A walk for the weekend: Circuit of Glensoulan, Co Wicklow

JB Malone, that doyen of Irish hillwalking, once referred to the upper reaches of the Dargle river as “empty Glensoulan”, presumably because everywhere in this wild hanging valley above Powerscourt Waterfall are signs of abandoned hill-farming endeavours, now overgrown with ferns and heather. However, on this day, the first day of winter 2015, JB would have been very pleased. Hillwalkers of all ages, some of an age who might even remember him, traversed its ferny floor and tramped its circle of hills on this most truly spectacular of summery winter days.

Gorgeous days don’t often coincide with weekends – and perhaps even less often with winter in this country. But this November day was magical: high blue skies, the lightest of sun-warmed airs and endless visibility – and, like us, people were booting up from Crone car park from early that Sunday, determined to make the most of it.

We set off at about 10am up through the forest on the north side of Maulin (570m), enjoying an exceptional autumn spectacle of sunlit oak, larch and sycamore on the ever more leafy floor of Glencree. Then, it was out onto Maulin summit, usually a wild and windy place, to admire a Sugarloaf playing lazily with wraith-like mist still clinging to the lowlands of east Wicklow.

The next stretch to the Tonduffs (642m) is usually a peaty mud slog, but on this day of high beauty we hardly noticed.

Our lunch stop was on the warm granite slabs of the Tonduffs. With the bulk of Djouce and War Hill not obscuring our view to the south, the great worn batholith of the Wicklow Hills stretched out before us all the way to the Wexford border. This afforded us the chance to indulge in summit recognition contests and the recounting of past exploits.

The slightest of southerly breezes caressed the sun-tilted hillside as we made rapid progress down over the wide and wild Dargle catchment, picking up the now-distinct path to the round summit of War Hill (686m).

Soon, the slightly cooling air was allowing low mist to condense and rise out of lengthening shade, only to be lightly tossed and spun in the sunshine by weak November thermals. A virtual procession greeted us as we intersected the boardwalk route up from Ballinastoe to our highest summit of the day, Djouce (725m).

Descending with worries that the car park at Crone would really close at 4pm, we entered the faint smoky haze and silent stillness of evening, noting first that distant Slieve Donard in the Mournes – visible all day – had sunk into the rising mist.

Nothing moved in the beautiful mixed woodland of Powerscourt as we descended along the Wicklow Way, autumn leaves untroubled by wind and red holly berries adding to an almost gaudy colourscape.

The car park attendants were merciful on that beautiful day, rightly recognising that, for hikers lost in a heady mindfulness, mundane concerns about car park closing times would have been the first casualties.

Map:

OS Discovery Sheet 56

Start-Finish:

Crone car park, about 7km southwest of Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on R760 for first 3km

Effort:

830m of climbing, about 16km.

Time

: About 5hrs

Suitability:

Moderate level of fitness, knowledge of mountain navigation required