Wicklow Mountain Weekend Trip

dr87

Hey all,

I'm based in Dublin without a car, looking to do a 5-6 hr hike on Saturday in the Wicklow Mountains, stay overnight somewhere in a town with an interesting pub, and then do another 4-8 hr hike and bus back to Dublin.

I was hoping someone might be able to give me some options that are relatively cheap and accessible from city centre- good views and a good pub are the number 1 criterion.

Is starting at Marlay Park, stopping at Knocktree, and finishing at Glendalough the only option? (or the best?) Is it easy to get back to Dublin from Glendalough in the evening? Is there much around Knocktree?

What about Rathdrum to Glenmalure to Laragh? Is there an easy way to get back from Laragh?

Thanks for the advice!

Donny5

dr87 wrote: »

Hey all,

I'm based in Dublin without a car, looking to do a 5-6 hr hike on Saturday in the Wicklow Mountains, stay overnight somewhere in a town with an interesting pub, and then do another 4-8 hr hike and bus back to Dublin.

I was hoping someone might be able to give me some options that are relatively cheap and accessible from city centre- good views and a good pub are the number 1 criterion.

Is starting at Marlay Park, stopping at Knocktree, and finishing at Glendalough the only option? (or the best?) Is it easy to get back to Dublin from Glendalough in the evening? Is there much around Knocktree?

What about Rathdrum to Glenmalure to Laragh? Is there an easy way to get back from Laragh?

Thanks for the advice!

Without a car or a lift, the only way down to or back from Glendalough is St. Kevin's bus. There's the timings, two buses each way each day.

The Knockree hostel looks nice enough. I haven't been in it since the revamp, but I've heard good things. The area around it is lovely, although the valley around the Glencree river is ruined with rubbish and fires. As for a pub, unless you fancy the long walk to Enniskerry, which is about 5 km long with a lot of hills, especially on the way home, you are out of luck.

Rathdrum - Glenmalure - Laragh would be okay. The pub is Glenmalure has accommodation, and it'd be best to stay there, since the hostel, when it's open, is another long 5km walk from the pub. The pub is also very nice, great place with an open fire and decent food. The Wicklow Way over from Glenmalure to Glendalough is a nice walk with good scenery. Taking the road to Laragh is just a slog, so I'd avoid that. The first day, though, Rathdrum to Glenmalure is going to be a lot of road-walking or you'll need to take a roundabout route to cover mountains.

fergalr

Donny gives good advice there.

Its pretty hard to string routes together with buses; but I've done a few.

To expand on one of Donny's suggestions, one itinerary you might consider, if you are constrained to using public transport, would be to get the bus to Glendalough, then walk along the wicklow way from glenalough down to glenmalure (not too long of a walk), stay the night in glenmalure, and the next day walk NW up glenmalure, then come down glenealo valley, and walk the spink back down to the bus in glendalough or laragh.

You don't have a slog along a road with that route, and it does mean you can stay over in glenmalure which has a pub. Be warned, there's not a lot else in that part of glenmalure though!

The bus will also let you off in roundwood, and its not a bad walk from roundwood onto the wicklow way, if you want to string something together like that.

Can't think of a huge amount of other options that involve overnighting in a hostel, and that don't have much road walking.