Wicklow Mountains
Formation of the MountainsAround 600 million years ago, a gradual closing together of the North American and European continental plates occurred, causing the land to buckle and rise up from the sea to form the beginnings of the land mass we know as Ireland. During this collision great heat and stress baked the mud and sandstones into schists, slate and quartzites. The molten layer of the earth's crust was forced upward, cooling slowly beneath the new rock into large crystals which we know as granite.Tropical storms and ice sheets which occurred over subsequent millenia have eroded away much of the surface covering thus exposing the once deeply buried granite which is now visible throughout much of the East of the country, as well as in parts of Connemara, Donegal and Down. The erosion caused by ice, wind and water shaped the new mountains over time into the rounded hills we have today. Schists still surround the central granite core of the mountains, while the summits of Lugnaquillia and Scarr are among the few places where they remain on the surface. The geological divide between granite and schist is visible in many places including Glendalough and Glenmalure where coarse granite boulder suddenly alternates with smoother schist. Wicklow Mountains National Parkwww.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ieWicklow Mountains National Park extends over 20,000 hectares of upland mountain terrain. The primary purpose of the Park is the management and conservation of the region’s biodiversity and landscape. An open access policy applies in the Park, which welcomes visitors all year round. The most visited area is the scenic Glendalough Valley where the ancient monastic settlement of St. Kevin is located. Escape from the crowds is possible however, provided one is properly equipped and experienced to explore the uplands behind and above the valley floor, where a real sense of wilderness and isolation can readily be found. Coillte Outdoorswww.coillteoutdoors.ieThe recreation division of Coillte, the Irish national forestry company, operates as Coillte Outdoors. It has developed and manages a wide range of forest recreation sites, including walking, mountain biking and mountain access trails, many of which are located in the Wicklow region. The mountain access trails frequently serve as the initial and final stages of hikes organised by Mountain Moor & Glen. The Wicklow Waywww.wickloway.comThe Wicklow Way is undoubtedly Ireland’s best known hiking trail, attracting several thousand visitors each year. Many of the trail’s enthusiasts walk the full 127km in a single expedition, taking between five and ten days to do so. Beginning in Marley Park in Dublin's southern suburb of Rathfarnham, the Way crosses the entire Dublin and Wicklow upland region, then proceeds through the rolling hill country of southwest County Wicklow to finish in the picture-postcard County Carlow village of Clonegal. Others adopt a more leisurely approach and select individual sections of between 14 and 21km for single-day walks. Because the trail is well marked and there are several excellent map-guides available, it is perfectly feasible for individual groups with no more than a moderate amount of hiking experience to undertake the challenge without the services of a specialist guide. The trail offers hill-walkers of at least average fitness a combination of suburban parkland, forest trails, wild and scenic mountain landscape, remote lakes, ruined buildings, extensive remains of the early Christian monastic settlement in the beautiful Glendalough valley and finally rolling countryside. Mountain Moor & Glen fills the ”experience gap” of many occasional and regular users of the Wicklow Way and of the innumerable shorter marked trails in the Coillte Outdoors forests and the National Park’s Glendalough Valley, and equips them to hike in and explore the more remote and spectacularly beautiful hidden heart of the Wicklow Uplands. |
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