Overview
Aghavannagh (Irish: Achadh Mheánach, ‘hilly field’) has no shop, no fuel and no bus, which is roughly why anyone goes. It is a scatter of houses in a glacial valley on the southern flank of Lugnaquilla, the highest mountain in eastern Ireland at 925 metres, set among native woodland, granite tors and open upland. Locals call it ‘the last place God made’. It sits roughly midway between Aughrim and Glenmalure to the east and Baltinglass and Hacketstown to the west, which makes it a useful base for the southern Wicklow Mountains rather than a destination in itself.
History and the Military Road
First recorded in 1623 as ‘Aghavanny’, the area was a sparsely peopled crossroads until the 1798 Rebellion changed it. With United Irishmen still active in the mountains, the British government built the Wicklow Military Road between 1804 and 1809, running from Rathfarnham to Aghavannagh to move troops quickly into the high ground. Stone barracks went up along the route, Aghavannagh Barracks among them, built for 100 soldiers. The whole project, including a substantial stone bridge over the Ow River, cost £26,500.
The strategic need faded with the rebellion, and the War Office left the barracks in 1825. The grandfather of Charles Stewart Parnell took the Georgian building on as a hunting lodge, shared for a time with up to 50 men of the Irish Constabulary. After Parnell’s death it passed to the nationalist leader John Redmond, who kept it as a sporting retreat.
The barracks
An Óige bought the building in 1944 and ran it as a youth hostel; through the 1970s and 80s it took thousands of walkers and budget travellers a year. Structural decay closed it in the late 1990s, after engineers found part of it unsafe. A ten-year restoration starting in 2010 brought it back, and it is now a private family home and guesthouse. The interior is not open to casual callers, so what you get is the outside: red-sandstone arches, heavy stone walls and a commanding spot above the valley.
Walking
Aghavannagh sits on the Military Road itself, now the R115, which gives a forest-lined drive and walk deep into the hills. The Wicklow Way, Ireland’s first national waymarked trail, passes a short distance off, through oakwood and open moor.
The main draw for hillwalkers is Lugnaquilla. The loop climbs past the steep glacial corries known as the ‘North Prison’ and ‘South Prison’ to the summit, where on a clear day the view runs from the Irish Sea to Snowdonia and the Munster peaks. It takes six to seven hours and wants experience and proper mountain gear; Lugnaquilla’s flat top is easy to lose in cloud, and clear days are not guaranteed.
Nature and wildlife
The Ow River rises on Lugnaquilla’s southern flank and cuts a U-shaped valley before meeting the smaller Aghavannagh River just outside the hamlet. The hills around are a mosaic of blanket bog, heath and upland grassland. Walking early or late, you may see meadow pipits, red grouse and the odd red squirrel in the woodland; feral goats and hybrid red-sika deer hold the higher slopes, and peregrines and merlins work the corries. The area carries European conservation designations, and the East Wicklow Rivers Trust has put up interpretive signage along the riverbanks.
Getting there and practicalities
There is no public transport, so come by car. The R115 Military Road connects to the N81 near Baltinglass and the R747 near Tinahely. The roads are narrow and winding, and ice and snow are likely between November and March, so winter tyres and a four-wheel drive are worth having then.
Accommodation comes down to the restored barracks guesthouse and a few rented cottages and glamping yurts in the surrounding townlands. Book ahead, especially over summer. There are no shops, cafés or fuel stations in Aghavannagh, so stock up in Aughrim, Glenmalure or Baltinglass first. Mobile coverage is patchy: carry a paper map and tell someone your route.
Nearby
- Baltinglass: a market town to the west with a ruined medieval abbey and a few decent pubs.
- Glenmalure: a deep glacial valley to the east, with more walking and the historic Glenmalure hotel.
- Lugnaquilla summit: reachable by several routes from the area, with snow on top well into spring; for experienced walkers only.