A Viking is hiking in the Wicklow Mountains

For my last hike in Ireland, I decided to leave the west coast and head over to the east. About an hour from Dublin are the Wicklow Mountains, a popular hiking area for tourists as well as for locals. The place to be in the Wicklow Mountains National Park is Glendalough, a tiny settlement with many hikes and other attractions just around the corner. Two full days I had planned to go hiking, but the weather thwarted my plans and left me with just one day out on the trail. As I knew beforehand that I will only get one chance, I tried to fit in as much as possible. Looking at the map with the marked trails, there were three different hill walks and I thought it a good idea to combine and walk all three of them. :) As a big day was ahead of me, I started early again and soon enough arrived at the National Park Headquarters, where all three hikes started. At first I wanted to do the blue one. As this one shared the beginning with the other two (red and white), I knew that I had to do this first part only once. The trail started with an ascent and bypassing Poulanass Waterfall, led through forest until I came to a turnoff. Here I followed the blue trail turning left. This way kept on going straight ahead for the next 20 minutes. Reaching another turnoff I turned right this time and ascended through dense forest until I reached the edge of the woods. Here I met the red and white trail again and at the same time it was also a spectacular viewpoint into the surrounding mountains and to the Upper Lake of Glendalough. It was time to take a break to enjoy this beautiful scenery.

The blue trail is the most popular walk, but so far I didn't met a single other soul. The advantage of my early start. :) After the break I turned left and started to follow the red trail. Leaving the boardwalk of the blue trail, a dirt path led me towards a nearby mountain. A short ascent later I was almost at the top and was able to enjoy another magnificent view over the Wicklow Mountains. The descent was short as well and soon I joined the Wicklow Way (another popular long distance hike) to bring me back towards the other trails. Leading mostly through woods without any views, this part wasn't too spectacular and I therefore wasn't too sad when I reached the turnoff from the early morning again. This time I turned right and came to a truly steep ascent not much later. It took me about 10 minutes to get to the top and there the beautiful scenery of the Wicklow Mountains and the Upper Lake greeted me again. Following the ridge, the next two kilometers were with the same view and it was simply a pleasure to walk along this way. As the trail was made of boards, it was really easygoing and I was able to keep the focus on the lovely surroundings.

In the meantime, many other people were on the trail as well, but after the overwhelming experience at the Cliffs of Moher, this here was a piece of cake. :) Coming to the point again where I took a break in the morning, it was also the perfect place to stop for lunch. Sitting at the edge of a lookout I marveled for an hour at the stunning landscape around me. While it was cloudy so far, the sun finally broke through during my lunch break and it made the moment even better. When I finally carried on, it was time to walk along the white trail. This one kept following the ridge and ascending even higher, I had to stop again at the very top and take one last look at the breathtaking panorama. From there, the path gradually descended towards the end of the valley. It was a long walk down, as the descent was not steep at all. Taking my time, I still enjoyed the scenery and the splendid weather.

Back at the bottom of the valley I passed some ruins of an old miners village and then walked back along the Upper Lake to the National Park Headquarters. Arriving there, I still had enough time to lay down at the lake for some sunbathing. :) It was the perfect ending to a great hike and to a lovely stay in beautiful Ireland!

Highlight of the day: the two kilometer boardwalk with the breathtaking views

This hike is for you if:

- you only have one day in Glendalough and want to do as much hiking as possible

- you're looking for panoramic views over the Wicklow Mountains

- you want to end your hike with a swim in the lake

This hike is not for you if:

- you mind sharing the path with many other people

- you're looking for a challenging trail

Poulanass Waterfall

Panoramic lookout over the Wicklow Mountains after the ascent on the red trail

Walking back on the Wicklow Way to the turnoff from early morning

This time with sunshine :)

On the way back to the National Park Headquarters

Last impressive sight of the day

As all three different hill walks are loops, you can also walk only one of them. The blue one is the shortest, the red one is the longest. All of them include the boardwalk with the impressive views over the Upper Lake and the Wicklow Mountains