Itinerary

Day 1 / Arrive in Glendalough and Spinc Walk

We will pick you up at Dublin Airport and take you to the Glendalough Hotel. Your self-guided walking vacation in Wicklow starts with an optional visit to the 6th Century Monastic Settlement which is situated just beside the hotel. You will have an opportunity to learn about Glendalough with an audiovisual display in the visitors center followed by a tour of the Monastic Settlement. Your first walk in the valley takes you up past the two lakes, through an old Miners Village, to the Spinc, where you will enjoy sweeping views back down over the lakes, the Monastic Settlement and the surrounding countryside. The walking trail continues down by Pollanass Waterfall and back to the hotel. Distance: 11 kilometres / 7 miles, Ascent: 220 metres / 660 ft. Approximate walking time: 5 hours

Day 2 / The townlands of Ballard, Trooperstown & Laragh

Today's walk is one of Wicklow’s "best-kept secrets". The hiking trail starts in Glendalough and takes you along the Green Road into Ballard which, translated into English, means High Town. From here you will walk to the townland of Trooperstown. Footfalls Walking Holidays office is situated here. Continue down into Trooperstown Forest to the Avonmore River which is a really good place for some relaxation. The walking trail continues into the village of Laragh and back to the Glendalough Hotel. Distance: 10 kilometres / 6 miles, Ascent: 240 metres / 720 ft. Approximate walking time: 3 hours

Day 3 / Lough Tay & The Wicklow Way

Car Transfer to the start of today's self-guided walk takes you through some of Wicklow’s most attractive villages; Laragh, Annamoe and Roundwood. Roundwood is Ireland’s highest village at 260 meters. Overlooking Lough Tay and the Guinness Estate, where Brave Heart, Excalibur, King Arthur and many more famous films were shot, your walk takes you south back to Glendalough through Sleamaine and Ballinafunshoge Forest. Enjoy some beautiful views down over Roundwood Village and the Vartry Reservoir on one side and Lough Dan on the other. Continue down into Oldbridge, onto Paddock Hill and into the valley of Glenmacnass and finally back to Glendalough. Distance: 17 kilometers / 11 miles, Ascent: 150 metres / 450 ft. Approximate walking time: 5 hours

Day 4 / The Wicklow Coast

A self-guided walk with a difference, today, we take you to the coastal town of Kilcoole where you will hike along an amazing coastal walking trail. Starting from Kilcoole, continue along one of Ireland’s finest nature reserves, composed of a wet grassland, freshwater streams and a number of marshy pools that survive the summer months. The trail above the beach presents magnificent views of the area including the birds and flowers of the reserve. In every season a different range of birds inhabits the reserve for breeding and feeding. The walk ends in Wicklow Town where you will have the opportunity to do some shopping before we take you back to the Glendalough Hotel. Distance: 14 kilometers / 9 miles, Ascent: Little to none, Approximate walking time: 4 hours

Day 5 / Glenmalure to Glendalough

After breakfast, we will take you to the start of your walk at Drumgoff in the valley of Glenmalure, Ireland's longest glacier valley. The hiking trail takes you north along the Wicklow Way and gently winds its way up out of the valley to give you some spectacular views of the Glenmalure waterfall and the surrounding countryside. Continue back into Glendalough where, once again, you will enjoy some stunning views as you enter the Glendalough valley. Distance: 13 kilometres / 8 miles, Ascent: 505 metres / 1515 ft. Approximate walking time: 3.5 hours

Day 6 / Depart

After breakfast we will pick you up and take you back to Dublin Airport.