Lugnaquilla Route

bc1983

Hi, does anyone know of a good route to climb lugnaquilla? From the map theres a large firing range in the way - is it safe to walk through this at any point or should it be avoided? Thanx!

brayblue24

Not wishing to assume you are in any way a novice OP but don't attempt the Lug on your own/without a compass/without proper kit. If that's stating the bl*****g obvious then apologies only the weather can close in very quickly at the summit-getting there gives a nice feeling of satisfaction though! But using this route is well away from the Glen of Imaal. For piece of mind as you turn right at Drumgoff crossroads there will be a red flag if there is military activity going on.

As regards the route we always use the same one from Glenmalure. It's route no. 12 in David Herman's "Hill Walkers Wicklow" (around €6). This book is a mine of information. Only yesterday 4 of us got sunburnt doing a route from this book. Great variation and challenges (he writes also for WWI). Great time to get out . The smell of gorse around Wicklow is fantastic.

Sorry to ramble (no pun intended), hope it helps...

fergalr

You might also want to look at these threads, covering similar topics on lug:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054942449
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054859074

pirelli

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Map removed due to copyright infringement.
E.P.
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If you look at the bottom right of the map you should be able to see glendalough and Laragh is just at the crossroads. If you follow the road (south) from Laragh until you reach Avonbeg river. At this point ( not on map shown) you should be at the base of Carriglineen mountain at the cross roads at Avonbeg river crossing and there is a pub with food just there above Dromgoff br.

From here there is a path/small road that leads up along the river (west direction ) called glenmalure. That is a starting point for Lugnaquilla, It is clearly sign posted and at some point you cross a foot bridge over the river and there is a direct mountain path that will lead to, and locate you; south east of the mountain summit. Bring a compass and map ( A whistle would help in you get lost in the military zone) because it is a very isolated area.

The path is harder to distinguish higher up and not sign posted and there is also the danger of a cliff fall if you have poor visibility.

However this approach from glenmalure is the safest way to avoid the military range (red flags).
You can work out where it is on the map. If you take this route you will be approaching the summit climb from the south east.

Whyner

How longs does it take to reach the summit from Glenmalure Side and the Glen of Imaal side?

Which side do people prefer and why?

Krusty_Clown

For your reference (not for hiking use!) Here's some tracklogs that I got way back when, from Alun. They show various routes. You can also get the distances by mouse'ing over the km markers.

I've done most of them at this stage. My preferred route is from the Glenmalure side - Head up to the top of Table Mountain then to the top of lug, and back finally by the Zig-zags. You can see an approximation of this route here. Takes 5-5:30 hours + breaks. Around 22 kms.

Whyner

Perfect Krusty, thanks a Brazilian, going to do it tomorrow morning. Hopefully the weather is slightly better than today.

Nice one...

Whyner

Nearly got blown into the prisons, man it was windy up there on Sunday morning and FREEZING..........

Didn't go as far as table top though, pretty cool up there, that was my first time.

larryone

I live at the Donard side of the Glenn of Imaal, so I'm very familiar with approaching from the West (where the artiliary range is).
If you are coming from this side, I would recommend going to the Army Information and Advice Centre at Seskin. This is just beside Fenton's pub - the starting point for the most common western route.
The Army will give you *free* OSI maps, which will have two safe routes marked on it. (Certainly the last publication of it had these in blue, with the range marked in red.)
Most common route is to go from Fenton's straight up Camarahill. The first bit of it is a steep enough climb.
The other route is via Table, which is a longer walk but the incline is not as steep.
I've heard of far too many people who got lost in fog at the top.
This is really dangerous, because the top is really flat and wide, and the prisons drop off very suddenly.
If you're a novice and you see the top of lug covered in thick fog or cloud, you'd be well advised to turn back.

brayblue24

larryone wrote: »

If you're a novice and you see the top of lug covered in thick fog or cloud, you'd be well advised to turn back.

+1

Pj!

If you do get to the top, as others have said if you are not paying attention you can forget which way you've come, especially if theres a fog or mist. There is a sign up there around 20 yards from the peak marker (the stone thing) and I find it a good way of remembering which way you're going back down. When you arrive at the top, just remember where the sign is in relation to the way you've come.