Go Walk:You may find yourself envying the bikers on their Harleys, but even on foot Wicklow's remote valley offers spectacular views, writes Deirdre Davis
LIKE A HERD of wildebeest gathered around a water hole, big burly bikers congregate outside the pub in Laragh, Co Wicklow, highly polished machines gleaming in the early sunlight. The deep-throated roar of finely tuned engines being kicked into life fills the valley, adding a frisson of excitement to an ordinary Sunday morning.
To swop Gore-Tex for leather, horse power for engine power and ride with the herd for the day. What sort of heretical thinking is this? Could a dedicated hill walker ever entertain such an idea? Why not? The suspicion does creep over one that perhaps it might be just a bit more exciting to blaze through the countryside on a Harley Davidson than to slog up a mountain.
Still, even when you are planning to cover the ground on foot, there is something wonderful about leaving the bustle of Laragh and heading out to the remote valley of Glenmalure. The opening out of the scenery as one reaches the plateau comes as such a surprise after the enclosure of the ascent. Great big dark green conifers contrast with the barren hillsides in the distance and these along with the steep descent into the valley give one the feeling of being in Austria or Switzerland.
This walk is one that involves the use of two cars but the five and a half kilometre distance between the start and the end is not worth talking about. The first car will be left at the parking space about three and a half kilometres down the Glenmalure valley on 080930. Drive back from here, turn left at Drumgoff and head towards Laragh. Park the other car at the Shay Elliot memorial car park. (For those who do not know, Shay Elliot was a famous cyclist.)
From here, head straight up the hillside – ignoring a wide sandy track to your left heading downhill. You are making for Cullentragh Mountain and if you stick to the path you can’t go wrong here. Climb the second stile and emerge onto the open mountainside.
This is a perfect spot to stop and admire the view which has been opening up the higher you have climbed. A blue arc of sea behind you rewards your efforts and the rusts and acid greens of the bogs would inspire even the least creative.
Now turn left and head for the spot height 510 meters. In mist it is easy to lose your way up here as it is pretty featureless, so bring a compass and set it for Mullacor at 657 meters.
If you are lucky with the weather, from the top of Mullacor you can see a great ring of mountains all around, with Tonelagee rearing up above all others on the north side of Glendalough and the bulk of Lugnaquilla, the highest peak in Leinster, towering above its companions to the south west.
While there are always people with an unerring sense of direction who will rarely get lost, mere mortals who sit down out of the wind for a cup of tea can easily stand up and head off in the wrong direction. If you are one of those and decide to have some refreshment near the top of Mullacor it would be a good idea to use your compass as coming off the top in the wrong direction is pretty annoying.
If visibility is good the simplest thing to do is to head for the col between Mullacor and the spot height 637. This is where the board walks meet. Alternatively make for the spot where the Wicklow Way dives into the forest almost due west. You will have no difficulty seeing the Way coming from your right. At the entrance and for a few minutes it is quite steep and slippery as you need to climb over fallen branches. In bad weather you may need to use a compass.
When you emerge from the trees turn left and follow the path for 10 minutes to the junction where there is a Wicklow Way sign telling you to go straight on. There is a small reddish mark on a rock on the left side of the path and a wood and stone arrow on the ground pointing to the right but don’t bank on the arrow still being there. A better landmark is a more faded Wicklow Way sign a few meters ahead. If you reach it you have missed the turn so go back.
After eight minutes the path widens into nearly a circle with large boulders on the left side and a secret path hidden behind them. Take the secret path. This will bring you down onto a wider path. Turn right. There is a small paws sign on the rock on the left sign as you come down onto the bigger path.
After about six or seven minutes you see more paws on the left side of the path and a large white rock on the right. You will be almost directly opposite a big scar on the mountainside on the other side of the valley and a dried-up waterfall. Now there is another, not-highly-visible path on your right-hand side leading down to the car park.
If the worst comes to the worst and you miss the path it is possible to do as we did and plunge over the side scrabbling and heaving yourself over rocks and fallen trees and clutching at vegetation which may or may not give way. Try and find the path.
Another 10 minutes or so will see you back at your car.
If you would prefer to get a bit more exercise start in Glenmalure and do the walk backwards as it is a steeper climb this way.
Glenmalure walk
START POINTCar park at Shay Elliot Memorial. To get there, take military road from Laragh.
TIMETwo to two-and-a-half hours not including stops.
SUITABILITYEasy, but bring compass, map and raingear.
MAPNumber 56, Ordnance Survey Discovery Series 2010.
FINISHCar park in Glenmalure Valley half-way along the road.
DISTANCE6km to 7km.