The Wicklow Way
Ireland walking holiday, six days
Tom and I flew to Dublin for a six-day six-night self-guided walking tour of the Wicklow Way, the longest-established and most accessible (from Dublin) of Ireland’s through-hikes. Our trip was organized by the company Absolute Escapes, who chose inns and made reservations and arranged for daily baggage transfer. We walked on our own, just carrying a day pack with food and rain gear. And we needed all of our rain gear! We walked from Dublin to Tinahely, though we ended up missing two partial segments because of illness.
Tom and I have both been struggling with chronic heel pain from plantar fasciitis, so we were apprehensive about this vacation. Still, early this spring, we decided to commit to it.
On Day 1 we were to hike from the outskirts of Dublin (Marlay Park) to Coolakay House near Enniskerry—sixteen miles. It was cloudy as we walked from the park, down a suburban road, up a wooded trail, to a hilltop bog/pasture trail, back into the woods. The clouds were heavy.
I kept noticing I was queasy. I wondered if I was just nervous about committing to 16 miles on the very first day, but it turned out I was really sick. We stopped and started and eventually made it to a rural road, where Tom decided we better ask for help, or at least advice, as I was throwing up on the roadside. We eventually walked down into the driveway of a small farmhouse. The young woman there told us we could probably get an Uber. She said, I’ll just put the kettle on, and she brought out some tea and let us wait on her garden bench. Even though we were out in a rural area, here came the Uber. So after only a six-mile walk over a wet and foggy hill, we were taken to our first night’s lodging in a car and missed 10 miles of the walk. The innkeeper at Coolakay House, Yvonne, was really kind, giving Tom bouillon broth for me and helping him call to order his own dinner for delivery from the village. I kept puking until about 10 PM and then, thank goodness, was fine the next day. A 24 hour bug, I guess, and we’ll never know how that sixteen miles would have gone otherwise.
On Day 2 we walked from Coolakay (near Enniskerry) to a trailhead called Ballinastoe Car Park. It rained all day. Our walk was 8.4 miles, 5 hours 12 minutes, up past a sweeping view of Powerscourt Waterfall that we couldn’t see for the heavy fog. Here’s my commentary video about the view... lol.
We went down into the really remote-feeling glacial Glensoulan Valley with the small Dargle River at the bottom (but all of this was above the waterfall). This would be such a fun spot to stop and play in the creek on a sunnier day! Oh, well. We enjoyed the green, the wetness, the sheep we saw, the friendly trail runners who occasionally materialized out of the mist.
This day’s walk contained a stretch of logging road, and this proportion increased throughout the hike—a lot of the route goes through clearcuts and monoculture forest plantations. Honestly had that been clear to me, we would have picked a different route to hike. The organizer referred to these as “forest tracks,” which to me meant “trail.” I tried to ask detailed questions about what the route is really like, but somehow the fact that we would be walking through clearcuts was omitted. (We avoid logging roads when we go hiking here in Washington State.) Still, we were in Ireland! We appreciated every minute of our experience, and I especially appreciated being healthy and breathing the clean air. I am mentioning the disappointment of hiking on logging roads only because I want it to be clear, and I don’t want to romanticize the Wicklow Way beyond its reality. I’m not saying any of this in a complaining spirit.
A taxi met us at the Ballinastoe trailhead at the appointed time and took us to our two nights’ lodging at Laragh. The next day, he would bring us back to the same trailhead and we would complete the walk to Laragh as Day 3. We laid out all our wet gear in a thankfully roomy room at a pretty place in Laragh.
On Day 3 Tom woke in the night with the stomach bug! Noooo! Luckily, because we were already staying a second night at Laragh, it was easy to just skip that day’s 9-mile walk. Tom rested until about noon and mercifully was not as sick as I was. In the afternoon we walked the one mile to the Glendalough Visitor Centre with its monastic round towner and surrounding ruins, which are circa 10th to 13th century and surrounded by a cemetery that is still actively in use. I love cemeteries. It was great that Tom felt good in the afternoon to do this walk, because the next morning we would not have taken the time to explore the monastery grounds.
On Day 4 Tom was fine! I was fine! Or, “grand!” We walked out of the valley of the Avonmore River, up high and past some summits we could not see in the fog, and down into Glenmalure, the valley of the Avonbeg River (10.5 miles, 4 hours 55 minutes). We knew there were more-scenic trails leading off the Wicklow Way and looping back to it, overlooking lakes and valleys, but we did not follow any of them because the fog prevented us from seeing into the distance at all. So, this entire day of ten-plus miles was up and down logging roads between clearcuts and plantations, with some sheep grazing in the clearcuts. There was a short length or two of boardwalk in bog, but really only as a shortcut to another logging road.
Finally, as we began to descend, the clouds parted! We could see across this long glacial valley to a long, tall waterfall, the Coolalingo Falls. We could see the small agricultural plots and gardens along the Avonbeg, and the few houses and lodging places at a small crossroads. Our destination was the Glenmalure Lodge, an early 19th century building that has been repurposed over the centuries. It was self contained with a pub and was a comfortable place to stay.
On Day 5 we hiked 8.1 miles from Glenmalure Lodge to Iron Bridge, a small trailhead near the village of Macreddin, near Aughrim. We’d called our inn hosts at 10 AM and said we expected to arrive at Iron Bridge at 2:30—inn hosts often pick hikers up there, as a courtesy, so that the hikers don’t have to walk to the village on the tarmac road. We were impressed with ourselves as we walked into the parking area at 2:30 on the dot. Here came a car… and it was our host, arriving at exactly the same moment.
This host couple were so much fun to talk to. Michael was from the area, in his 70s, and told us the history (and present-day activities) of the 18th century St Bridget’s cemetery and church across the road from the inn. I so enjoyed walking in that cemetery and reading the list-style monuments. The roofless stone church has a new altar, its stone moved in by many volunteers from another old church, and the church bell is still in place. Mass is said there once a year in the open air, the blessing of the graves. Our other host, Margaret, made sure we were squared away as to how to return to Dublin after our next day’s walk. I think I’d like for those two to run my life!
On Day 6, Michael took us back to the trail in the rain, and we hiked 12 miles (6 hours 40 minutes) to the village of Tinahely. The rain cleared, and this final day was the most view-saturated (instead of rain-saturated) of any of our walking days. The scenic beauty of Ireland opened up to us, and on the tops of the hills in the clean pure air, I never wanted the walk to end. Here’s my narration of a rock wall and nice view.
Tinahely appears below the path as you walk over the hills, just like some of our other destinations, but the village is just the right size to “nestle into the valley” like a town described in a children’s book. It was postcard-perfect scenery.
We wished we’d eaten at the large pub in town instead of at the hotel recommended by the tour organizer, where we were the only customers—but on the other hand, the young woman working there was delightful to talk with, and helped us organize the next afternoon’s logistics. We’d decided to take a local taxi instead of a bus to Arklow to get the bus to Dublin, once she told us there would almost certainly be a taxi available. We knew the morning was going to be beautiful and we didn’t want to rush off. The young lady gave me the number for the taxi man, Paddy, and I dialed.
“Hello, my name is Fran and I was wondering if it’s possible to arrange a taxi.”
“You don’t have to call this number. Go to the bar. Ask the lads, and they will arrange it. And yes it is possible.”
I was the only one in that side of the restaurant, standing about 15 feet from the bar where I had just spoken to the woman… I got goosebumps, thinking, “is he looking at me right now from across the street? Who are ‘the lads’?” This is the kind of thing that would have had me so flustered when I was younger that I would have started compulsively apologizing and hung up. Anyway, I kept my kool and we arranged a pickup for the next day at 1:00 on the square.
Tom and I lingered over breakfast at a bakery/diner and walked up two more of the hills out of town before we had to meet our driver. I was so in love with the big green hills as a backdrop to this pretty town.
We also had three full days in Dublin, which we also enjoyed. Maybe I’ll post about that later. We were thankful that our entire travel days going to and from Dublin were as smooth as could be. It’s a nine-hour direct flight from Seattle on Aer Lingus and I hope we go back for more Ireland hill-walking.
Fran, I fully enjoyed this tour — in February 2024 I was 10 days in Wicklow and visited Glendalough. It’s wonderful to see this area through your eyes and experience. 💚
Loved reading your walk through the Wicklow Way. Thank you, Fran