Lugnaquilla via Glen of Imaal

Welcome to Lugnaquilla. Lug, to its friends. At nine hundred and twenty-five metres, it is the highest mountain in Leinster, the fourteenth-highest in Ireland, and the only Wicklow peak that rises to the status of what walkers call a Munro — a mountain over three thousand feet. It is also, in some important ways, the most serious mountain walk in the south-east of Ireland. This audio tour covers the standard ascent from Glen of Imaal via the Camarahill ridge. Distance: twelve kilometres. Time: five to six hours. Grade: difficult. Do not attempt Lugnaquilla in poor visibility, in winter, or alone. People die on this mountain regularly. Read that sentence again before you set off.

The name Lugnaquilla comes from the Irish Log na Coille — hollow of the wood, referring to the ancient forested valleys that once surrounded its base. Most of that forest is gone now, cleared for sheep farming over the past four centuries. What remains is a large, rounded, plateau summit, surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, with relatively gentle access from the south via the military training ranges of the Glen of Imaal.

A warning about those ranges. Lugnaquilla sits at the centre of a live military training zone operated by the Irish Defence Forces. The army conducts firing exercises in Glen of Imaal on specific weekdays. If red flags are flying at the entrance to the glen — which you must check before setting off — the area is closed to walkers. Attempting to cross the range when it is active is both illegal and, obviously, extraordinarily dangerous. Check the Defence Forces website the day before you walk. If in any doubt, pick another day or a different mountain.

Assuming you've checked and the glen is open, set off from the car park at the end of the road in Fenton's Gap. The first kilometre is along a track through a stretch of rough grazing land. Sheep. Some cattle. A few stone walls. The ground rises gradually. After about fifteen minutes you reach a stile and cross onto open mountain.

The climb now is sustained. Camarahill is the first significant gain — a broad, heathery shoulder climbing to about six hundred metres. The path is boggy in places, rocky in others. Watch for marker posts. On a clear day the route is obvious; on a misty day it is not, and navigation becomes a real skill. Do not rely on your phone's GPS — it will lose signal on the summit plateau, and battery life in cold wind is unreliable. Bring a map. Bring a compass. Know how to use them.

Beyond Camarahill, the path levels off onto a broad, exposed shoulder running north-east towards the summit. This section is the windiest part of the climb. Even on a relatively calm day at the car park, you may encounter forty-kilometre-per-hour winds up here. In strong winds, staying on the path takes real effort. Hold onto your hat. Zip up your jacket. Keep moving.

As you near the summit, the terrain becomes rockier. You're now walking across the great plateau of Lugnaquilla — a remarkably flat summit for such a prominent mountain, covering nearly a full square kilometre of high ground. The trig point at the summit is a simple concrete pillar, white, about a metre and a half tall. Touch it. You are now higher than anyone else in Leinster.

The view on a clear day is extraordinary. To the south, the Blackstairs Mountains, the Wexford coastline, and on the clearest of days, the peaks of the Comeragh range in Waterford. To the west, the Galtee Mountains of Tipperary. To the east, the Irish Sea. To the north, the whole of the Wicklow range — Djouce, Mullaghcleevaun, Tonelagee, and on an exceptional day, the mountains of the Mourne range in Northern Ireland. Dublin city is not quite visible from the summit — it's cut off by intervening hills — but you can see the blue smudge of Dublin Bay beyond them.

Lugnaquilla has a long history. A Bronze Age cairn on the summit — visible as a low pile of stones about twenty metres from the trig point — was excavated in the nineteenth century and found to contain cremated human remains, probably from around 2000 BC. This makes Lugnaquilla one of the oldest documented human sites in the Wicklow Mountains. The cairn is a protected monument. Do not disturb the stones.

A word on weather. Summit weather on Lugnaquilla can change within minutes. A clear blue sky at the trig point can be replaced by zero-visibility cloud in fifteen minutes. A temperature of twelve degrees at the car park can be two degrees with wind chill at the summit, even in summer. Always bring a full change of layers. Always bring an emergency bivouac bag. Always tell someone where you are going and when you plan to return. Always carry a whistle and a mobile phone with a full battery.

The descent is the reverse of the ascent. It is often the most dangerous part of the walk, because walkers are tired, the light is starting to fade in winter, and the path is harder to read downhill than uphill. Take it slowly. Watch your footing on the stony sections. If the weather closes in during your descent, stop, get sheltered, and wait for it to clear if possible. Do not try to shortcut down the east or north face of the mountain — those cliffs, known as the South Prison and the North Prison, claim lives every decade.

After you've come off the mountain, the traditional recovery is a pint at a pub in Donard or Baltinglass — both small Wicklow villages about fifteen minutes drive from the car park. Fitzpatrick's in Donard has been there for a century and a half, and it will not be bothered if you arrive still in your boots.

Thank you for walking with us. Lugnaquilla is a serious mountain, and you've just climbed the highest point in Leinster. It is a real achievement. Respect the mountain, respect the ranges, and come back when the weather is as good as it was today.