AUGUST DAYS: Want a brush with wildlife and to experience the wonderful Wicklow landscape? Seán MacConnell reveals his favourite trek
It may be simply a case of needing to get out of the city. Perhaps it's anticipation of that repetitive moan - "I'm bored" - from young troops as they gaze at a computer screen during the umpteenth replaying of a game involving some form of bashing the enemy.
Do yourself a favour this summer and take yourself off to Luggala, Co Wicklow, and take a stroll down to Lough Dan under Knocknacloghoge. If it's good enough for the Guinness family it should be good enough for you - and even those young terriers in need of open country.
Lough Dan lies in a valley between Djouce mountain to the east and Luggala to the west and it is truly one of the delights of not only Wicklow but the entire east coast.
If you are coming from Dublin city, travel over the mountains, heading for Sally Gap taking in the views around Kippure mountain, one of the six mountains between Tallaght and the gap (see map).
At Sally Gap, which is 1,600 ft above sea level, turn left leaving the road to Glendalough and Wicklow Gap and head down into the valley for Roundwood.
About three miles from the gap, the road begins to rise and to your right you will see down into the valley with the Guinness estate at its northern end, close to the bank of Lough Tay, the lake at the upper end of the valley.
Park your car in some of the forest roadways off to your left and seek entry into the estate with its well-kept gate and warning signs not to bring dogs of any kind on to the lands.
Avoid, unless you want hassle, an adjoining roadway which also runs down into the valley where signs warn that you could be prosecuted for trespass. Fortunately, the Guinness family have the confidence of centuries of ownership to share our heritage with us without threat of any kind. Their privacy is respected by all.
Swing down into the valley past their gate lodge and make your way down to the valley floor. Check the skyline Luggala mountain in front of you for peregrine falcons who breed on the steep cliffs there and seem to be involved in perpetual warfare with the ravens who compete for food with them. I don't think I have ever walked down into that valley without a sighting of the peregrine falcons which have been successfully breeding there for more than 30 years.
Watch too for deer. They are to be seen all over the valley which is a feeding and breeding ground for them. The white flash of colour around their tails, should help you spot them.
The deer in Luggala are Sika hybrids, whose Japanese ancestors escaped from Powerscourt estate in the 1890s and interbred and eventually obliterated the native red deer which used to roam the Wicklow hills.
Your route down will take you past a farmhouse on your left where two years ago, film crews were working around the clock making the film Animal Farm. Keep an eye open for local farmers who work the sheep with their dogs. Some of the best sheepdogs in Ireland are to be found working this valley.
Cross the wooden bridge on the valley floor and climb the well-maintained stile which gives access to the rough roadway leading down to the lake. There are always deer on the pasture land on your left along the river and, if you go quietly, there are rabbits in most of the fields. There is also the ruins of a village dating back two centuries.
One of the trees on your left, near the one gate you must open and close en route, has been the home to a swarm of wild Irish bees for nearly a decade. If the day is warm their homestead is easy to spot. The roadway leads down to the place where the river flows into Lough Dan, a few hundred yards away from the most perfect example of stepping stones to be found anywhere - short of reviewing the 1963 film Robin Hood.
These stepping stones are just yards away from a lovely old house which used to be a hunting lodge but is no longer used but is an idyllic setting for a picnic. This is also a place of options. Depending on your age, agility or company, you can decide to stay with the lake, following its northern shore through a sea of furze to where another river meanders along the valley floor.
Watch out for dragonfly which live along the river and lakeshore and keep an eye to the flank of Knocknacloghoge for badger and fox or the beautiful little Merlin, the lady's hawk, which sometimes hunts there.
There are fish in the lake too but they are small, trout mostly, and I have been told there are char, the prehistoric glacial fish left over from the Ice Age.
For the energetic, Knocknacloghoge beckons. There is a fairly decent path up its south-eastern flank through the ferns, not too far from the back of the hunting lodge. This path will take you to the top, at just over 2,000 ft, and a wonderful view over the lake below you and south as far a Lugnaquilla.
Drop over the top of the mountain but be very careful going down the far side where a river runs between Knocknacloghoge and Luggala mountain. Pick up this river when making your way downstream but again, be very careful because it drops quickly and there are dangerous drops to catch the unwary.
However, the waterfalls and pools on this river are tremendous and are worth seeking out. It is safer to walk on the left bank as you head downstream. This river walk brings you back to the wooden bridge crossed on the way in to Lough Dan. All that's left is the haul back up to the car well over 1,000 feet above! For those taking in all elements of the walk, completion time is usually within 4½ hours.
A few tips with safety in mind: Make sure and wear strong boots or walking shoes and take wet gear with you. There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. Take a mobile phone if you are inexperienced;
Take food if you are going to climb and bring a map, compass and whistle and please remember that the temperature drops as you climb by as much as three degrees for every thousand feet according to my climbing tutor, Kieran "The Navigator" O'Brien.
Finally, respect the mountains and those who live in them by closing all gates and leaving no rubbish.
