Glenealo is the wild upper end of the Glendalough valley, the part most day-trippers never reach because it’s an hour’s uphill walk from the car park. Gleann Abhlach means ‘the valley of the apple trees’, though what you’ll actually find is open bog and heath, a river running down to the Upper Lake, and a herd of feral goats. If you do one walk at Glendalough, make it the Spinc and Glenealo loop rather than the flat lakeshore strolls: the reward is the view down over both lakes from the boardwalk ridge, then the deserted miners’ village on the valley floor. The reserve covers 1,958 hectares (4,838 acres) and has been protected since 1988, managed by the National Parks & Wildlife Service.
The miners’ village
For about a century the head of this valley was an industrial site, not a wilderness. Lead and zinc were worked here, with the operation peaking in the mid-19th century when something like 2,000 people were employed in the Glendalough and Glendasan mines; the last of it closed in the 1950s. The trail down from the Spinc passes the stone foundations of the miners’ village, the spoil heaps and the shells of the processing buildings, sitting starkly in the open valley.
The goats are the mines’ other legacy: when the workings were abandoned, the goats left behind went feral, and their descendants still graze the slopes. They’re used to walkers but they’re wild animals; watch them, don’t feed them.
The Spinc and Glenealo loop
The main route through the reserve is the Spinc and Glenealo Valley loop, waymarked with white arrows from the Upper Lake. It’s a proper hill walk, not a stroll: ridge, bog and a steep valley descent.
Route profile
- Distance: about 9–10 km (sources vary; roughly 9.2 km)
- Ascent: around 380–400 m
- Time: 3 to 4 hours
- Surface: forest track, a long boardwalk of old railway sleepers, stone steps and rough bog path
It starts near the Upper Lake car park and climbs steeply past Poulanass Waterfall and up more than 600 steps to the top of the Spinc. From there the boardwalk – built from reclaimed railway sleepers to keep boots off the fragile peat – runs along the ridge with the Upper Lake laid out below. The path then drops into Glenealo, crosses the river, passes the mining ruins and follows the old Miners’ Road back along the lakeshore.
One honest warning: the Spinc ridge is exposed, and the boardwalk and stone steps turn slick in rain or frost. Cloud can swallow the tops fast, and the bog sections blur the path. Bring boots and a waterproof, and don’t start this one late in a winter afternoon.
Wildlife
The bog is heather, cotton grass, bog bean and sphagnum moss, deepest purple when the heather is out in late summer. Wicklow has the densest deer population in Ireland, so there’s a fair chance of spotting them on the higher ground, especially at dawn and dusk; autumn brings the deer rut and turns the bracken russet and gold, which is the best time to be up here. The feral goats are a near-certainty along the valley floor.
Getting there and parking
The trailhead is at the Upper Lake, reached on the N11/M11 from Dublin and then the R755/R756 through Laragh. Parking at the Upper Lake and at the Visitor Centre is €4 for the day. The catch is timing: on a fine summer weekend both fill by mid-morning. The workaround locals use is the free car park in Laragh, beside the Woollen Mills and the GAA grounds, and walk in from there.
Without a car, St Kevin’s Bus runs from Dublin city centre and Bray to the Glendalough Visitor Centre, a flat walk from the start of the loop.
What to bring: sturdy boots, layers and a waterproof, water and food, a charged phone or GPS for the bog sections, and a bag for your litter. Dogs are allowed but must be on a short lead, away from the goats, the nesting birds and the cliff edges.
Nearby
The 6th-century monastic city at Glendalough – round tower, churches and graveyard – is a short, flat walk from the Upper Lake car park and worth pairing with the climb. Annamoe, a few minutes north on the River Avonmore, is a handy coffee stop, and the Camaderry trail climbs the ridge on the opposite side of the valley if your legs want a second summit.