted at Clonegal (12¼ miles) (1310ft) (1445ft) building 100m intervals. Total Marlay Park to 129.5km 3770m 3780m 7 days church/monastery/cross distance Clonegal (80½ miles) (12,370ft) (12,400ft) track vehicle track Note that consistently choosing longer alternatives could add as much as 16km tarmac road GPX files for all routes (10¼ miles) extra to the route, and detours off-route add even more. can be downloaded free at other feature www.cicerone.co.uk/1050/GPX. 6 7 8 W ALKING DUBLIN N Dún DUBLIN Laoghaire THE N Dún W Laoghaire ICKLO Marlay Park 0 5 10 km Marlay Park W 0 5 10 W km AY Naas Bray Naas Bray Knockree Enniskerry Blessington Knockree GreatEnniskerry Sugar Loaf Blessington Great Sugar Loaf Djouce Mtn Djouce725m Mtn Poulaphouca S 725m Reservoir N I Poulaphouca S A Reservoir N T I N A U T Roundwood Hollywood O N M U Roundwood Hollywood O Oldbridge W M O Oldbridge L K W O IC L Glendalough W K Laragh IC Glendalough W Laragh Wicklow Lugnaquilla Wicklow Great Sugar Loaf Great Sugar Loaf Great Lugnaquilla Drumgo 925m Glenmalure Drumgo Baltinglass 925m GlenmalureRathdrum Baltinglass Knockree Knockree CroaghanmoiraRathdrum 664mCroaghanmoira Drumgo Drumgo Glenmalure Glenmalure 664m Oldbridge Oldbridge Moyne Aughrim Moyne Aughrim Arklow Tinahely Tullow Arklow Tinahely Tullow Boley Bridge Boley Bridge Shillelagh Shillelagh Hollywood Hollywood N Boley Bridge Boley Bridge N Clonegal Gorey Kildavin Gorey O Clonegal 0 5 10 VERVIE Kildavin km Kildavin Kildavin Bunclody 0 5 10 km W Bunclody M AP 9 A prominent round tower stands in the ‘Monastic City’ at Glendalough (Day 3/Day 4) INTRODUCTION Walkers above the Dargle River, with Djouce Mountain beyond (Day 2) The Wicklow Way is an ideal introduc- wasn’t officially opened until 1981, tion to the network of trails in Ireland, starting at Marlay Park on the southern being easy to reach, obvious to follow outskirts of Dublin. It was a shorter and full of interest. The Wicklow Way route in those days, finishing at Moyne, was the first waymarked long-distance but it was subsequently extended walking trail to be established in southwards to finish at Clonegal. My Ireland, leaving Dublin and heading first encounter with the Wicklow Way south through the Wicklow Mountains. was in 1982 and my correspondence The driving force behind the route was with JB was brief, as he died in 1989. John James Bernard Malone, who was His memorial stone stands on the always referred to as JB Malone. He Wicklow Way above Luggala. used to write for the Evening Herald The route is mostly, but not and he later converted his newspa- entirely a ‘Wicklow’ way, because per articles into books about walking, although the bulk of it is in Co with a particular emphasis on the his- Wicklow, it starts in Co Dublin and tory and heritage of the countryside. finishes in Co Carlow. After leaving He first promoted the idea of a long Dublin city, the trail climbs quickly walk through