Go Walk: The former copper mines at Avoca, Co Wicklow, offer a rambling experience in which industry rubs up against nature, writes Francis Bradley
There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet;
Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.
THOMAS Moore's heart was in the right place when he wrote the first verse of his tribute to the Vale of Avoca, but he wasn't paying much heed to what was going on little more than a kilometre downriver.
There had been mining in the area for many centuries, and by the time Moore brought wider public attention to the place, in the early 1800s, the business of copper-ore extraction was well established on both the east (Cronebane) and west (Ballymurtagh) banks of the River Avoca.
The mining business went through peaks and troughs, but at its peak there were as many as 2,000 people employed in the mines. Because of the absence of any controls, pollution of the Avoca river went unchecked for two and a half centuries, and it was considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to be the most severly polluted stretch of river in Ireland. Much remedial work has been done, but the river remains under constant threat from acid mine drainage.
For this walk, start at the car park opposite Moores Coppermines Restaurant. Turn left along the R752 and head south for a little over 100m. Turn left again, over White Bridge, which spans the Avoca river. Confronting you is part of the abandoned mineworks, with the most visible of the engine houses halfway up the hill - take note of the white cross high on the slope to the right.
Continuing on this road as it passes under the railway line, you enter a landscape that evokes a backdrop from Star Wars. Follow the road past large ore bins - used for storing ore awaiting treatment or transport - take the next turn left and head up the hill. As you ascend, the west side of the vale reveals its mining heritage, with evidence of pits and engine houses.
The engine house you saw earlier is now out of view, but, after the next turn right, a track on the right leads through the trees to the derelict structures. From the 18th century these housed steam engines that could raise the ore to the surface. More sophisticated engines broke up the ore, raised and lowered the miners, pumped water from the shafts and ran "shaking tables" that refined the ore. At present there are the remains of seven or eight engine houses in the area, and farther along the road is evidence of another, in the trees on the left.
There are spoil heaps everywhere, and on the day I visited the rainwater was draining down the road in a yellowish-brown stream - just as I saw the Avoca river some years ago.
You soon come to East Avoca open pit - it creates quite a gash in the hillside. This pit, along with Cronebane open pit, are the result of aggressive open-cast mining in the 1970s, which created much waste rock. This was piled in a heap to a level 30m to 40m high and became known as Mount Platt.
Following the road around the left-hand side of East Avoca pit brings you to the turn-off point for the Mottee Stone. The legend is that Fionn MacCumhaill hurled the rock from the top of Lugnaquillia, but the less romantic reality is that the stone - an erratic - was deposited here during the Ice Age. Take a closer look: clearly it isn't of this place. This spot would offer an excellent panorama were it not for Mount Platt, which just sits there, naked - the waste doesn't support much vegetation.
Return the way you came to the point where you first encountered East Avoca pit. At this point three roads meet. There is also a private residence here. Your route follows a lane to the right of this property. Follow this lane and you will come upon the aforementioned White Cross, which was erected by miners from the area.
Looking across the valley towards Ballymurtagh, you can make out the outline of Pond Lode open pit - another open-cast exercise from the 1970s - which was subsequently used as a landfill for domestic refuse. The landfill is closed now and has been landscaped.
After the cross, continue on the track until you meet a tarmac road; turn right and follow the road downhill and past the ore bins. You can extend the walk by taking a short excursion on the west side of the valley. From White Bridge, head north on the R752; after 100m take the minor road on the left. Follow this road as it zigzags up the hillside, going right at the first hairpin and left at the second. The road enters a densely wooded area and, after another hairpin bend, curves to the left. You then come upon the Ballymurtagh engine house, which you would have seen from the other side of the valley. You can't go any farther as access is not permitted. Return the way you came.
Alternative startFrom the car park, turn right onto the R752 and proceed to the Meeting of the Waters - the junction of the Avonmore and Avonbeg rivers. Crossing the Avonbeg River on the R752, turn right shortly after and follow this road as it curves left. After 100m go right at a fork and cross, firstly, the Avonmore river and then the railway line, after which the road curves sharply left. Go right at the first road junction and, after a couple of hundred metres, go right again at the second junction. Follow this road, passing Castlehoward on the right, until you arrive beside East Avoca pit. Going left brings you to the Mottee Stone; right brings you along the track described earlier.
Avoca, Co Wicklow
Start and finishCar park opposite Moore's Bar and Restaurant, R752.
DistanceAbout 11km, or about 14km with the alternative start.
TimeUp to three and a half hours.
MapsOrdnance Survey Ireland Discovery Series 62.
SuitabilityFor all ages - although this an old mining area has risks, such as adits, shafts and derelict buildings. Obey the signs and don't enter the fenced-off areas. Know how to read a map and use a compass. Dress appropriately, bring along drinks and snacks, and don't litter.
RefreshmentsMoores Coppermine Restaurant, Kilcashel, 0402-35312. The Meetings Bar Restaurant, Avoca, 0402-35226.
• For more about the mines, see www.celtic-copper.eu