Two Days along the Wicklow Way from Tinahely to Glendalough

The Southern stretch of the Wicklow Way is lesser known and used.  In August 2018, we took two days to walk from Tinahely to Glendalough. The stretch is roughly 45km and turned out to be a great challenge through exiting landscape and sceneries. The Woodenbridge Hotel was going to be our base for the two days, and after dropping our bags we were brought to Tinahely to start our walk. We left from the Market square in the middle of Tinahely and arrived two days later in Glendalough.

Plan your journey along the Wicklow Way here

Wicklow Way Day 1: Tinahely to Iron Bridge:

Weather was overcast and wet in the morning, but cleared in the afternoon.  We walked for a couple of kilometres to reach the Wicklow Way. Total distance to Iron Bridge 19.5km, total gain 632m with a max elevation of 415m. The Woodenbridge Hotel had organised for us to be picked up and brought back to the hotel.
More info on the Tinahely/Iron Bridge Wicklow Way’s Route with map

Jim, Marie and Fred at Tinahely ready to start the Wicklow Way to Iron Bridge

Wet start of the day

Follow the leader! Sheep traffic jam in Ireland!

Meet with fellow walkers from Belgium. Very international crowd along the Wicklow Way

More friends along the Wicklow Way

Views over the Wicklow Mountains

Path along the Wicklow Way near Askanagap

Jim with the first ray of sun of the day!

Wicklow Way Day 2: Iron Bridge to Glendalough:

We were brought back to Iron Bridge for the start of walk.  A wet morning turned into a sunny and windy afternoon.  Today’s walk was around 26km long with total gain of 988m and max elevation of 609m. For the last descent of our walk, we diverted from the Wicklow Way to reach the Spink route above Glendalough’s Upper Lake and enjoy the stunning view all the way to the Irish Sea.
More info on the Tinahely/Iron Bridge Wicklow Way’s Route with map

New day along the Wicklow Way

Marie looking over the Wicklow Moutains as the day clears up

The sun is here! Jim with the Glenmalure Waterfall in the background

Glimpse of Lugnaquilla Mountain in the background, Ireland’s highest mountain outside of Kerry.

Wicklow Way boardwalk over the mountains

Stunning views of the Wicklow Mountains, reaching as far as the Irish Sea!

Final stop overlooking the Upper Lake in Glendalough. Our journey ends below at the Monastic Site

MAP

REFERENCES:

• Accommodation and Transport:
  For our trip, we based ourselves at the Woodenbridge Hotel, 15 minutes away from the Wicklow Way.  They organised our transfers and packed lunches.
  https://www.woodenbridgehotel.com/
• Wicklow Way Info:
  Wickow County Tourism has developed a new section on the Wicklow Way, with Google & PDF maps and detailed info on the various sections.
  http://visitwicklow.ie/the-wicklow-way/
• Maps:
  East Coast mapping for 1:25,000 scale maps of the Wicklow Way
  https://visitwicklow.ie/item/wickow-maps-east-west-mapping/ 
• Luggage Transfer:
  Wicklow Way Baggage organised our Luggage transfer from Woodenbridge to Glendalough
  http://wicklowwaybaggage.com/