The Lough Tay viewpoint along the R759 near Roundwood is one of the best-known viewpoints in Wicklow, with elevated views across Lough Tay and the Luggala Estate — long associated with the Guinness family. A short 1–2 km walk and viewpoint route. Allow 30–45 minutes.
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Park along the R759 at the Lough Tay viewpoint near Roundwood. The Lough Tay Viewpoint Walk is approx. 1–2 km — a short upland walk and viewpoint route overlooking the lake and the surrounding Wicklow Mountains. Allow 30–45 minutes. Gravel paths, roadside tracks and uneven upland ground.
A beautifully restored historic guesthouse on the Square in Tinahely — the Wicklow Way passes through the village. Double, twin and small-double rooms, all with private bathrooms. Self-service coded entry — arrive when it suits you.
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Welcome to the Lough Tay viewpoint. This is one of the shortest and most rewarding visits on the whole WalkWicklow network — a twenty-minute walk from the designated car park on the R759 road to a high vantage point overlooking what is, by widespread agreement, the most photographed lake in Ireland. You will almost certainly recognise the view before you get there, even if you've never been to Wicklow in your life.
Lough Tay is a small, deep, glacial lake set in a steep-sided valley about five hundred metres above sea level, surrounded on three sides by granite cliffs and the mountains of the Wicklow range. Its surface is almost perfectly circular, and its water is stained dark by peat, giving it an unusual near-black colour from a distance. The north end of the lake has a crescent of pale sand, imported by the Guinness family in the 1970s to enhance the lake's resemblance to — yes — a pint of Guinness. Stout body, cream head. You can see the resemblance from the viewpoint. It is one of those landscape jokes that stops being a joke once you've seen it in person.
The lake sits within the Luggala estate, which was owned from 1937 until 2019 by the Guinness family — specifically, the branch of the family descended from the Hon. Desmond Guinness, the socialite and heritage preservationist, and later by his son Garech de Brún, a patron of the Irish arts. Garech was a founder of Claddagh Records, the label that first recorded Seamus Heaney reading his own poetry, and he was a lifelong patron of traditional Irish music. Luggala was famous in the mid-twentieth century as a weekend retreat for artists, writers, musicians, politicians, and the occasional film star. Mick Jagger stayed. So did Marianne Faithfull. So did Samuel Beckett.
The estate was used extensively as a filming location. Scenes from John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur were shot here. More recently, the valley featured heavily in the television series Vikings, which ran from 2013 to 2020 — the steep slopes around Lough Tay doubled for Scandinavian fjords. If you've seen the show, you've seen this view.
In 2019, the Luggala estate was sold by the de Brún family to an undisclosed new owner for a reported €28 million, including the seventeenth-century lodge, five thousand acres of mountain land, and — yes — the lake itself. The estate is strictly private. The road through it is closed to the public. But the lake is visible — spectacularly visible — from the public viewpoint on the R759, and that is where you're about to go.
Set off from the car park. The path is short, well-surfaced, and gently uphill. About halfway along, there's a gap in the trees on your right that gives a first glimpse of the lake. Don't stop yet — there's a better view ahead. Keep going. At the marked viewpoint, the ground opens up and the full vista appears. Stand still for a moment.
Take in the scene. The lake lies directly below you, about two hundred metres down a sheer slope of heather and granite scree. The crescent of pale sand at the north end is visible. The roof of the Luggala lodge is just about visible at the south-eastern corner, nestled into the trees. Beyond the lake, the Glenmalure valley stretches west. To the south, the summit of Djouce Mountain rises steeply. To the north, the ridge of Knocknacloghoge.
A word on the air. The valley floor around Lough Tay is often warmer than the surrounding hills, because the lake stores heat from the summer into the autumn. On mornings in late September and October, mist can pool in the valley and rise in slow layers, turning the whole landscape into something from a Chinese landscape painting. If you can be here at dawn on a still autumn morning, make the effort. It is a different experience from the postcard view.
Wildlife. Red deer use the valley. They are the largest land mammal in Ireland and the descendants of the native red deer that have lived in these hills for thousands of years. If you are here at dawn or dusk, scan the slopes with binoculars and you may see them. Peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs. Ravens — those big, croaking black birds — are permanent residents.
When you've taken your photograph, turn around and walk back to the car park. The whole round trip takes about forty minutes if you linger at the viewpoint, which you should. There is no café, no shop, no toilet at the viewpoint — bring what you need. And please: stay on the designated path. The slopes below the viewpoint are steep, unstable, and occasionally the site of search-and-rescue operations for walkers who have stepped off the path for a better photograph. Your photograph from the viewpoint is better anyway. Trust us.
Thank you for walking with us. Lough Tay is short, iconic, and for a twenty-minute walk, astonishing value. Combine it with Djouce Mountain for a full day, or with a drive through the Sally Gap and the Glenmacnass waterfall for one of the great afternoon tours in the Wicklow Mountains.