Overview
Lugduff is the long ridge that forms the southern wall of Glendalough’s Upper Lake, and its shoulder carries the most-walked mountain path in Wicklow Mountains National Park – the Spinc. The summit reaches 652 metres (Irish: Log Dubh, ‘black hollow’), the 154th-highest peak in Ireland, but most people who set out along its flank never go near the top.
The interest is in the shape of the ground. On the west, a corrugated ridge line drops sharply into the deep glacial trough of Glenmalure; on the east, the slopes ease down towards the hanging valley of Fraughan Rock Glen. The rock is granite, worked over by ice, and the ridge links round to Mullacor, Conavalla and Camaderry to make the horseshoe that wraps the Upper Lake.
Walking the Spinc
The usual way onto Lugduff is the Spinc, the White Route waymarked from the Upper Lake car park. It is built as a raised timber boardwalk, laid over the peat to keep boots out of the bog and the bog out from under boots. The path climbs steadily past the Poulanass Waterfall – Lugduff Brook on its way down to the valley – then up a long flight of wooden steps to the lip of the cliffs above the lake.
From there the boardwalk runs along the edge with the Upper Lake laid out below and the old monastic city at its foot. This stretch is the reason to come. If you only have a couple of hours, do this and turn back at the far end of the boardwalk; the view does not get better higher up. To reach the actual summit you leave the timber and cross open, often boggy ground to the cairn – worth it for peak-baggers, less so for anyone who came for the scenery.
The summit and the view
The top is a low cairn and a trig point on a broad, quiet ridge. To the west the ground falls into Glenmalure, and on a clear day the rounded bulk of Lugnaquilla fills the skyline, with Scarr and the dome of Tonelagee to the north. Directly below the Spinc cliffs, on the south shore of the Upper Lake, are the ruins of Teampall na Skellig, the ‘church of the rock’ – reachable only by water, which is why almost nobody sees it close up.
Getting there
By car, take the N11 south from Dublin, turn off for Glendalough and follow the R755 and R756 to the national park. The nearest trailhead is the Upper Lake car park, the closest parking to Lugduff. It is not free: parking here is €4 for the day, and the visitor centre car park at the Lower Lake charges too. Both fill early on fine weekends and during school holidays, so come before mid-morning.
Bus Éireann route 133 runs from Dublin to Glendalough if you would rather not drive. The nearest towns are Wicklow, about 20 km to the east, and Bray to the north, both on bus and rail lines.
Safety and seasons
The boardwalk makes the approach easy by mountain standards, but Lugduff is still a hill: the summit ridge is exposed, and the open ground beyond the timber turns boggy and slick after rain. Wear boots that can take wet peat. Phone signal is poor across the upper park, so download an offline map before you set out rather than trusting a live one.
In winter the boardwalk steps ice over and stay frozen in the shade well into the day; morning frost on the timber is the main hazard. Ticks live in the summer bracken – no cases of Lyme disease have been reported in Wicklow, but check yourself over afterwards anyway. For current conditions, call into the Glendalough Visitor Centre on your way in.