Fenton's Pub in Glenn of Imaal to Lugnaquilla

Poncke

Hi all,

I am planning on hiking to the Lug from Fenton's Pub in Glenn of Imaal. Its a 13k hike, from the pub to the summit and back.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Lugnaquilla/%27%27/@52.9745416,-6.542747,9931m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m12!4m11!1m5!1m1!1s0x486791832dc1a1f5:0x1e39434f968dc6b3!2m2!1d-6.464494!2d52.966859!1m3!2m2!1d-6.552237!2d52.983736!3e2?hl=en-US

I have read some threads here but they were a bit old and I just want to ask my own questions about this trail.

I am a beginner in hiking, I have walked to the summit of Djouce, Maulin and Diamond Hill. Now I want to walk to the Lug summit. It seems to be a straight forward trail and back. But I heard it could be dangerous in bad weather and there is also a military shooting range in between.

Questions:
1.When starting from Fenton's Pub, is the trail way marked?
2.Do I need a compass?
3.Which guide/book best to buy with the latest trails and hikes in Wicklow?
4.Do I need to deviate from the trail to avoid the shooting range?

I have been in the army for 12 years, so I have a bit of experience with reading maps and using a compass. So although I am a newbie at hiking, there are traces of knowledge still left from the auld days

Thanks in advance
Ron

Halloween Jack

Howdy,


We did this a few weeks back in horrific conditions, snow storms and hardly any visibility. We wouldnt be too handy with navigation either but managed ok.

The trail isnt marked from fentons, but if you go round the back of the pub you'll see a little worn trail which takes you onto the military road. You follow the military road for a mile or so till it comes to a bend round to the right. Straight ahead you can see the trail going up the hill which you summit before heading on to Lug proper.

Once you hit the top of that hill the path continues on up to lug. The ground can be a bit tricky on the way up but its ok.

There are signs at intervals of a few hundred metres on your left warning you of cliffs/shooting range beyond them, it would be important to keep them on your left hand side on the way up and on the right on the way back.

Its a great walk, keep your wits about you and id imagine you'd be fine

PS: you should always bring a compass and an os map or similar when hiking, and you should probably know how to use them (we've been picking that bit up as we go along:)

Gasherbraun

If I recall correctly the range is also to the right of the trail going up Camarahill so you need to keep to the trail both sides. The main risk is unexploded ordnance and if there is live shelling going on there will be a red flag flying over the army information office (next to Fentons) warning not to go onto the hill. You can call the information office on 045404653 and they can tell you the schedules of firing in the range. Keep the number to hand...if you wander into to the range you may need to call them

The Camarahill route is a fairly well beaten track but it does become vague towards the top which is where the visibility / weather is going to be worse so be prepared with a compass and map just in case.

In terms of climb it starts with a long slog up a lane to the base of Camarahill which is a short sharp climb to more level ground. There are then one or two more short steps followed by a more rocky slope onto the Lugnaquillia summit plateau. It is a large flat summit and the trig point is not immediately obvious. If you have good visibility on top take note of some visible transit marks to guide you back off in the right direction.

Alun

Yes, the route up to Lug via Camara Hill is actually going through the firing range, so significant deviation either right or left of the agreed route will bring you into the range.

As Gashebaraun says, it's a pretty obvious, although mucky in places, route up until the point where you get to the rocky area below the summit, where there are a couple of (less obvious) but reasonably used routes up to the summit plateau and eventually the summit.

The thing is that once it levels off at the top of the rocky section, you can't see the summit cairn at all, and you're a good 600m away from it at that point. In good visibility, it's not a problem as you can just continue heading in the same direction and eventually you'll see it, but if it's misty/cloudy you can be almost on top of it and not see it at all, so having a map and compass and being able to use them if such a situation arises is essential.

Ditto if you're coming off the summit in bad visibility. You'd be surprised at how many Mountain Rescue callouts relate to people heading off in the wrong direction when descending in bad visibility.

Poncke

Thanks for the answers guys.

Is the route up to Lug via Camara Hill, the same one when I am referring from Fenton's Pub in Glenn of Imaal to Lug?

I will put the number in my phone and get a compas and OS map this week. I am planning on going up the Lug coming Saturday. The weather should be ok.

Halloween Jack

the route in your link goes fentons - camarahill - lug

I couldnt remember the name of camarahill when i replied, but all the replies are describing your route.

Hope that helps.

Poncke

Ah ok, that makes sense, thanks a lot. Told you, I am a newbie

Halloween Jack

you'll see camarahill on your OS map when you manage to pick it up, happy walking:)

Poncke

I am just checking the website, Discovery Series is the one I should get?

http://shop.osi.ie/Shop/Products/StockedItemsWH03/Default.aspx

Aparently I should get the maps numbered 50, 56, and 62 cover the entire of the Wicklow Mountains.

http://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/Maps.html

Cool stuff, I never realised hiking was this well covered in Ireland. Shame on me, been here 7 years. But then again, never been very active until I decided to lose 50 kilos and walk the Wicklow Way next year. LOL

Poncke

Ow, and thanks HJ, much appreciated.

Alun

Poncke wrote: »

I am just checking the website, Discovery Series is the one I should get?

http://shop.osi.ie/Shop/Products/StockedItemsWH03/Default.aspx

Aparently I should get the maps numbered 50, 56, and 62 cover the entire of the Wicklow Mountains.

http://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/Maps.html

Cool stuff, I never realised hiking was this well covered in Ireland. Shame on me, been here 7 years. But then again, never been very active until I decided to lose 50 kilos and walk the Wicklow Way next year. LOL

Personally I'd go for the East West mapping maps. The Lugnaquilla - Glendalough one covers that walk, or get the whole set of 4.

http://www.eastwestmapping.ie/lugnaquilla-glendalough

Much more detail than the OS maps.

Poncke

Thanks for that, I might buy those online at some point, but I need to get to a store and pick up a map before Saturday. OSI have a shop in Phoenix Park. Thanks again.

Alun

Poncke wrote: »

Thanks for that, I might buy those online at some point, but I need to get to a store and pick up a map before Saturday. OSI have a shop in Phoenix Park. Thanks again.

You can pick up those maps too in many bricks and mortar stores in Dublin and elsewhere.

http://www.eastwestmapping.ie/node/37

Poncke

Alun wrote: »

You can pick up those maps too in many bricks and mortar stores in Dublin and elsewhere.

http://www.eastwestmapping.ie/node/37

Nice one, I need to go to Great Outdoors anyways, so I will pick on up.

Thanks again.

The problem is not with climbing Lug, but rather coming off the flat plateau summit, where it is very easy to go astray, and the trail back to Fentons is not at all obvious.
I would say, you should know at least how to take a compass bearing.

Carawaystick

Deleted User wrote: »

The problem is not with climbing Lug, but rather coming off the flat plateau summit, where it is very easy to go astray, and the trail back to Fentons is not at all obvious.
I would say, you should know at least how to take and follow a compass bearing.

fyp

Poncke

Ok, just checked how to use a compass and I am quite rusty, to be frank, I have no clue anymore. Maybe I need to get that sorted first. On the other hand, if its a clear day, it shouldnt a problem to orientate using landmarks.

testicle

In the army 12 years and you aren't familiar with the Glen and call the range a "shooting range" - forgive me if I'm a bit sceptical.

Poncke

Dutch Army, I am Dutch, been here for 7 years, I mentioned that 7 years somewhere in a previous comment. Could have been a hint. But thanks for the compliment, at least my English is up to par.

Mad Benny

This walk from Fenton's pub is very popular. At weekends, there are always people coming or going. You will have no problem finding the route.

Halloween Jack

Went up lug today from fraughan rock glen, nightmare conditions, we found a middle aged guy lost on the summit and said we'd bring him down. We're using a GPS, which died near the summit of Cloghernagh. I had just about enough nous with map and compass to get us all down.

As we were leaving 5 mountain rescue vans were heading up the glen. Two years ago when I started walking I was very cautious, since then I suppose I've gotten a bit blasé, I'll be booking in for mountain skills at the earliest possible juncture. I hope whoever was up there today got down.

duckysauce

Halloween Jack wrote: »

Went up lug today from fraughan rock glen, nightmare conditions, we found a middle aged guy lost on the summit and said we'd bring him down. We're using a GPS, which died near the summit of Cloghernagh. I had just about enough nous with map and compass to get us all down.

As we were leaving 5 mountain rescue vans were heading up the glen. Two years ago when I started walking I was very cautious, since then I suppose I've gotten a bit blasé, I'll be booking in for mountain skills at the earliest possible juncture. I hope whoever was up there today got down.

did the batteries go -- or did it die completely?

Halloween Jack

duckysauce wrote: »

did the batteries go -- or did it die completely?

Battery, was walking with friends I have never walked with previously, and it belonged to them, had never used one before, but was enjoying the ease of it up till then;)

duckysauce

Halloween Jack wrote: »

Battery, was walking with friends I have never walked with previously, and it belonged to them, had never used one before, but was enjoying the ease of it up till then;)

yep they are a class piece of kit , they will buy spare ones now . Was curious as yet to hear one someone say it theirs died to something other than batteries.

Alun

We were coming back from our walk today at about 6pm and came across a Mountain Rescue land rover coming towards us on the Roundwood Road at high speed with blue flashing lights. Was wondering what had happened.

On the battery front, I use rechargeable batteries but always carry spares .. lithium single use batteries are great for this, ultra light, long shelf life and work well in low temperatures.

Alun

duckysauce wrote: »

yep they are a class piece of kit , they will buy spare ones now . Was curious as yet to hear one someone say it theirs died to something other than batteries.

I've been using 3 different GPS's for the last 10 years, and have never had a single issue with any of them ever.

duckysauce

Alun wrote: »

We were coming back from our walk today at about 6pm and came across a Mountain Rescue land rover coming towards us on the Roundwood Road at high speed with blue flashing lights. Was wondering what had happened.

On the battery front, I use rechargeable batteries but always carry spares .. lithium single use batteries are great for this, ultra light, long shelf life and work well in low temperatures.

yep have 2 sets of same type of Battery myself , more expense that the regular ones, but are well worth it as they do last very long.

Poncke

Well, I just got back and it didnt go well. We made it out but just on pure luck. We walked up Camara hill from Fentons pub and then up to Lug. Some people were coming down warning us for the low clouds and that we might get lost. We came up to the wet part with the wide river bedding, and thats where we wanted to go back. But a girl came up and she knew the Lug, so we continued with her. We ended up on the summit and then she had to go back. We walked back 5 minutes later and got lost. We followed the river bed down, but it wasnt the same trail we went up. We kept walking and at some point got worried not know where we would end up. But then out of nowhere a large group of hikers with a guide and GPS, so we latched on and walked down with them. We passed the cliffs and all, and now I understand how people could get caught and fall off. All's well ends well, turned out, we ended up in Glenmalure. Seriously, if we hadnt met those guys, it would have been a very serious situation. So next plan is to get GPS and get training. We were lucky today and it was a massive hike, and it was great, but we realised we were really unprepared.

FrostyJack

Scarey stories, imagine you had of went midweek when there are less people about. This is why people on the forum always promote caution for new people, it isn't to scaremonger or sound better than anyone else. Every experienced walker has come across these scenarios before. A good map, GPS and training are must unless you want to gamble. I have been up there in near zero visiblity and know how tricky it is. Glad everyone made it back down ok.

Kat1170

You can call into the Army Information Center next to Fentons Pub any time and they will give you a free map of the area and show you the walking routes on it. They will also advise you as to whether there is any shooting or not. You can ring them on 045-404653 to save yourself traveling all the way only to find the walking routes closed due to Range activity.

Poncke

Lessons learned for sure. All the warnings here were all valid, and I prepared as best as possible but it wasnt good enough. I hope this thread will at least help a few others that are starting out.

Halloween Jack

Poncke wrote: »

Well, I just got back and it didnt go well. We made it out but just on pure luck. We walked up Camara hill from Fentons pub and then up to Lug. Some people were coming down warning us for the low clouds and that we might get lost. We came up to the wet part with the wide river bedding, and thats where we wanted to go back. But a girl came up and she knew the Lug, so we continued with her. We ended up on the summit and then she had to go back. We walked back 5 minutes later and got lost. We followed the river bed down, but it wasnt the same trail we went up. We kept walking and at some point got worried not know where we would end up. But then out of nowhere a large group of hikers with a guide and GPS, so we latched on and walked down with them. We passed the cliffs and all, and now I understand how people could get caught and fall off. All's well ends well, turned out, we ended up in Glenmalure. Seriously, if we hadnt met those guys, it would have been a very serious situation. So next plan is to get GPS and get training. We were lucky today and it was a massive hike, and it was great, but we realised we were really unprepared.

Glad you made it down, was hairy enough up there, we may have crossed paths up there at some stage. Did you manage to get a lift from glenmalure to fentons?

I'll be checking the mountain rescue website with interest over the next day or so. The last time we were out was in snow up tonelagee and they were called out that day to assist a cyclist who had come off the road, amazing guys.

Poncke

Jack, yes, we walked to the lodge in Glenmalure, had some food and a pint and then got on a taxi. Great guy, knew the area well and took us back to the car. 40 Euro taxi, but money well spent.

Great experience, loved it, scary at times, but what a hike.

I am doing the Dublin Mountain Challenge, 21k, and I think today really helped to get trained up for that walk.

Alun

Halloween Jack wrote: »

I'll be checking the mountain rescue website with interest over the next day or so.

http://www.dwmrt.ie/callouts/incident/callout_23:_lugnaquillia_mountain-351.html

BarryD

Kat1170 wrote: »

You can call into the Army Information Center next to Fentons Pub any time and they will give you a free map of the area and show you the walking routes on it.

This may be true but you gotta know how to use it

Mapreading is really the key skill in mountain navigation whether you are using a printed map or one on a GPS device. By mapreading, I mean understanding where you are on the map at any given stage and where the features roundabout you are on the map, whether in mist or a sunny day.

The best way to learn this is to be always curious. In good weather, when you don't need to look at a map too much, make a point of doing so and understand where you are and what's about you. That's my tuppenceworth anyway!

hmmm

There seems to have been a lot of rescues and near misses over the past few days, any idea why that is?

We all make mistakes, the important thing is that you recognise what went wrong and know how to fix it.

duckysauce

hmmm wrote: »

There seems to have been a lot of rescues and near misses over the past few days, any idea why that is?

We all make mistakes, the important thing is that you recognise what went wrong and know how to fix it.

Crap weather was up Scarr today and it was like another world 5-10 feet visibility, only met 3 other people :eek: on a bank holiday weekend !!

hmmm

duckysauce wrote: »

Crap weather was up Scarr today and it was like another world 5-10 feet visibility, only met 3 other people :eek: on a bank holiday weekend !!

We passed an orienteering competition today on top of Turlough Hill and god only knows how they recovered everyone. Sucking bog and thick mist, and a tough place to navigate in at the best of times.

Halloween Jack

duckysauce wrote: »

Crap weather was up Scarr today and it was like another world 5-10 feet visibility, only met 3 other people :eek: on a bank holiday weekend !!

Yeah conditions were atrocious and turned out way worse than the forecasts I looked at had predicted.

Halloween Jack

Went up lug from fentons on Saturday and around the glen of Imaal, on the spur from lug that leads toward benleagh/camenabologue we found a rusted old propeller blade, presumably from the plain crash in the 50's....

Alun

Halloween Jack wrote: »

Went up lug from fentons on Saturday and around the glen of Imaal, on the spur from lug that leads toward benleagh/camenabologue we found a rusted old propeller blade, presumably from the plain crash in the 50's....

It's marked on the E-W map as "Air crash Site 1980's" at approx T 033 938.

keane=cock

Alun wrote: »

It's marked on the E-W map as "Air crash Site 1980's" at approx T 033 938.

Any grid ref for normal OS map for rough location??

Alun

keane=cock wrote: »

Any grid ref for normal OS map for rough location??

T 033 938 perhaps?

keane=cock

Alun wrote: »

T 033 938 perhaps?

Haha my bad. I thought there was a different ref for the other Map posted earlier that is more detailed than os. Felling pretty stupid right now.

Alun

No problem E-W Mapping's maps use the same grid as the OS do, they're just to a different scale and much more detailed, that's all.