Public Transport to Sugar Loaf

yoajing

My friends and I are currently planning on hiking up the Great Sugar Loaf. We own no cars so we're hoping to just take buses to go from Bray to Kilmacanogue.

Apparently, this one is a popular starting trail: it's a car park "just off the road to roundwood just up passed calary left at the old garage."

Problem is that they've given directions on how to get there BY CAR. See the problem there? If we stop at the nearest bus stop (which is where, exactly??), is it a relatively near walking distance to the car park?

On a side note, we don't have any walking boots and the 'hardest' (please imagine air quotations) hike we've ever done is Bray head and the 'longest' walk being from Bray to Greystones.

Alun

yoajing wrote: »

If we stop at the nearest bus stop (which is where, exactly??), is it a relatively near walking distance to the car park?

Absolutely not!!! The road from Kilmacanoge to that car park is narrow, and goes up a very steep hill, and is very dangerous to walk along, don't even think about it.

From Kilmacanoge, where the bus drops you off, there is a route up from the GAA club. If you look at the map here http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/53.1584/-6.1504&layers=C you can see the GAA club marked as Fitzsimons Park and the trails are clearly marked. Beware though that at this time of year the bracken (ferns) are very high, and it can be difficult to follow tracks that appear very clearly at other times of the year.

The 145 bus goes over the bridge at Kilmacanoge, and stops outside the Esso petrol station on the northbound N11.

yoajing

Alun wrote: »

Absolutely not!!! The road from Kilmacanoge to that car park is narrow, and goes up a very steep hill, and is very dangerous to walk along, don't even think about it.

From Kilmacanoge, where the bus drops you off, there is a route up from the GAA club. If you look at the map here you can see the GAA club marked as Fitzsimons Park and the trails are clearly marked. Beware though that at this time of year the bracken (ferns) are very high, and it can be difficult to follow tracks that appear very clearly at other times of the year.

The 145 bus goes over the bridge at Kilmacanoge, and stops outside the Esso petrol station on the northbound N11.

Thanks so much for replying so quickly! I think you just saved us from a dangerous trek! Just a few questions though lol

So just to make sure, we take the 145 and stop outside the Esso petrol station, right? How long is to walk from there to the fitzsimons park/gaa club? I checked google map and it says that (if we take the 145) we need to stop at rock valley and then take a 45 min walk to gaa club. I think that, without a doubt, we'd be knackered before we'll even start the hike haha

Apparently this route has more climbing and more rugged quartzite slopes, with less usage. Do you think a couple of bright, fairly young adults with (veeeeery) amateur hiking skills can take the challenge? I've heard people taking their children with them to the hike.

Alun

For some bizarre reason Google Maps takes you on a mad detour walking along the N11 to get there, ignore that and when you get off the bus, walk back along the front of the petrol station and turn right at the little mini roundabout, up past the pub (Glencormac Inn) on your right. Here's a Google Maps route showing the route to the GAA club from then on ...

https://www.google.ie/maps/dir/53.1686978,-6.1360322/53.1633838,-6.142956/@53.1655346,-6.1381462,1506m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!4m3!1m0!1m0!3e2?hl=en

yoajing

Wonderful! Thanks a million for your help! Can't wait to see how this all plays out lol

yoajing

Alun wrote: »

The 145 bus goes over the bridge at Kilmacanoge, and stops outside the Esso petrol station on the northbound N11.

So sorry but one last itty bitty question!!! When you mean Esso … you don't mean Topaz, do you? Apologies for the trivial question!

Alun

yoajing wrote: »

So sorry but one last itty bitty question!!! When you mean Esso … you don't mean Topaz, do you? Apologies for the trivial question!

The Topaz station is on the southbound carriageway and although I think the 145 stops there (the BE 133 certainly does), you'd then have to walk along past the petrol station and cross the N11 on the footbridge. The 145 turns off just after the Topaz station, goes over the flyover and stops just past the Esso station on the other side, which is where you want to be anyway, so you may as well just stay on the bus. It's up to you though, both methods work.

Carawaystick

You could get St Kevin's bus, they'll let you off in Calary, and you can walk down to Kilmac
Or you could get the bus to near the Glenview hotel, and walk up the boreen to Calary