Stage 3: Roundwood to Glendalough-Mary Lawlor

Distance 12km, 3 hours fast pace, Ascent: 350m

Having seen Emillio Estevez’s beautiful inspiring movie, “The Way”, featuring Martin Sheehan, last week, I was really fired up to embark on stage 3 of the “Irish Camino” from Roundwood to Glendalough (valley of the two lakes). Not seeking penance, nor a plenary indulgence or even enlightenment but just simply a weekly endorphin rush, this stage could be described as delivering all four.

Ignoring the forecast of rain from the “winking weatherman”, we started out at Roundwood and turning south to Oldbridge and crossed the bridge over the Avonmore river. apparently this was one of many probably wooden bridges built for pilgrims and monks moving between monasteries in Tallaght and Glendalough. The walk rises to the flat top of Paddock Hill reaching the Military Road and straight through to cross a lovely wooden bridge over the Glenmacnass river. After walking a lovely path, the village of Laragh comes into view.

Having found an elevated lunching spot, where each of us managed to secure our own tree stumps as seats, a mass of creepy crawleys, wicklow way’s small inhabitants made themselves abundantly clear. One of the party had to fight off a large beetle from her jacket and then we settled into a lovely lunch.

Continuing on through the forest, one observant walker noticed at least three red squirrels feeding on shoots, we stopped and starred and noted that at least  in this habitat the grey squirrel is not pushing the red squirel to the margins. The final approach to Glendalough was spectacular where a glimpse of the lakes through the trees was  so tempting that we continued our walk along the Glandassan river, turning left, starting a steep ascent through forest and down St Kevin’s way. Walking back along the lakeside we stopped and starred at a lovely silent red deer (obviously not the stag). The path leads the length of the upper lake and and is straight out and back again through a tree lined path.

 Arriving at Saint Kevin’s Church was the grand finale of our walk and while it wasn’t exactly comparable to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, one could not but feel that this too, is an equally important Christian monument of an Irish monastic site.