Wicklow Way
Encyclopedia
The Wicklow Way is a 129 kilometres (80 mi) long-distance trail
that crosses the Wicklow Mountains
in Ireland
. It runs from Marlay Park
in the southern suburbs of Dublin
through County Wicklow
and ends in the village of Clonegal
in County Carlow
. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail
by the Irish Sports Council
and is waymarked
by posts with a yellow "walking man" symbol and a directional arrow. Typically completed in 5–7 days, it is one of the busiest of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails, with up to 24,000 people a year walking the most popular sections. The Way is also used regularly by a number of mountain running
competitions.
The trail follows forest tracks, mountain paths, boreen
s and quiet country roads. Mountains, upland lakes and steep-sided glacial valleys make up the terrain of the initial northern sections of the Way before giving way to gentler rolling foothills in the latter southern sections. Much of the route follows the contact point between the igneous
granite
of the western side of Wicklow and the metamorphic
schist
s and slate
s of the eastern side. The principal habitat
of the upland sections is a mixture of broadleaf and coniferous woodland
, heath
and blanket bog
while in the lowland sections the hedge
rows marking the boundaries between fields support a variety of wildlife. The Way also passes the Monastic City at Glendalough
, founded in the 6th century by Saint Kevin
.
The Wicklow Way was originally proposed by J. B. Malone
in a series of newspaper articles in 1966. In 1977, Malone was appointed to the Long Distance Walking Routes Committee of , the National Sports Council
and set about making the concept a reality. Malone’s original proposal for a circular route around Wicklow was dropped in favour of the linear route that exists today because the Government wanted the Wicklow Way to form part of a network of walking routes around the country. The first section opened in 1980 and the trail was fully completed in 1982. It became the first of many National Waymarked Trails to be developed in Ireland: there are now over forty such trails, covering a distance of over 4000 kilometres (2,485.5 mi). The Way forms part of European walking route E8
which stretches from the Atlantic
coast of County Cork
to Istanbul
in Turkey
. A memorial to J. B. Malone, who died in 1989, was erected on the Wicklow Way, near Lough Tay
, in honour of his contribution.
The provision of and access to the routes through the countryside used by the Wicklow Way is dependent on agreement with local authorities and landowners. Accordingly the route has been criticised for excessive use of routes through forestry plantations and roads. Proposals to address these issues were put forward in a review of the National Waymarked Trails published in 2010.
(1914-1989) in a series of newspaper articles in 1966. Malone had a regular column on walking in Wicklow in the Evening Herald
newspaper and had published two books – The Open Road (1950) and Walking in Wicklow (1964) – on the subject as well as contributing to the RTÉ
television series Mountain and Meadow (1962). He proposed a circular route, dubbed "The Twelve Days of Wicklow", which he considered to be "a journey comparable to that along the celebrated "Pennine Way
" but I would say more varied than its north British counterpart". The route consisted of twelve stages, beginning at Bohernabreena, near Tallaght
, Dublin 24 and ending at Stepaside
, County Dublin
as follows: Bohernabreena to Baltyboys (near Valleymount
), via Athdown; Baltyboys to Ballinclea (near Donard
), via Hollywood
; Ballinclea to Aghavannagh
, via Lugnaquilla
summit; a rest day at Aghavannagh; Aghavannagh to Tinahely
; a circular day route beginning and ending in Tinahely, via Shillelagh
; Tinahely to Avoca
; Avoca to Glenmalure
, via Greenan; Glenmalure to Glendalough
; a rest day at Glendalough; Glendalough to Knockree; and Knockree to Stepaside.
In 1977 Malone was appointed, by John Bruton
, T. D.
, then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, to a committee to develop rural pathways in Ireland. This evolved into the Long Distance Walking Routes Committee (LDWRC) of , the National Sports Council
, where Malone, acting as Field Officer, set about developing a scheme for a "Wicklow Way" along the lines of what he had proposed twelve years earlier. The Government's decision to develop a series of walking routes was prompted in response to the development of the Ulster Way
in Northern Ireland
. Malone's original concept of a circular route returning to Dublin via West Wicklow was dropped in favour of the linear path between Marlay Park and Clonegal that exists today, mainly because the Government wanted the Wicklow Way to form part of national network of trails to cover Ireland. Issues regarding access were another reason. Nevertheless, the route remains substantially as planned in 1966. In developing the route, the LDWRC made use of many existing paths, tracks and forest roads but, having no compulsory powers to include any of these, the provision of and access to such routes was, and continues to be, achieved by agreement with local authorities and landowners.
The first section of the Way – from Marlay Park to Luggala
– was opened by Jim Tunney, T. D., Minister of State
for Education on 15 August 1980. The second section – from Luggala to Moyne – was opened by Michael Keating
, T. D., Minister of State for Education on 27 September 1981. The final stretch as far as Clonegal was completed in 1982. The Irish name of the Wicklow Way – – is not a literal translation but means "New Cuala Way", a reference to the , one of five ancient routes that radiated from the Hill of Tara
that ran through the land of Cuala (modern-day Wicklow).
The route of the Wicklow Way has been altered on a number of occasions since opening in 1980, generally as a result of problems with erosion
or difficulties with rights of way. For instance, concerns about erosion led to the Way being diverted away from Fairy Castle, the summit of Two Rock
mountain. Similarly, the Way was also diverted away from the summit of Mullacor
, which at 657 metres (2,156 ft) was the highest point on the Way before the trail was rerouted. In 1999, the Way was diverted away from the village of Laragh
on foot of an objection by a local landowner, to the chagrin of businesses in the village dependent on the custom of walking tourists. A number of information boards and stone landmarks were erected in 2006 to mark the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Way. The state-owned
forestry
company Coillte has in recent years worked with a number of tourism and voluntary
bodies to upgrade sections of the Way that run through its lands. Today, the Wicklow Way is managed by the Wicklow Outdoor Recreation Committee.
The Wicklow Way was the first waymarked way to be opened in the Republic of Ireland. The LDWRC (now the National Trails Advisory Commitee of the Irish Sports Council
) went on to develop many more long distance walking routes, the intention at the time being to develop a walking route around Ireland. There are now more than forty National Waymarked Trails, comprising over 4000 kilometres (2,485.5 mi) of trails in Ireland.
The extensive use of forest roads through conifer
plantations has been another criticism: the authors of the Lonely Planet
guidebook, Walking in Ireland, found, "The Way's one shortcoming is the character of the walking […] you'll become all too familiar with forest tracks and roads through conifer plantations […] where they're surrounded by tall, dense forest they're not particularly interesting". Similarly, Paul Gosling, who walked the Way for The Independent
, found that, "While the long distance path is, on occasion, very attractive, it is not so much hazardous as unadventurous. […] Over the next four and a half days, we lost our enthusiasm for conifers […] The views were restricted and there was little sign of wildlife". In The Irish Times
John G. O'Dwyer described them as "gloomy trails through invading armies of monoculture
[…] as memorable as a motorway median
".
A review of the National Waymarked Trails in Ireland by the National Trails Office in 2010 acknowledged these shortcomings and recommended that the Wicklow Way be selected as one of fourteen trails to be upgraded to a National Long Distance Trail. This is a proposed new standard of trail in Ireland, intended to meet international standards for outstanding trails. It would require sections on unsuitable roads to comprise less than 10% of the total trail and for appropriate support services – accommodation, meals, transport, luggage transfer etc. – to be available. The review also recommended the development of shorter looped walks off the Wicklow Way and improving parking facilities.
symbol for all of the National Waymarked Trails in Ireland. Brown fingerpost
s are used on sections that follow roads. The Way is typically completed in five to seven days.
, a historic demesne
on the outskirts of Dublin's suburbs laid out in the late 18th century by the La Touches, a family of Huguenot
merchants and bankers, and later developed as a public park. The trailhead
comprises a map board, beside which is a low wall with a stone stile through which walkers pass in order to make their first step on the trail. The Way traverses the park, following a wooded shelterbelt
along the Little Dargle River, before emerging on the southern side of the park onto College Road. Passing under the M50 motorway
, it ascends Kilmashogue Lane and enters the forest recreation area on Kilmashogue
mountain. This is the first of many forest plantations, owned by Coillte, that the Wicklow Way passes through. The tree species in this area comprise Sitka spruce, Scots pine
and beech
. Much of this initial section of the Way is underlain by granite
. The trail circles the mountain, emerging onto open moorland
near Fairy Castle. This upland heath
and bog
habitat is dominated by heather
, purple moor grass and bog cotton and supports many bird species, including red grouse
, meadow pipit
and skylark
. The Way crosses a saddle between Two Rock
mountain and Kilmashogue before descending from a broad ridge between Two Rock and Tibradden Mountain
into the valley of Glencullen
where it follows the R116 road
to the hamlet of Boranaraltry. The road is flanked by hedge
row-bordered farmland. Ascending from Boranaraltry, the trail crests the shoulder of Prince William’s Seat, at which point the Way leaves County Dublin and enters County Wicklow. The habitat here alternates between blanket bog
and upland heath. The trail descends to the floor of the Glencree
valley via Curtlestown Wood where it then enters Lackan Wood and crosses the shoulder of Knockree Hill.
of the western part of the Wicklow Mountains and the schist
s and slate
s of the east. The trail follows the Glencree River through Seskin Wood, a semi-natural oak
and hazel
woodland
and a habitat for jay
s. Crossing the river at a footbridge, the trail then passes into Crone Woods and ascends to Ride Rock, which overlooks Powerscourt
Deerpark
and the Powerscourt Waterfall
, the tallest in Ireland at 121 metres (397 ft). Deer
– hybrids of imported Japan
ese Sika
and native Red deer
– are common in the forests and mountains along the Wicklow Way and all deer in the Wicklow Mountains originated with the Powerscourt herd. The next valley to be crossed is Glensoulan which, although uninhabited today, before the Great Famine of the 1840s was home to a small population of cottiers and faint traces of their farms can still be seen in the wintertime when the bracken
is low. Crossing the River Dargle, the trail ascends the eastern shoulder of Djouce
mountain. Here, the heathland gives way to wetter blanket bog
. Bogland shares a number of plant and animal species with heathland but is also a habitat for species of bog cotton as well as bog asphodel, sedges
(which contribute to the formation of peat
) and bog moss
. The wet bogland is also a habitat for frog
s, pondskaters and diving beetles
. Near the summit of Djouce, the Way joins a wooden or bog bridge
, constructed to protect the bog from erosion, which crosses White Hill, the highest point on the Way at 630 metres (2,067 ft). The trail descends White Hill towards Luggala
along a ridge, known as the Barr, where a memorial stone to J. B. Malone, carved by sculptor Billy Gannon and erected in 1990, may be found overlooking Lough Tay
. From Luggala, the trail passes through a coniferous plantation of spruce and pine on the eastern flanks of Sleamaine and Ballinafunshoge Hills to reach Oldbridge, which crosses the River Avonmore
near Lough Dan
.
stone that lies in the field, water from which is said to cure wart
s. The boreen ends at Brusher Gap, reputed to be a place where locals left food and supplies for Michael Dwyer
and his followers when they went on the run after the 1798 Rebellion
. The Way enters Drummin forest, a sitka spruce plantation, where it passes an Adirondack shelter
, constructed by Mountain , a volunteer
group dedicated to trail preservation that has upgraded various sections of the Wicklow Way over the years. The trail climbs Paddock Hill before descending into a plantation of larch
trees. The forest floor here is a habitat for spurges, heath bedstraw
and fly agaric
toadstools. The trail crosses the Military Road
, near Laragh
, and then a wooden footbridge across the Glenmacnass River. A dense spread of granite boulders litters the riverbed, glacial erratic
s deposited by melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age
. This stretch of the trail follows an old mass path
through a woodland of many native Irish tree species, including oak, rowan
, silver birch and willow
, carpeted with a forest floor of bilberry
, bluebell
and hard fern
. The Way continues along forest tracks over the shoulder of Brockagh Mountain. At the highest point there is a vista over the Vale of Glendalough
with the two lakes nestled in the shelter of Camaderry
and Derrybawn Mountains. Exiting the forest, the Way reaches the R756 road
and the Glendalough visitor centre. Crossing the Glendasan River, it passes the remains of the Monastic City, founded in the 6th century by Saint Kevin
.
, birch, and rowan. Ascending from the Upper Lake, the trail reaches Poulanass Waterfall which, over millennia, has cut a narrow gorge through the slate rock and borne millions of tonnes of rock, sand and mud into Glendalough, dividing what was originally one lake into the two seen today. The trail continues its ascent through forest before emerging onto the saddle between Mullacor
and Lugduff mountains at Borenacrow. The Borenacrow route between Glendalough and Glenmalure dates back to ancient times and there is a local tradition that Saint Kevin travelled this way to celebrate Mass
in Glenmalure. The view ahead looks across the Glenmalure
valley at Fraughan Rock Glen and Lugnaquilla
, Wicklow's highest mountain at 925 metres (3,034.8 ft). The Way then begins a long descent into Glenmalure, the longest glacial valley in Ireland and Great Britain
. Along the way the trail passes another Adirondack shelter, constructed in 2006 by Mountain . Reaching the floor of the valley, the Way joins the Military Road to reach Drumgoff Crossroads. Crossing the River Avonbeg
, the route passes the remains of an old military barracks
, built around 1800, and enters Drumgoff Wood. At the forest entrance is a granite pillar marking the official halfway point of the Wicklow Way. The trail follows a forest road along the flanks of Slieve Maan before briefly re-joining the Military Road and then following a forest road around Carrickashane Mountain before reaching the road at Iron Bridge where the Way crosses the Ow River. Another Adirondack shelter, again constructed by Mountain volunteers with assistance from the Glenwalk Hillwalking Club, can be found at Mucklagh, on the slopes of Carrickashane Mountain.
s.
Hedge
rows of hawthorn and blackthorn
, which form the boundaries between the fields, are the principal habitat in these cultivated areas. They support many species of wild flowers, insects and birds, including dog rose, purple foxglove
and wild violet as well as wren
s, blackbirds and song thrush
es.
The Way ascends through a gap between Ballygobban and Shielstown Hills, yielding views stretching from Lugnaquilla to Keadeen Mountain and beyond to Eagle Hill and the Castlecomer Plateau
. The hills ahead mark the edge of the granite backbone of the Wicklow Mountains; in the distance they gradually merge with the Blackstairs Mountains
, which can be seen on the skyline. The trail follows the road passing close to the village of Moyne before joining a boreen. Along this boreen are the remains of a holy well
dedicated to Saint Colmcille
. The trail contours around Ballycumber Hill and then continues along the eastern slopes of Garryhoe Hill, passing the remains of a ringfort
, approximately 15 metres (49.2 ft) in diameter. Further along is a memorial to a Dr James McNamara who was killed in a shooting accident in 1916. Passing through a series of gates along the way, the trail follows Coolafunshoge Lane, an old droving path with extensive views of south Wicklow. The lane emerges onto the road, crossing a bridge over the River Derry
to reach the R747 road
close to Tinahely
.
church and cottages are built from local granite. At Stranakelly Crossroads, the Way passes Tallon's pub, better known as the "Dying Cow" from a story that, when visited by police late one night, the landlady argued that she wasn't serving drink after hours but providing refreshments to neighbours who helped her with a dying cow. Circling Cronlea Hill, which is topped with a windfarm
, and passing near the village of Kilquiggan, the Way crosses the R725 road
near Shillelagh
. The trail enters forestry at Raheenakit before joining an old drovers' road, once used to herd sheep to market in Shillelagh. The Blackstairs Mountains, whose main peak, Mount Leinster
, is distinguished by the television mast on its summit, begin to dominate the horizon. The trail meanders along forestry tracks around Moylisha and Urelands Hills. Urelands Hill is littered with hornblende
-rich schist, a legacy of a chain of long-extinct volcanic islands that existed 450-500 million years ago when this part of Ireland lay under the primeval Iapetus Ocean
. Joining the road for the final stretch into Clonegal, the Way leaves County Wicklow and enters County Carlow
at Wicklow Bridge, about 3 kilometres (2 mi) from the end. The Wicklow Way ends in the village green of Clonegal where a stone bench and a map board, displaying the entire route from Marlay Park, may be found.
which runs from Dursey Island
in County Cork
to Istanbul
in Turkey
. The Irish section incorporates the Wicklow Way, the South Leinster Way
, the East Munster Way
, the Blackwater Way
and parts of the Kerry Way
and the Beara Way
. There is an unmarked link route from Dublin Port
(where the E8 connects to Liverpool
by ferry) which follows the River Dodder
to Rathfarnham
and on to the Wicklow Way trailhead at Marlay Park via St. Enda's Park
. Similarly, an unmarked road walk connects Clonegal with the trailhead of the South Leinster Way in Kildavin
, County Carlow.
The Wicklow Way also shares part of its route with the Dublin Mountains Way
along a section of the ridge between Two Rock
and Tibradden
. The Saint Kevin's Way
Pilgrim Path starts at either Hollywood
or Valleymount
, County Wicklow and ends at Glendalough where it connects with the Wicklow Way.
Sections of the Wicklow Way are also used by several National Looped Walks: the Maulin
Mountain Loop and the Ballycumber, Kyle, and Mangan's Loops near Tinahely.
for teams of 2 to 8 runners. The Wicklow Way Ultra is a 51 kilometres (31.7 mi) individual event run between Glencullen and Ballinastoe Woods. The record for running the entire distance of the Wicklow Way from Marlay Park to Clonegal is held by Paul Tierney who completed the route in a time of 13h38:51 on 15 May 2011.
routes. There is no public transport available to or from the trailhead in Clonegal, with the closest bus routes serving the nearby villages of Kildavin and Bunclody
, County Carlow. Some places on or near the route are also served by bus. The St. Kevins (sic
) Bus Service stops at Roundwood
, Laragh and Glendalough. The Wicklow Way Bus provides services to Laragh, Glendalough, Glenmalure, Iron Bridge and Tinahely.
Long-distance trail
Long-distance trails are the longer recreational trails mainly through rural areas, used for non-motorised recreational travelling ....
that crosses the Wicklow Mountains
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into Counties Carlow, Wexford and Dublin. Where the mountains extend into County Dublin, they are known locally as the Dublin Mountains...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It runs from Marlay Park
Marlay Park
Marlay Park is a suburban public park located in Rathfarnham in the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, in Co. Dublin, Ireland. Lying about nine kilometres from Dublin city centre. The parkland comprises woodlands, ponds and walks...
in the southern suburbs of Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
through County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
and ends in the village of Clonegal
Clonegal
Clonegal, officially Clonegall , is a village in the southeast of County Carlow, Ireland. It is in a rural setting, 5 km from Bunclody, County Wexford, 22 km from Carlow and 17 km from the proposed interchange of the N9 and N80 roads at Rathcrogue. It is just over a mile north of...
in County Carlow
County Carlow
County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...
. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail
Long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland
There are 43 long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland designated as National Waymarked Trails by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council. These trails are inspected annually by the National Trails Office and are maintained by local management committees, Local Authorities,...
by the Irish Sports Council
Irish Sports Council
The Irish Sports Council or ISC is the organisation which directs the development of sport within the Ireland.The ISC is a statutory authority and was established in July 1999 under powers provided by the Irish Sports Council Act...
and is waymarked
Trail blazing
Trail blazing, or trailblazing, is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with blazes, markings that follow each other at certain — though not necessarily exactly defined — distances and mark the direction of the trail...
by posts with a yellow "walking man" symbol and a directional arrow. Typically completed in 5–7 days, it is one of the busiest of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails, with up to 24,000 people a year walking the most popular sections. The Way is also used regularly by a number of mountain running
Fell running
Fell running, also known as mountain running and hill running, is the sport of running and racing, off road, over upland country where the gradient climbed is a significant component of the difficulty...
competitions.
The trail follows forest tracks, mountain paths, boreen
Boreen
Boreen or bohereen is an anglicised, Hiberno-English term normally meaning a narrow, frequently unpaved, rural road in Ireland. "Boreen" also appears sometimes in names of minor urban roads such as Saint Mobhi Bóithrín , commonly known as Mobhi Boreen in Glasnevin, Dublin....
s and quiet country roads. Mountains, upland lakes and steep-sided glacial valleys make up the terrain of the initial northern sections of the Way before giving way to gentler rolling foothills in the latter southern sections. Much of the route follows the contact point between the igneous
Igneous rock
Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
of the western side of Wicklow and the metamorphic
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
s and slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
s of the eastern side. The principal habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
of the upland sections is a mixture of broadleaf and coniferous woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, heath
Heath
-Habitats:* Heath or heathland, low-growing woody vegetation, mostly consisting of heathers and related species* Heaths in the British National Vegetation Classification system...
and blanket bog
Blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground. The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat...
while in the lowland sections the hedge
Hedge
Hedge may refer to:* Hedge or hedgerow, line of closely spaced shrubs planted to act as a barrier* Hedge , investment made to limit loss* Hedge , intentionally non-committal or ambiguous sentence fragments-See also:...
rows marking the boundaries between fields support a variety of wildlife. The Way also passes the Monastic City at Glendalough
Glendalough
Glendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops....
, founded in the 6th century by Saint Kevin
Kevin of Glendalough
Saint Cóemgen , popularly anglicized to Kevin is an Irish saint who was known as the founder and first abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland.-Life:...
.
The Wicklow Way was originally proposed by J. B. Malone
J. B. Malone
John James Bernard Malone was an Irish hill-walking enthusiast who popularised the pastime through his television programmes and books...
in a series of newspaper articles in 1966. In 1977, Malone was appointed to the Long Distance Walking Routes Committee of , the National Sports Council
Irish Sports Council
The Irish Sports Council or ISC is the organisation which directs the development of sport within the Ireland.The ISC is a statutory authority and was established in July 1999 under powers provided by the Irish Sports Council Act...
and set about making the concept a reality. Malone’s original proposal for a circular route around Wicklow was dropped in favour of the linear route that exists today because the Government wanted the Wicklow Way to form part of a network of walking routes around the country. The first section opened in 1980 and the trail was fully completed in 1982. It became the first of many National Waymarked Trails to be developed in Ireland: there are now over forty such trails, covering a distance of over 4000 kilometres (2,485.5 mi). The Way forms part of European walking route E8
European walking route E8
The E8 European long distance path or E8 path is one of the European long-distance paths, leading 4700km across Europe, from Cork in Ireland to Istanbul in Turkey....
which stretches from the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast of County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. A memorial to J. B. Malone, who died in 1989, was erected on the Wicklow Way, near Lough Tay
Lough Tay
Lough Tay is a small but scenic lake set in the Wicklow Mountains in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies between the mountains of Djouce and Luggala, and is most easily viewed from above, from the R759 or the Wicklow Way as it descends past the J. B. Malone memorial...
, in honour of his contribution.
The provision of and access to the routes through the countryside used by the Wicklow Way is dependent on agreement with local authorities and landowners. Accordingly the route has been criticised for excessive use of routes through forestry plantations and roads. Proposals to address these issues were put forward in a review of the National Waymarked Trails published in 2010.
History
The concept of a long-distance trail through County Wicklow was first published by J. B. MaloneJ. B. Malone
John James Bernard Malone was an Irish hill-walking enthusiast who popularised the pastime through his television programmes and books...
(1914-1989) in a series of newspaper articles in 1966. Malone had a regular column on walking in Wicklow in the Evening Herald
Evening Herald
The Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...
newspaper and had published two books – The Open Road (1950) and Walking in Wicklow (1964) – on the subject as well as contributing to the RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
television series Mountain and Meadow (1962). He proposed a circular route, dubbed "The Twelve Days of Wicklow", which he considered to be "a journey comparable to that along the celebrated "Pennine Way
Pennine Way
The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England. The trail runs from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and the Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes...
" but I would say more varied than its north British counterpart". The route consisted of twelve stages, beginning at Bohernabreena, near Tallaght
Tallaght
Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...
, Dublin 24 and ending at Stepaside
Stepaside, Dublin
- See also :*Kilgobbin House*List of towns and villages in Ireland...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
as follows: Bohernabreena to Baltyboys (near Valleymount
Valleymount
Valleymount is a small village in western County Wicklow, Ireland. Neighbouring villages are Hollywood, Ballymore Eustace, Blessington, Ballyknockan and Lacken.-Location and transport:...
), via Athdown; Baltyboys to Ballinclea (near Donard
Donard
Donard is a small village in County Wicklow, Ireland located at the northern end of the Glen of Imaal, in the western part of the Wicklow Mountains....
), via Hollywood
Hollywood, County Wicklow
Hollywood, historically known as Killinkeyvin , is a village in west County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated on the Wicklow Gap road, near its junction with the N81 national secondary road...
; Ballinclea to Aghavannagh
Aghavannagh
Aghavannagh is a small village and townland in south County Wicklow, Ireland in the barony of Ballinacor South. It is located on the Military Road originally constructed between 1804 and 1809, in the wake of the 1798 rebellion...
, via Lugnaquilla
Lugnaquilla
Lugnaquilla or Lugnaquillia, historically called Lugnaculliagh is a mountain in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. It is the highest peak of the Wicklow Mountains range, the highest in the province of Leinster, and the 13th highest peak in Ireland and affectionately known as "Lug".Views, on a...
summit; a rest day at Aghavannagh; Aghavannagh to Tinahely
Tinahely
Tinahely is a village in the barony of Ballinacor South, County Wicklow in Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns.- Location and access :...
; a circular day route beginning and ending in Tinahely, via Shillelagh
Shillelagh, County Wicklow
Shillelagh is a village located in County Wicklow, Ireland.The town was planned as part of the FitzWilliam estate in the 17th century. Nearby Coolattin House was the seat of the Fitzwilliam Estate. Tomnafinnoge Woods is the largest remaining oak forest in Ireland...
; Tinahely to Avoca
Avoca, County Wicklow
Avoca is a small town near Arklow, in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated on the River Avoca.The Avoca area has been associated with its famous copper mines for many years and the valley has been immortalised by Thomas Moore in the famous song The Meeting of the Waters...
; Avoca to Glenmalure
Glenmalure
Glenmalure is a valley in the Wicklow Mountains in eastern Ireland. It is a u-shaped glacial valley, with only one road leading into it, which connects to the 'Military Road' at the mouth of the valley....
, via Greenan; Glenmalure to Glendalough
Glendalough
Glendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops....
; a rest day at Glendalough; Glendalough to Knockree; and Knockree to Stepaside.
In 1977 Malone was appointed, by John Bruton
John Bruton
John Gerard Bruton is an Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 1994 to 1997. A minister under two taoisigh, Liam Cosgrave and Garret FitzGerald, Bruton held a number of the top posts in Irish government, including Minister for Finance , and Minister for Industry, Trade,...
, T. D.
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
, then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, to a committee to develop rural pathways in Ireland. This evolved into the Long Distance Walking Routes Committee (LDWRC) of , the National Sports Council
Irish Sports Council
The Irish Sports Council or ISC is the organisation which directs the development of sport within the Ireland.The ISC is a statutory authority and was established in July 1999 under powers provided by the Irish Sports Council Act...
, where Malone, acting as Field Officer, set about developing a scheme for a "Wicklow Way" along the lines of what he had proposed twelve years earlier. The Government's decision to develop a series of walking routes was prompted in response to the development of the Ulster Way
Ulster Way
The Ulster Way is a series of walking routes which encircle the Irish province of Ulster. It was founded in the 1970s by Wilfred Capper , who was inspired by Tom Stephenson's Pennine Way...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Malone's original concept of a circular route returning to Dublin via West Wicklow was dropped in favour of the linear path between Marlay Park and Clonegal that exists today, mainly because the Government wanted the Wicklow Way to form part of national network of trails to cover Ireland. Issues regarding access were another reason. Nevertheless, the route remains substantially as planned in 1966. In developing the route, the LDWRC made use of many existing paths, tracks and forest roads but, having no compulsory powers to include any of these, the provision of and access to such routes was, and continues to be, achieved by agreement with local authorities and landowners.
The first section of the Way – from Marlay Park to Luggala
Luggala
Luggala , also called Fancy Mountain , is a mountain in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland. Its cliffs are situated above a lake, Lough Tay, and are a popular location for rock climbing.Luggala is about southwest of Dublin.- Luggala Estate :...
– was opened by Jim Tunney, T. D., Minister of State
Minister of State (Ireland)
A Minister of State in Ireland is of non-Cabinet rank, attached to one or more Departments of State of the Government of Ireland....
for Education on 15 August 1980. The second section – from Luggala to Moyne – was opened by Michael Keating
Michael Keating (Irish politician)
Michael Keating is a former Irish politician.-Early life:Michael Keating was born in Dublin in 1946. He was educated at the Christian Brothers O'Connell School, University College Dublin and St. Patrick's College in Maynooth where he received a Bachelor of Arts...
, T. D., Minister of State for Education on 27 September 1981. The final stretch as far as Clonegal was completed in 1982. The Irish name of the Wicklow Way – – is not a literal translation but means "New Cuala Way", a reference to the , one of five ancient routes that radiated from the Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara , located near the River Boyne, is an archaeological complex that runs between Navan and Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland...
that ran through the land of Cuala (modern-day Wicklow).
The route of the Wicklow Way has been altered on a number of occasions since opening in 1980, generally as a result of problems with erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
or difficulties with rights of way. For instance, concerns about erosion led to the Way being diverted away from Fairy Castle, the summit of Two Rock
Two Rock
Two Rock is a mountain in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland. It is high and is the 382nd highest mountain in Ireland. It is the highest point of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The mountain takes its name from the...
mountain. Similarly, the Way was also diverted away from the summit of Mullacor
Mullacor
Mullacor is a mountain in Wicklow Mountains in County Wicklow, Ireland. Mullacor stands at 657 metres making it the 22nd highest mountain in the Wicklow Mountains and the 177th highest in Ireland.-References:...
, which at 657 metres (2,156 ft) was the highest point on the Way before the trail was rerouted. In 1999, the Way was diverted away from the village of Laragh
Laragh, County Wicklow
Laragh is a small picturesque village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies at the junction of three roads through the Wicklow Mountains and is primarily known for its proximity to the monastic settlement of Glendalough...
on foot of an objection by a local landowner, to the chagrin of businesses in the village dependent on the custom of walking tourists. A number of information boards and stone landmarks were erected in 2006 to mark the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Way. The state-owned
State ownership
State ownership, also called public ownership, government ownership or state property, are property interests that are vested in the state, rather than an individual or communities....
forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
company Coillte has in recent years worked with a number of tourism and voluntary
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
bodies to upgrade sections of the Way that run through its lands. Today, the Wicklow Way is managed by the Wicklow Outdoor Recreation Committee.
The Wicklow Way was the first waymarked way to be opened in the Republic of Ireland. The LDWRC (now the National Trails Advisory Commitee of the Irish Sports Council
Irish Sports Council
The Irish Sports Council or ISC is the organisation which directs the development of sport within the Ireland.The ISC is a statutory authority and was established in July 1999 under powers provided by the Irish Sports Council Act...
) went on to develop many more long distance walking routes, the intention at the time being to develop a walking route around Ireland. There are now more than forty National Waymarked Trails, comprising over 4000 kilometres (2,485.5 mi) of trails in Ireland.
Usage and criticism
On account of being the first to be developed in the Republic of Ireland and also on account of its proximity to Dublin, the Wicklow Way is one of the most popular of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails. It has, however, been subject to some criticisms. Since access to lands along the Way is on a permissive basis, much of the walk (41 km (25 mi)) is on tarred country roads, is highly dependent on access provided by the state, (57 km (35 mi) is on land owned by Coillte and 16 km (10 mi) is on land owned by the Wicklow Mountains National Park) and covers a relatively small amount of private land (13 km (8 mi)). Most of the road walking is confined to the southernmost section of the Way, between Tinahely and Clonegal, where some 63% of the route is on roads. Research by the Wicklow Uplands Council showed that while up to 24,000 people a year walk along the busiest sections, this number falls to under 2,500 a year on the stretches south of Glenmalure.The extensive use of forest roads through conifer
Pinophyta
The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
plantations has been another criticism: the authors of the Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
guidebook, Walking in Ireland, found, "The Way's one shortcoming is the character of the walking […] you'll become all too familiar with forest tracks and roads through conifer plantations […] where they're surrounded by tall, dense forest they're not particularly interesting". Similarly, Paul Gosling, who walked the Way for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, found that, "While the long distance path is, on occasion, very attractive, it is not so much hazardous as unadventurous. […] Over the next four and a half days, we lost our enthusiasm for conifers […] The views were restricted and there was little sign of wildlife". In The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
John G. O'Dwyer described them as "gloomy trails through invading armies of monoculture
Monoculture
Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. It is also known as a way of farming practice of growing large stands of a single species. It is widely used in modern industrial agriculture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests from...
[…] as memorable as a motorway median
Central reservation
On divided roads, such as divided highways or freeways/motorways, the central reservation , median, parkway , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic...
".
A review of the National Waymarked Trails in Ireland by the National Trails Office in 2010 acknowledged these shortcomings and recommended that the Wicklow Way be selected as one of fourteen trails to be upgraded to a National Long Distance Trail. This is a proposed new standard of trail in Ireland, intended to meet international standards for outstanding trails. It would require sections on unsuitable roads to comprise less than 10% of the total trail and for appropriate support services – accommodation, meals, transport, luggage transfer etc. – to be available. The review also recommended the development of shorter looped walks off the Wicklow Way and improving parking facilities.
Route
The Wicklow Way is waymarked in both directions and can be started at Marlay Park or Clonegal. The trail is marked with square black posts with an image, in yellow, of a walking man and a directional arrow. This image, copied from the symbol used for waymarking the Ulster Way, has become the traditional waymarkingWaymarking
Waymarking is an activity where people locate and log interesting locations around the world, usually with a GPS receiver and a digital camera. Waymarking differs from geocaching in that there is no physical container to locate at the given coordinates. Waymarking identifies points of interest for...
symbol for all of the National Waymarked Trails in Ireland. Brown fingerpost
Fingerpost
A fingerpost is a name given to traditional British and Irish sign posts comprising a post with one or more arms — known as fingers — pointing in the direction of travel to named places on the fingers...
s are used on sections that follow roads. The Way is typically completed in five to seven days.
Marlay Park to Knockree
If travelling in a North-South direction, the Wicklow Way begins in Marlay ParkMarlay Park
Marlay Park is a suburban public park located in Rathfarnham in the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, in Co. Dublin, Ireland. Lying about nine kilometres from Dublin city centre. The parkland comprises woodlands, ponds and walks...
, a historic demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
on the outskirts of Dublin's suburbs laid out in the late 18th century by the La Touches, a family of Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
merchants and bankers, and later developed as a public park. The trailhead
Trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles...
comprises a map board, beside which is a low wall with a stone stile through which walkers pass in order to make their first step on the trail. The Way traverses the park, following a wooded shelterbelt
Windbreak
A windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a...
along the Little Dargle River, before emerging on the southern side of the park onto College Road. Passing under the M50 motorway
M50 motorway (Ireland)
The M50 motorway is a motorway in Ireland running in a C-shaped ring around the north-eastern, northern, western and southern sides of the capital city, Dublin. The northern end of the route is located at the entrance to the Dublin Port Tunnel. Anti-clockwise it heads northwest through the tunnel...
, it ascends Kilmashogue Lane and enters the forest recreation area on Kilmashogue
Kilmashogue
Kilmashogue is a mountain in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County in Ireland. It is high and forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The forest plantation on its northern slope, which is composed mainly of Sitka...
mountain. This is the first of many forest plantations, owned by Coillte, that the Wicklow Way passes through. The tree species in this area comprise Sitka spruce, Scots pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
and beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
. Much of this initial section of the Way is underlain by granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. The trail circles the mountain, emerging onto open moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
near Fairy Castle. This upland heath
Heath
-Habitats:* Heath or heathland, low-growing woody vegetation, mostly consisting of heathers and related species* Heaths in the British National Vegetation Classification system...
and bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
habitat is dominated by heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
, purple moor grass and bog cotton and supports many bird species, including red grouse
Red grouse
The Red Grouse is a medium sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the Willow Grouse but is sometimes considered to be a separate species Lagopus scoticus...
, meadow pipit
Meadow Pipit
The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...
and skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
. The Way crosses a saddle between Two Rock
Two Rock
Two Rock is a mountain in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland. It is high and is the 382nd highest mountain in Ireland. It is the highest point of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The mountain takes its name from the...
mountain and Kilmashogue before descending from a broad ridge between Two Rock and Tibradden Mountain
Tibradden Mountain
Tibradden Mountain is a mountain in County Dublin in Ireland. Other names for the mountain include "Garrycastle" and "Kilmainham Begg" . It is high and is the 561st highest mountain in Ireland...
into the valley of Glencullen
Glencullen
Glencullen , is a village in south County Dublin. It is also a townland in the civil parish of Kilternan, in the Barony and Poor Law Union of Rathdown in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County....
where it follows the R116 road
R116 road
The R116 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs east-west from the N11 at Loughlinstown to the R115 in Ballyboden. It runs through the South of County Dublin for its entire length...
to the hamlet of Boranaraltry. The road is flanked by hedge
Hedge
Hedge may refer to:* Hedge or hedgerow, line of closely spaced shrubs planted to act as a barrier* Hedge , investment made to limit loss* Hedge , intentionally non-committal or ambiguous sentence fragments-See also:...
row-bordered farmland. Ascending from Boranaraltry, the trail crests the shoulder of Prince William’s Seat, at which point the Way leaves County Dublin and enters County Wicklow. The habitat here alternates between blanket bog
Blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground. The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat...
and upland heath. The trail descends to the floor of the Glencree
Glencree
Glencree is a valley in the Wicklow Mountains in eastern Ireland. It is the second closest valley in the mountains to Dublin city, the first being Glencullen. The river Dargle flows down the valley, which rises to a height of abut 400 metres...
valley via Curtlestown Wood where it then enters Lackan Wood and crosses the shoulder of Knockree Hill.
Knockree to Oldbridge
From Knockree on to Clonegal, much of the Way follows the contact point between the graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
of the western part of the Wicklow Mountains and the schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
s and slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
s of the east. The trail follows the Glencree River through Seskin Wood, a semi-natural oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
and a habitat for jay
Jay
The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...
s. Crossing the river at a footbridge, the trail then passes into Crone Woods and ascends to Ride Rock, which overlooks Powerscourt
Powerscourt Estate
Powerscourt Estate , located near Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying 19 hectares . The house, originally a 13th century castle, was extensively altered during the 18th century by German architect...
Deerpark
Medieval deer park
A medieval deer park was an enclosed area containing deer. It was bounded by a ditch and bank with a wooden park pale on top of the bank. The ditch was typically on the inside, thus allowing deer to enter the park but preventing them from leaving.-History:...
and the Powerscourt Waterfall
Powerscourt Waterfall
Powerscourt Waterfall is a waterfall near Enniskerry, County Wicklow, in Ireland, located in a valley surrounded by Djouce Mountain and the Great Sugar Loaf...
, the tallest in Ireland at 121 metres (397 ft). Deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
– hybrids of imported Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Sika
Sika Deer
The Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, also known as the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to various other parts of the world...
and native Red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
– are common in the forests and mountains along the Wicklow Way and all deer in the Wicklow Mountains originated with the Powerscourt herd. The next valley to be crossed is Glensoulan which, although uninhabited today, before the Great Famine of the 1840s was home to a small population of cottiers and faint traces of their farms can still be seen in the wintertime when the bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
is low. Crossing the River Dargle, the trail ascends the eastern shoulder of Djouce
Djouce
Djouce , sometimes referred to as Djouce Mountain, is a mountain situated in the northeastern section of the Wicklow Mountains. To the west it overlooks the highlands around the Sally Gap; to the east the Roundwood / Calary Bog plateau....
mountain. Here, the heathland gives way to wetter blanket bog
Blanket bog
Blanket bog or blanket mire is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground. The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat...
. Bogland shares a number of plant and animal species with heathland but is also a habitat for species of bog cotton as well as bog asphodel, sedges
Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae are a family of monocotyledonous graminoid flowering plants known as sedges, which superficially resemble grasses or rushes. The family is large, with some 5,500 species described in about 109 genera. These species are widely distributed, with the centers of diversity for the group...
(which contribute to the formation of peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
) and bog moss
Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...
. The wet bogland is also a habitat for frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, pondskaters and diving beetles
Dytiscidae
Dytiscidae – based on the Greek dytikos , "able to dive" – are the predaceous diving beetles, a family of water beetles. They are about 25 mm long on average, though there is much variation between species. Dytiscus latissimus, the largest, can grow up to 45 mm long...
. Near the summit of Djouce, the Way joins a wooden or bog bridge
Duckboards
A Duckboard is a platform made of wooden slats built over muddy ground to form a dry passageway.-Hiking:Duckboards are used to allow Hikers to safely pass moist areas of ground, such as a swamp or shores of a lake. Specially wide duckboards are often used to provide wheelchair access...
, constructed to protect the bog from erosion, which crosses White Hill, the highest point on the Way at 630 metres (2,067 ft). The trail descends White Hill towards Luggala
Luggala
Luggala , also called Fancy Mountain , is a mountain in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland. Its cliffs are situated above a lake, Lough Tay, and are a popular location for rock climbing.Luggala is about southwest of Dublin.- Luggala Estate :...
along a ridge, known as the Barr, where a memorial stone to J. B. Malone, carved by sculptor Billy Gannon and erected in 1990, may be found overlooking Lough Tay
Lough Tay
Lough Tay is a small but scenic lake set in the Wicklow Mountains in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies between the mountains of Djouce and Luggala, and is most easily viewed from above, from the R759 or the Wicklow Way as it descends past the J. B. Malone memorial...
. From Luggala, the trail passes through a coniferous plantation of spruce and pine on the eastern flanks of Sleamaine and Ballinafunshoge Hills to reach Oldbridge, which crosses the River Avonmore
River Avonmore
The Avonmore River also known as Abhainn Dé flows from Lough Dan in the Wicklow Mountains west of Roundwood. It flows in a generally southerly direction for approximately before joining the Avonbeg at the Meeting of the Waters to form the River Avoca, which in turn discharges into the Irish Sea...
near Lough Dan
Lough Dan
Lough Dan is a boomerang-shaped ribbon lake near Roundwood, County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a popular area for hikers and kayakers and lies very close to the Wicklow Way....
.
Oldbridge to Glendalough
Leaving Oldbridge, the Way follows the road for approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) before turning onto a boreen. To the left of the boreen is Wart Stone Field, so called on account of a bullaunBullaun
A bullaun is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun...
stone that lies in the field, water from which is said to cure wart
Wart
A wart is generally a small, rough growth, typically on a human’s hands or feet but often other locations, that can resemble a cauliflower or a solid blister. They are caused by a viral infection, specifically by human papillomavirus 2 and 7. There are as many as 10 varieties of warts, the most...
s. The boreen ends at Brusher Gap, reputed to be a place where locals left food and supplies for Michael Dwyer
Michael Dwyer
Michael Dwyer was a Society of the United Irishmen leader in the 1798 rebellion. He later fought a guerilla campaign against the British Army in the Wicklow Mountains from 1798-1803.-Early life:...
and his followers when they went on the run after the 1798 Rebellion
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
. The Way enters Drummin forest, a sitka spruce plantation, where it passes an Adirondack shelter
Lean-to
A lean-to is a term used to describe a roof with a single slope. The term also applies to a variety of structures that are built using a lean-to roof....
, constructed by Mountain , a volunteer
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
group dedicated to trail preservation that has upgraded various sections of the Wicklow Way over the years. The trail climbs Paddock Hill before descending into a plantation of larch
Larch
Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...
trees. The forest floor here is a habitat for spurges, heath bedstraw
Galium saxatile
Galium saxatile or Heath Bedstraw is a plant species of the genus Galium. It is related to Cleavers ....
and fly agaric
Amanita muscaria
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita...
toadstools. The trail crosses the Military Road
R115 road
The R115 road is a regional road in counties Dublin and Wicklow in Ireland. It follows the Military Road for its entire length. The R115 is long; the full length of the Military Road is...
, near Laragh
Laragh, County Wicklow
Laragh is a small picturesque village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies at the junction of three roads through the Wicklow Mountains and is primarily known for its proximity to the monastic settlement of Glendalough...
, and then a wooden footbridge across the Glenmacnass River. A dense spread of granite boulders litters the riverbed, glacial erratic
Glacial erratic
A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. "Erratics" take their name from the Latin word errare, and are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres...
s deposited by melting glaciers at the end of the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. This stretch of the trail follows an old mass path
Mass path
A mass path is a pedestrian track or road connecting destinations frequently used by rural communities, most usually the destination of Sunday Mass. They were most common during the centuries that preceded motorised transportation in Western Europe, and in particular the British Isles; and the...
through a woodland of many native Irish tree species, including oak, rowan
Rowan
The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...
, silver birch and willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
, carpeted with a forest floor of bilberry
Bilberry
Bilberry is any of several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium , bearing edible berries. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., but there are several other closely related species....
, bluebell
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
and hard fern
Blechnum
Blechnum is a genus of between 150–220 species of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution. By far the greatest species diversity is in tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere, with only a few species reaching cool temperate latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere...
. The Way continues along forest tracks over the shoulder of Brockagh Mountain. At the highest point there is a vista over the Vale of Glendalough
Glendalough
Glendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops....
with the two lakes nestled in the shelter of Camaderry
Camaderry
Camaderry is a mountain in the Wicklow Mountains, just south of the Wicklow Gap in County Wicklow, which runs over the gap between it and Tonelagee Mountain...
and Derrybawn Mountains. Exiting the forest, the Way reaches the R756 road
R756 road
The R756 road is a regional road in Ireland running west-east from Dunlavin to Laragh. Its entire length is within County Wicklow crossing east/west through the Wicklow Gap ....
and the Glendalough visitor centre. Crossing the Glendasan River, it passes the remains of the Monastic City, founded in the 6th century by Saint Kevin
Kevin of Glendalough
Saint Cóemgen , popularly anglicized to Kevin is an Irish saint who was known as the founder and first abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland.-Life:...
.
Glendalough to Iron Bridge
Most of this stretch of the trail is on forest roads. From the Monastic City at Glendalough, the Way follows the Green Road towards the Upper Lake. It passes through an area of native woodland made up of oak, hollyHolly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
, birch, and rowan. Ascending from the Upper Lake, the trail reaches Poulanass Waterfall which, over millennia, has cut a narrow gorge through the slate rock and borne millions of tonnes of rock, sand and mud into Glendalough, dividing what was originally one lake into the two seen today. The trail continues its ascent through forest before emerging onto the saddle between Mullacor
Mullacor
Mullacor is a mountain in Wicklow Mountains in County Wicklow, Ireland. Mullacor stands at 657 metres making it the 22nd highest mountain in the Wicklow Mountains and the 177th highest in Ireland.-References:...
and Lugduff mountains at Borenacrow. The Borenacrow route between Glendalough and Glenmalure dates back to ancient times and there is a local tradition that Saint Kevin travelled this way to celebrate Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
in Glenmalure. The view ahead looks across the Glenmalure
Glenmalure
Glenmalure is a valley in the Wicklow Mountains in eastern Ireland. It is a u-shaped glacial valley, with only one road leading into it, which connects to the 'Military Road' at the mouth of the valley....
valley at Fraughan Rock Glen and Lugnaquilla
Lugnaquilla
Lugnaquilla or Lugnaquillia, historically called Lugnaculliagh is a mountain in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. It is the highest peak of the Wicklow Mountains range, the highest in the province of Leinster, and the 13th highest peak in Ireland and affectionately known as "Lug".Views, on a...
, Wicklow's highest mountain at 925 metres (3,034.8 ft). The Way then begins a long descent into Glenmalure, the longest glacial valley in Ireland and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Along the way the trail passes another Adirondack shelter, constructed in 2006 by Mountain . Reaching the floor of the valley, the Way joins the Military Road to reach Drumgoff Crossroads. Crossing the River Avonbeg
River Avonbeg
The Avonbeg River rises on the northern flank of Carmenbologue Mountain in the Wicklow Mountains and flows southeast into the valley of Glenmalure. It continues southeast through the villages of Greenan and Ballinaclash before joining the Avonmore at the Meeting of the Waters to form the River...
, the route passes the remains of an old military barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
, built around 1800, and enters Drumgoff Wood. At the forest entrance is a granite pillar marking the official halfway point of the Wicklow Way. The trail follows a forest road along the flanks of Slieve Maan before briefly re-joining the Military Road and then following a forest road around Carrickashane Mountain before reaching the road at Iron Bridge where the Way crosses the Ow River. Another Adirondack shelter, again constructed by Mountain volunteers with assistance from the Glenwalk Hillwalking Club, can be found at Mucklagh, on the slopes of Carrickashane Mountain.
Iron Bridge to Derry River
After Iron Bridge, the character of the Way changes with the steeper hills of the earlier sections giving way to a gentler gradient that meanders between low hills. These latter sections also contain a great deal of road walking as the Way crosses farmland via minor roads and boreenBoreen
Boreen or bohereen is an anglicised, Hiberno-English term normally meaning a narrow, frequently unpaved, rural road in Ireland. "Boreen" also appears sometimes in names of minor urban roads such as Saint Mobhi Bóithrín , commonly known as Mobhi Boreen in Glasnevin, Dublin....
s.
Hedge
Hedge
Hedge may refer to:* Hedge or hedgerow, line of closely spaced shrubs planted to act as a barrier* Hedge , investment made to limit loss* Hedge , intentionally non-committal or ambiguous sentence fragments-See also:...
rows of hawthorn and blackthorn
Prunus spinosa
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
, which form the boundaries between the fields, are the principal habitat in these cultivated areas. They support many species of wild flowers, insects and birds, including dog rose, purple foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
Digitalis purpurea , is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae , native to most of Europe.-Description:...
and wild violet as well as wren
Wren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....
s, blackbirds and song thrush
Song Thrush
The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...
es.
The Way ascends through a gap between Ballygobban and Shielstown Hills, yielding views stretching from Lugnaquilla to Keadeen Mountain and beyond to Eagle Hill and the Castlecomer Plateau
Castlecomer Plateau
The Castlecomer Plateau is an upland area in the North of County Kilkenny, in Ireland, extending into County Laois and County Carlow at its northern edge. The plateau is bounded on the east and south by the N9 National primary road, on the west by the N77...
. The hills ahead mark the edge of the granite backbone of the Wicklow Mountains; in the distance they gradually merge with the Blackstairs Mountains
Blackstairs Mountains
The Blackstairs Mountains run roughly north/south along the border between County Carlow and County Wexford in Ireland.-See also:*List of mountains in Ireland...
, which can be seen on the skyline. The trail follows the road passing close to the village of Moyne before joining a boreen. Along this boreen are the remains of a holy well
Holy well
A holy well, or sacred spring, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of...
dedicated to Saint Colmcille
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
. The trail contours around Ballycumber Hill and then continues along the eastern slopes of Garryhoe Hill, passing the remains of a ringfort
Ringfort
Ringforts are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Iron Age , although some were built as late as the Early Middle Ages . They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland...
, approximately 15 metres (49.2 ft) in diameter. Further along is a memorial to a Dr James McNamara who was killed in a shooting accident in 1916. Passing through a series of gates along the way, the trail follows Coolafunshoge Lane, an old droving path with extensive views of south Wicklow. The lane emerges onto the road, crossing a bridge over the River Derry
River Derry
The Derry River rises just south of Hacketstown, County Carlow. It flows southeast to Tinahely, being accompanied by the R747 regional road for the distance....
to reach the R747 road
R747 road
The R747 road is a regional road in Ireland running north-west/south-east from the M9 near Ballitore in County Kildare to Arklow in County Wicklow, a distance of .File:IMG_R747westward5075w.jpg|thumb|350px|left|The R747 road...
close to Tinahely
Tinahely
Tinahely is a village in the barony of Ballinacor South, County Wicklow in Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns.- Location and access :...
.
Derry River to Clonegal
The trail follows an ancient cattle droving path around Muskeagh Hill before joining a series of country roads. 63% of this final stretch is on roads. These pass through the village of Mullinacuff whose neo-GothicGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
church and cottages are built from local granite. At Stranakelly Crossroads, the Way passes Tallon's pub, better known as the "Dying Cow" from a story that, when visited by police late one night, the landlady argued that she wasn't serving drink after hours but providing refreshments to neighbours who helped her with a dying cow. Circling Cronlea Hill, which is topped with a windfarm
WindFarm
WindFarm is wind energy software used to analyse, design, optimise and visualise wind farms. It calculates and optimises the energy yield subject to natural, planning and engineering constraints. WindFarm has the wind modelling software MS-Micro integrated. MS-Micro is based on the same...
, and passing near the village of Kilquiggan, the Way crosses the R725 road
R725 road
The R725 road is a regional road in Ireland. From its junction with the N80 on the western outskirts of Carlow Town it takes an easterly route to its junction with the N80 in Tullow, where it crosses the River Slaney on a bridge shared with the N80 in the town centre. It continues east to...
near Shillelagh
Shillelagh, County Wicklow
Shillelagh is a village located in County Wicklow, Ireland.The town was planned as part of the FitzWilliam estate in the 17th century. Nearby Coolattin House was the seat of the Fitzwilliam Estate. Tomnafinnoge Woods is the largest remaining oak forest in Ireland...
. The trail enters forestry at Raheenakit before joining an old drovers' road, once used to herd sheep to market in Shillelagh. The Blackstairs Mountains, whose main peak, Mount Leinster
Mount Leinster
At 796 metres Mount Leinster is the fifth highest mountain after Lugnaquilla 925m, Mullaghcleevaun 849m, Tonelegee 817m, and Cloghernagh 800m, in the province of Leinster, Ireland. It is the highest of the Blackstairs Mountains at 796 metres...
, is distinguished by the television mast on its summit, begin to dominate the horizon. The trail meanders along forestry tracks around Moylisha and Urelands Hills. Urelands Hill is littered with hornblende
Hornblende
Hornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals .It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole....
-rich schist, a legacy of a chain of long-extinct volcanic islands that existed 450-500 million years ago when this part of Ireland lay under the primeval Iapetus Ocean
Iapetus Ocean
The Iapetus Ocean was an ocean that existed in the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic eras of the geologic timescale . The Iapetus Ocean was situated in the southern hemisphere, between the paleocontinents of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia...
. Joining the road for the final stretch into Clonegal, the Way leaves County Wicklow and enters County Carlow
County Carlow
County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...
at Wicklow Bridge, about 3 kilometres (2 mi) from the end. The Wicklow Way ends in the village green of Clonegal where a stone bench and a map board, displaying the entire route from Marlay Park, may be found.
Intersecting and connecting paths
The Wicklow Way forms part of European walking route E8European walking route E8
The E8 European long distance path or E8 path is one of the European long-distance paths, leading 4700km across Europe, from Cork in Ireland to Istanbul in Turkey....
which runs from Dursey Island
Dursey Island
Dursey Island lies at the southwestern tip of the Beara Peninsula in the west of County Cork in Ireland. Dursey Island is 6.5 km long and 1.5 km wide. The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow stretch of water called Dursey Sound which has a very strong tidal race, with a...
in County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The Irish section incorporates the Wicklow Way, the South Leinster Way
South Leinster Way
The South Leinster Way is a long-distance trail in Ireland. It is long and begins in Kildavin, County Carlow and runs through County Kilkenny before ending in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. It is typically completed in five days...
, the East Munster Way
East Munster Way
The East Munster Way, formerly known as the Munster Way, is a long-distance trail in Ireland. It is long and begins in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary and ends in Clogheen, County Tipperary. It is typically completed in three days...
, the Blackwater Way
Blackwater Way
The Blackwater Way is a long-distance trail that follows the valley of the River Blackwater in the Republic of Ireland. It is long and begins in Clogheen, County Tipperary and ends in Shrone, County Kerry. It is typically completed in ten days...
and parts of the Kerry Way
Kerry Way
The Kerry Way is a long-distance trail in County Kerry, Ireland. It is a long circular trail that begins and ends in Killarney. It is typically completed in nine days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by Kerry...
and the Beara Way
Beara Way
The Beara Way is a long-distance trail in Ireland. It is a long circular trail around the Beara Peninsula that begins and ends in Glengarriff, County Cork. It is typically completed in nine days...
. There is an unmarked link route from Dublin Port
Dublin Port
Dublin Port is Ireland's biggest sea port. It has both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of the Republic of Ireland's port traffic goes via Dublin Port...
(where the E8 connects to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
by ferry) which follows the River Dodder
River Dodder
The River Dodder is one of the three main rivers of the Dublin region in Ireland, the others being the Liffey, of which the Dodder is the largest tributary, and the Tolka.-Course and system:...
to Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham or Rathfarnam is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Councils.The area of Rathfarnham...
and on to the Wicklow Way trailhead at Marlay Park via St. Enda's Park
St. Enda's Park
St. Enda's Park is a large public park in Rathfarnham in Ireland.St. Enda's was not always a public park. Patrick Pearse, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916 used to run a school there, St. Enda's School , in The Hermitage. This magnificent house was built in 1780 for the Dublin...
. Similarly, an unmarked road walk connects Clonegal with the trailhead of the South Leinster Way in Kildavin
Kildavin
Kildavin is a small village in County Carlow, Ireland. Situated on at the junction of the N80 National secondary road and the R724 regional road, it lies 5 km north of Bunclody, County Wexford at the northern end of the Blackstairs Mountains.-See also:...
, County Carlow.
The Wicklow Way also shares part of its route with the Dublin Mountains Way
Dublin Mountains Way
The Dublin Mountains Way is a waymarked long-distance trail in the Dublin Mountains, County Dublin, Ireland. The route is approximately long and runs from Shankill in the East to Tallaght in the West...
along a section of the ridge between Two Rock
Two Rock
Two Rock is a mountain in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland. It is high and is the 382nd highest mountain in Ireland. It is the highest point of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The mountain takes its name from the...
and Tibradden
Tibradden Mountain
Tibradden Mountain is a mountain in County Dublin in Ireland. Other names for the mountain include "Garrycastle" and "Kilmainham Begg" . It is high and is the 561st highest mountain in Ireland...
. The Saint Kevin's Way
Saint Kevin's Way
The Saint Kevin's Way is a pilgrim path in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is long and begins in the village of Hollywood, crosses the Wicklow Gap, and ends at the remains of the medieval monastery in Glendalough. An alternative spur route begins at Valleymount and joins the main trail at Ballinagee...
Pilgrim Path starts at either Hollywood
Hollywood, County Wicklow
Hollywood, historically known as Killinkeyvin , is a village in west County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated on the Wicklow Gap road, near its junction with the N81 national secondary road...
or Valleymount
Valleymount
Valleymount is a small village in western County Wicklow, Ireland. Neighbouring villages are Hollywood, Ballymore Eustace, Blessington, Ballyknockan and Lacken.-Location and transport:...
, County Wicklow and ends at Glendalough where it connects with the Wicklow Way.
Sections of the Wicklow Way are also used by several National Looped Walks: the Maulin
Maulin
Maulin is a hill located in the northeastern section of the Wicklow Mountains, close to the border with County Dublin. It can be found on a side trail off the main Wicklow Way. It is readily accessible via well-marked trails from Crone Wood carpark, located south-west of Enniskerry...
Mountain Loop and the Ballycumber, Kyle, and Mangan's Loops near Tinahely.
Sporting events
A number of mountain running events are held along the route of the Way. The Wicklow Way Relay is a 127 kilometres (78.9 mi) event run between Kilmashogue and ShillelaghShillelagh, County Wicklow
Shillelagh is a village located in County Wicklow, Ireland.The town was planned as part of the FitzWilliam estate in the 17th century. Nearby Coolattin House was the seat of the Fitzwilliam Estate. Tomnafinnoge Woods is the largest remaining oak forest in Ireland...
for teams of 2 to 8 runners. The Wicklow Way Ultra is a 51 kilometres (31.7 mi) individual event run between Glencullen and Ballinastoe Woods. The record for running the entire distance of the Wicklow Way from Marlay Park to Clonegal is held by Paul Tierney who completed the route in a time of 13h38:51 on 15 May 2011.
Public transport
The trailhead at Marlay Park is served by a number of Dublin BusDublin Bus
Dublin Bus is a public transport operator in Ireland. It operates an extensive bus network of 172 radial, cross-city and peripheral routes and 18 night routes in the city of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area. The company, established in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann which is...
routes. There is no public transport available to or from the trailhead in Clonegal, with the closest bus routes serving the nearby villages of Kildavin and Bunclody
Bunclody
Bunclody is a small town located on the River Slaney, on the border between counties Wexford and Carlow, Ireland. The R746 regional road intersects the N80 in the centre of the town. It is a picturesque town near the foot of Mount Leinster. Most of the town is situated in County Wexford...
, County Carlow. Some places on or near the route are also served by bus. The St. Kevins (sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
) Bus Service stops at Roundwood
Roundwood
Roundwood, historically known as Tochar , is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It was listed as having a population of 589 in the census of 2006....
, Laragh and Glendalough. The Wicklow Way Bus provides services to Laragh, Glendalough, Glenmalure, Iron Bridge and Tinahely.