Route

• The walk starts at the car park of the Vale of Clara nature reserve. This is just beyond the tiny hamlet of Clara, which has a picturesque bridge and church. Clara is reached by a small (quite easy to miss) turning off the main R755 Laragh-Rathdrum road – about 5km beyond Laragh.
• There are three marked loop walks to choose from – 2, 5.6 and 9.5 km long. The longer route takes 2-3 hours. For each route there are colour coded markers to follow.
  

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• See also the Coillte information on Carrickgolligan, which includes a trail map;
• The wikipedia page on Carrickgollogan;
• And a brief history of the lead mine.

Route

• Starting in the carpark, find the Coillte map showing the trails. From this map, bear right and follow the wide path towards Carrickgollogan – the hill will quickly become visible as a low summit through the trees.
• As you get approach Carrickgollogan, bear right off the main path onto a smaller path that leads through the trees and winds up to the summit of Carrickgollogan. Despite its low height, on a clear day the panoramic views are excellent.
• Retrace your steps back down the hill and rejoin the main path. Continue along the main path, which will bear left and continue through the woods. Keep on the main path – don’t follow the paths heading downhill to the right (unless you would like to do some pleasant exploring of the woods) – and you will eventually come to the edge of woods and see open fields. Bear right and you’ll shortly arrive at the lead chimney. Although its high, its will not be visible until you get quite close, as the view is obscured by the trees.
• At the chimney, an optional detour is to walk downhill following the chimney flue (which is underground but visible as a raised mound leading northwards). The brambles at the bottom are v. good, but come at the cost of the walk back uphill.
• After exploring the chimney, return to the woods and continue along the path to the right. As before, keep bearing left and you will end up back at the car park.
• If you would like to extend the walk, its only a short distance from the car park to the Scalp.

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Eagles Crag

Lough Bray Upper

Lough Bray Lodge

Route

• The route starts at the path beside the gatehouse to Lough Bray lodge. There is a layby a hundred metres or so further along the road where its possible to park, although it can get tricky to find space in summer.
  

  Gatehouse at start of route

  Path at start of walk

• Follow the path away from the road and you will soon see Lough Bray Lower. Follow the path around to the left and around the lough where it then climbs steeply up to Eagle Crag. There are excellent views over both loughs, and of Lough Bray lodge.
  
  View over Lough Bray Upper from Eagle Crag
• From Eagle Crag, bear right and follow the path along the ridge around Lough Bray Lower. This returns to the road to the north of the gatehouse, from where it is a short walk back to the start of the route.

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Knocknacloghoge

Lough Dan from summit

Meandering river …

Route

• The start of the walk is at the Pier Gates, entrance to Luggala Lodge. Car parking is easiest further along the road (towards Roundwood) where there is a layby on the right. Next to the Pier Gates themselves is a pedestrian kissing gate that leads onto a tarmac road leading downhill.
  
  Pier Gates, pedestrian gate is to the left.

• Follow the tarmac road downhill, then turn left at the white cottage (the estate gatehouse) – there is even an old sign on the cottage pointing towards Lough Dan …
  
• Follow the road past a farm and you will cross two bridges. The road ends after the second bridge and there is a gate on the right that leads up to Knocknacloghoge itself. Cross the gate and follow the path up hill to a second gate. Keep going through this gate.
  Second bridge. Gate leading to hill is across the bridge and to the left
• On the right a little way on (running across the hill following the line of the bracken) is an old drove road, now a grassy path. Follow the road as it heads up around the side of the hill.
  
  Drove road
• The summit of the hill will come into sight on the left. The road itself continues around the hill without going to the top, so follow the path on the left that heads up hill from the drove road. Take this path towards the summit. This path eventually peters out, but the hillside is criss-crossed with small paths and any of these can now be taken to reach the top.
  
  Summit cairn
• To descend, begin by following the path that leads south from the summit. Bear to the left and keep heading towards the head of Lough Dan (there are cliffs to the right). There are two options for descending. If its late summer and the bracken is thriving (it can be 4 or 5 feet high), then follow the line of the bracken left back towards to the drove road and retrace your steps back to the start of the walk. If the bracken is passable, then a nice alternative is to descend towards the cottage at the head of Lough Dan and return left along the old road.
  
  Cottage at head of Lough Dan
• For a much longer walk, its also possible to descend to the south-west towards the Inchavore River and either walk back to Lough Dan along the river, or cross the river at the Copse and climb Kanturk and Scarr. I wouldn’t recommend either of these options though – the descent from the hill is over boggy, lumpy ground, and the path back along the river is similarly unpleasant (with the addition of deep bracken to add to the “fun”). If its been raining the river will also almost certainly be impossible to cross without getting wet.

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A short walk for a summer evening, the main highlights being the ruined Hellfire Club and the spectacular views across Dublin city. The walk is circular and can be done in either direction, but its recommended to go clockwise (starting out along the forestry road, returning directly downhill) to best enjoy the views on the return leg.

Hellfire Club

Path from Hellfire Club back to car park

Route
The route is straightforward and follows well trodden paths. Starting at the car park, walk the length of the car park to where a forestry road starts. Follow this road for about 1km as it twists through the woods, then take the sharp right turn onto another forestry road that appears as the main road bends to the left and heads downhill. Although there a few muddy paths leading off from the main road, the right turn you want is the first one onto a proper forestry road and so is easy enough to spot. Follow the road for about 300m to find the Hellfire Club. This is a ruined building with a colourful history – see, for example wikipedia for more details. There are great views over Dublin city from here. Continue past the Hellfire Club following a narrow path downhill through the trees. This leads directly back to the car park.

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Path through woods

Waterfall

Woods

Route

• Turn off the R763 into the entrance of the Devils Glen woods and drive for about a mile to the car park. At the entrance to the car park itself is a noticeboard with a map of the woods. Starting from this noticeboard, bear right and follow the clearly visible path into the woods.
• After a short distance, on the right you’ll see some overgrown steps (see photos below) leading up to a rocky outcrop – a short detour is in order for the view.
  

  Steps to view point

  Plaque on steps

• Returning to the main path, follow the path through the woods to eventually reach the Devils Glen waterfall. The path is clearly marked and easy to follow. Note rock arch (see below) about halfway along the path, and various pieces of artwork on the way.
  
  Rock arch 
• Return initially along the same path, but on reaching a fork bear left to stay by the river and return to the car park via a different route from that coming out. A couple of the sculptures along this route are shown below.
  

  Sculpture

  Sculpture

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Forest walk

Route

• Starting from the car park at the Upper Lake in Glendalough, head towards the lake and follow the wide path running westwards along the northern side of the lake.
• A short distance along this path is the Education Centre. Just after this, take the smaller path on the right heading uphill. Follow this path through a lovely forest until you reach a junction. Take the small path downhill that is marked by a wooden post with a grey dot (this is one of the way-marked walks organised by the national park at Glendalough).
• Follow this path until it reaches the river and joins St Kevins Way. Turn right onto St Kevins Way .
• St Kevins Way eventually joins the road through Glendalough. Cross the road and walk through the monastic city to reach the marked path to the Upper Lake. Follow this path back to the car park.

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Other Maps

Map below is slightly more detailed than google map. See also the “grey” walking trail marked on this map,

A lower level walk to base of the spectacular Powerscourt Waterfall. The first part of the walk is through pleasant woods, before opening out into the Powerscourt Waterfall valley. The valley itself makes a good spot for a picnic (there is also a cafe), while clambering over the rocks at the base of the waterfall is always a favourite with children.

Powerscourt Waterfall

Route

• Starting from the car park at Crone, follow the forest trail at the head of the car park. There are several twists and turns in the path, but ignore side paths and follow the route clearly marked with Wicklow Way signs.
• After a fairly long, level stretch, the path comes to a Y junction with a path to the left leading down hill. The downhill path has a gate, and so is easily spotted.
• Take the downhill path until the road into the Powerscourt Waterfall valley is reached.
• Follow the road to the waterfall itself.
• Return by the same route.

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A short walk through delightful woods (very photogenic on a sunny day or in autumn), followed by a steep climb up the scalp itself for a commanding view. The climb up the scalp requires a bit of scambling and is probably unsuitable for young children (say below 7 or 8 years old).

Path through the woods

Scalp

Curious trees

Route

• At the north end of the car park, follow the path (through a gap in the fence). After a short distance, a narrow path crosses the main path dropping steeply downhill from left to right. Take this path. Soon it levels out and curves left.
• On reaching a gate leading onto the road through the Scalp, turn left along the road. A short distance on the left is a gate where the old road continues straight and the new road bends to the right. Cross onto the old road and start climbing up the scalp.
• Bear to the right up the slope towards a large slab of rock, then bear left below the cliff and scree to reach a grassy slope which leads to the top of the cliffs. The slope up the scalp is quite steep and requires a bit of a scramble.
• At the top, enjoy the view! There are many small paths leading away from the top – follow any of them heading away from the cliffs to reach a wider path through the woods. Follow this path.
• At the T-junction continue straight and follow this path back to the car park. An alternative is to take the left turn at the T-junction for a slightly different route back.
• This walk can be easily extended to include Carrickgollogan and the Lead Mines Chimney.

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A longer (3 hours or so) walk taking in part of the Wicklow Way, the Powerscourt Waterfall and the summit of Maulin. With superb views over the Powerscourt Waterfall valley and higher level views over the Wicklow mountains from the top of Maulin, this is a great walk for a clear day. Two shorter variations on this walk are also possible:

• After reaching the Powerscourt Waterfall, return back along the same path. This reduces the time to about 1.5 hours, and follows good, clear paths at all times.
• Descend into the Powerscourt Waterfall valley – more details here.

View of Maulin from the Sugar Loaf walk. Route of walk is marked in blue

Path above Powerscourt Waterfall valley

View of Sugar Loaf

Route

• Starting from the car park at Crone, follow the forest trail at the head of the car park. There are several twists and turns in the path, but ignore side paths and follow the route clearly marked with Wicklow Way signs.
• After passing through the forest, the path suddenly emerges into the open high above the valley into which the Powerscourt Waterfall drains, with wonderful views. Follow the path along the side of the valley.
• The path eventually becomes less clear for a while as it enters some pine woods. Follow a line through these woods to emerge in the open again to a clearly marked path with a view of Maulin to the right, and the Dargle river (which becomes the waterfall) to the left.
• A pleasant detour is to follow the path downhill to the Dargle River for a picnic.
• At this point there is an option to return back to Crone along the same path again, reducing the walk duration by about an hour. Otherwise, continue uphill to the summit of Maulin along the clearly visible path.
• Follow the path back into the woods to pick up the forestry road. Be sure to head west rather than east to find the point where the path enters the woods.
• Follow the forestry road back to Crone car park. There are several routes through the forest, but all lead back to the car park.

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