A weekend in the Wicklow Hills for Walking Club members.

The Wicklow Hills were the destination for Mid-Ulster Walking Club’s 2009 autumn trip.  21 walkers assembled for the weekend, basing themselves at the comfortable Knockree hostel near Enniskerry. 
Saturday’s walk was Lugnaquillia, at 925m (3039ft) Wicklow’s highest peak and indeed the highest in Ireland outside the borders of Kerry. Amid a landscape of many gentle rounded summits Lugnaquillia is distinguished by much steeper rocky ground but several radiating spurs offer a variety of approaches to the summit plateau. 
Today the walk began in the long narrow deep-cut glacial valley of Glenmalure, following the Avonbeg river upstream.  After a long climb, relatively gradual but unrelenting, the walkers emerged at the top of the valley. 
Some of the group then detoured briefly across peaty ground to visit the nearby top of Table Mountain before all turned south together over Camenabologue.  The Glen of Imaal lay below as they pushed steadily on. 
Passing Benleagh and climbing more steeply they finally arced up onto the northern slopes of Lugnaquillia.  It was, as forecast, a fine day and around the walkers stretched a wide, lonely expanse of brown and green hills and mountains, the views to the north, towards Tonelagee and Mullaghcleevaun, being especially good.
The going eased as the walkers reached the broad grassy summit plateau where a large cairn duly announced the summit proper.
After a well deserved break the walkers began their descent, swerving sharply away from the cliffs of the South Prison and heading east towards the top of Clohernagh.
The descent proved long and slightly torturous as the walkers sought the least precipitous route down. A zigzagging path finally sped it to a conclusion as the walkers arrived back at the Avonbeg river and the valley floor, a little weary but well content after approximately thirteen miles on the hills.
Having enjoyed a meal out together in Enniskerry the night before, the walkers, reasonably fresh faced, reassembled on Sunday morning for a walk that conveniently, began from the Hostel.
Leaving the road the walkers followed a path down through copper coloured bracken and along the wooded banks of the Glencree River, a beautiful start to the day.
Crossing the river and transferring to broad forest tracks they continued to Chrone and onwards along the Wicklow Way. Before leaving the forest there was the opportunity to view Powerscourt Waterfall, where the Dargle River cascades powerfully down.As they moved out onto open hillside Djouce Mountain came into sight, their main goal for the day. It still lay some distance off but the weather was set fair, the terrain good and the group made steady progress.
After some sustained climbing they arrived at the summit at 725m with its cairn and triangulation pillar and a view that as well as offering a mountain panorama stretched eastwards to the coast.
Having backtracked a little, they tackled their final hill, the distinctive conical peak of Maulin ( 570m), a tidy last climb. Descending steeply they plunged down into forest and picked up a winding track that lead back to Crone, from where they could retrace their earlier outward route.
This had been another fine walk, a fitting conclusion to an excellent weekend, thanks to its leader Samzie Hale and also to Saturday’s leader Eamonn Flanagan and Treasurer Butch Elliott, the work of all of whom had ensured a very successful trip.