WW Day 2 - Enniskerry to Roundwood

We woke up to another gorgeous day! The innkeeper hooked us up with breakfast vouchers for the Bear Paw next door. 

Kody's vegan breakfast roll? She mentioned that the only thing that felt breakfast-y about it were the eggs.

I went for porridge and toast. Nothing special, but here I am, sharing my thoughts about it anyway because Jo Anne insists on food pics 😁!

Before we headed down for breakfast, we started hunting for a taxi to take us back to the trail. We kept trying during breakfast and for about half an hour after, but no luck at all. I figured, surely someone leaving the coffee shop would be willing to take us the 3 miles down the road for €10. After watching people for a bit, I decided to cross the street and ask a guy getting into his car if he could give us a ride. He thought about it for a second and said, “Sure, I’m not busy right now.” He even moved a booster seat and his laptop to the boot to make room for us in his super nice electric car. We chatted the whole way, and he mentioned he’d done the Wicklow Way a couple of times. He dropped us off right at the trail so we didn’t have to walk along the busy road. Such a sweet guy—he wouldn’t even take any payment! It saved us about 4 miles and an hour and a half of walking we had already done yesterday. What a blessing!

16.5 miles

You'll notice our lodging (the yellow icon above) is again off-trail. We'll see how that works out at the end of this day. However, our notes say the B&B owners will pick us up at the trail and bring us back in the morning so that’s a plus. That was not the case yesterday when we had to walk 3 additional miles off-trail to get to the Inn. 

ascent 2,835' / descent 2,080' (again called moderate, yikes!)

There’s a gentle descent to the Glencree River. But then the climbing begins, up, up, and up towards the brooding figure of Djouce (pronounced Jouse) Mountain (725 metres).

Our first stile

And through a round gate

The river Glencree 

It was so peaceful listening to the river and the birds singing. 

Kody’s friend asked her for a shamrock and she miraculously found one. Isn’t it pretty?

Blubells everywhere!

And across the river all the fragrant wild garlic you could ever want. 

Into the woods we go

Only dog and human traffic allowed. So I guess I qualify. 

Cowslip

It wasn’t long into the walk that we heard loud music and lots of noise. Turns out a school group of about 30 were coming up the mountain behind us so we moved over to let them pass. Two of them were playing different music quite loud. We couldn’t get away from the noise pollution fast enough. However, we encountered them several more times today and always the music. 

The higher we climb, the greater the views. We passed Powerscourt Waterfall, Great Sugarloaf Mountain which towered over Enniskerry but now shrinks below us, and the Irish Sea which shimmers in the distance. The trail contours along the exposed slopes of Djouce passing just below the summit. The path rolls over several hills, with views to lakes and reservoirs in every direction.

Powerscourt Waterfall is Ireland’s highest with a drop of 121 metres. The grandeur of the waterfall, 6 kilometres from Powerscourt Estate, is matched by the impressive woodland that surrounds it, which includes Californian Giant Redwood trees planted 200 years ago.

We are about to climb that hill. 

But first we must go down this rocky path. 

Here come all the kiddos right behind us. 

We move aside to let them pass once again.  

And up the mountain they go. 

I first thought this was the high point of the trail but was quickly shown otherwise as we climbed over that stile and saw the trail going up and over. 

There was much boardwalk on the trail today. 

And finally, we reached the highest point of the Wicklow Way today. What a feeling of accomplishment! I intended to raise and leave my Ebenezer here because it was truly by God’s help I came up that mountain. I forgot to do so until we were headed down, and any long-distance hiker will tell you, backtracking is a big no no. 

There’s no describing the magnificence of God’s creation. 

More boardwalk

Lough Tay is seriously one of the most Instagrammable spots in Wicklow, and it's easy to see why! The views of the lake nestled among the mountains are absolutely breathtaking. It's also called the "Guinness Lake" because the shape and the white sands at the top kinda resemble a pint of Guinness. I just never really got that image to click in my head, though! 

How’s this for a lunch spot?

J. B. Malone was a long distance walking officer who set up the route from Dublin to a little village in Clonegal, which is known today as the Wicklow Way. He received a lot of recognition of the work he did getting young people in the outdoors. There were certainly plenty of young people out today. 

A windswept tree

Into the redwood forest we go. 

Stellaria - common names starwort, stitchwort, and chickweed. 

We reached the end of the trail today and the location we were to call for a pickup. Kody made the call and not 5 minutes later we were met by Anthony, son of Sean, who quickly drove us to the Inn. 

Our lodging tonight is Lough (lock) Dan House, an award-winning farmhouse B&B offering spectacular views of the lake and mountains from every window..

The farm, which extends to over eighty acres, is bounded on three sides by the Wicklow Mountains National Park, stretching to over 20,000 acres; the largest National Park in Ireland. The Wicklow Mountains run from the outskirts of Dublin City south-westwards for 80 miles to the southern tip of Co. Wicklow. The mountains are the highest area of upland in Ireland and are home to some of the highest peaks in the country.

Current owners of Lough Dan House, Sean and Theresa Byrne are the fifth generation Byrnes to live here. O'Byrnes is a well known Wicklow name and is deeply immersed in the history of the County over the centuries and well documented in both song and story. The Vikings series was filmed not far from the Inn.

Our bedroom was spacious complete with a tea set for complimentary tea.

The Lough Dan House is the perfect home base for hiking, relaxing or exploring the historical treasures of this area. Upon our arrival, we were pleasantly greeted by Teresa. We found the surroundings to be peaceful and beautiful. The interior of the entire home (from top to bottom) was just lovely: neat and very comfortable. It has beautiful wood floors and woodwork throughout and a warm fire to take the chill off. 

Teresa prepared dinner for us and two other walkers (from Finland). Everything was vegetarian, gluten and dairy free. 

We started off with a beautifully seasoned vegetable soup. 

GF bread 

The main was a roasted red chile with cheese (except mine), haricots vert, sweet and white potatoes roasted with carrots. It was all delicious. 

Dessert was fresh fruit with ice cream 

Or with lactose free ice cream bar. 

Our day was filled with many ups and downs but through it all, God showed us his majesty, his providence, his protection, his grace. We experienced blessings too numerous to count. 

Today's Stats:

Miles - 14.1

Steps - 36,897

Ascent - 3,356 (yowza)

Hours - 5 hrs 48 min

I'm planning to stick with 1 Peter 2:11 tonight (and maybe for a day or two more 😊).

Living like pilgrims really takes a certain mindset, right? “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles...” (2:11). That’s how we should see ourselves: loved by God, we’re outsiders in a world that’s under the influence of evil. We shouldn’t forget that! Our identity should come from our relationship with God and His people, not this world, as we make our way to heaven. It is His incredible love that helps us get through tough times as we navigate life as pilgrims.