The Sheer Sense Of Space

Passing through the Sally Gap, County Wicklow, you can't help but be captivated by the quiet and the sheer sense of space of it all.

Luggala Revisited

Today it's Saturday, Panoramic Saturday, so here's a reworked  wide view over Luggala Mountain.

Cloudy View

Looking left on the R115, the old Military Road between the Sally Gap and Laragh, the wide open spaces quickly cloud over.

Luggala Mountain

Pictured on a recent trip to the Sally Gap, County Wicklow, this is Luggala Mountain with the grounds of Luggala Lodge below.

On The Road Again

Still on the R115 between the Sally Gap crossroads and Laragh, Co Wicklow we have a change of vista from the wide open spaces of yesterday's post to this closer up view through one of the many forests along the route.

The Old Military Road View

 

It's Panoramic Saturday again and we're on the R115, the old Military Road, between the Sally Gap and Laragh, County Wicklow for today's wide view.  Click HERE for a previous post which gives a brief outline of the road's origin.

Next Turn Left

We're in the Wicklow Mountains at the Sally Gap crossroads and about to take the next turn left onto the R115, the old Military Road, which takes us back across the mountains to Laragh and Glendalough.

Lough Tay

The scenic and dark Lough Tay set between the mountains of Luggala and Djouce is a vista which we have pictured several times but one which is always a delight to return to. The startlingly white sand of the beach which forms the northern coastline marks one of the boundaries of the Luggala Estate belonging to the Guinness family.

Cloghogue Valley

A few days ago, we toured around the Wicklow Mountains in the area of the Sally Gap and, passing Luggala, we just couldn't resist this view over the Cloghogue Valley with Lough Dan in the distance.

A Hard Day's Ride

Always a lot of cyclists in the Wicklow Mountains at weekends.  This is an easy downhill section of the spin across the mountains through the Sally Gap but, mostly, it's a hard day's ride.

Peace In Glencree

On our recent New Year's tour around the Sally Gap and Glencree we stopped off at the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation overlooking the beautiful and spectacular Glencree Valley. 

On the site of Glencree Barracks, built in 1806 to keep the Military Road through the mountains free from rebels, and later, in the 1850's, it was reopened as St Kevin's Reformatory for young boys, Glencree, today,  is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that is devoted to peacebuilding and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain, and beyond.

Founded in 1974 as a response to the conflict in Ireland and to further non-violent solutions to encourage reconciliation within and between communities, Glencree works towards understanding complex relationships, as well as cultivating new ones, between all people from all parts of society.

A Sliver Of Sunlight

 

A sliver of sunlight criss-crosses the bogland on a cold, dark and dreary day in the mountains near the Sally Gap, Co Wicklow.

Higher Up

On the highest point of the road between Sally Gap and Roundwood, we've just passed Lough Tay and Luggala Lodge way below and are looking across the Cloghogue Valley towards Lough Dan in the distance.

Back In The Gap

For most of the month of December and early January, because of ice and snow, it was impossible for mere mortals to venture into the high Wicklow Mountains of the Wicklow Gap and Sally Gap but now it's all clear and so today we follow on from yesterday's post which means we're back in the Gap - the Sally Gap - and heading south for Roundwood past Luggala and the dark waters of Lough Tay.

A Road To Nowhere

This is the Old Military Road a couple of miles south of Glencree, Co Wicklow taking us to  the Sally Gap and sometimes disappearing in the dark clouds which often overhang this wild mountain region.  We're traversing a bleak and desolate land through never ending peaty bogland with the Lower and Upper Loughs Bray and the lofty cliffs terminating the ridge of Mount Kippure on our right.  It always seems to me that here, we're on a road to nowhere.

Further On Up The Road

We're still on the Military Road between Sally Gap crossroads and Laragh, Co Wicklow but further on past the wide open expanses we pictured in yesterday's post and into a valley bordered on one side by forests and the other by towering granite slopes.

'One sunny mornin' we'll rise I know,
And I'll meet you further on up the road' - Bruce Springsteen

The Military Road

Continuing our current autumn tour of the Wicklow Mountains, today we're on that stretch of the Military Road which runs from the Sally Gap crossroads to Laragh, Co Wicklow.

The Military Road, mostly used today by tourist traffic, starts in Rathfarnham, Co Dublin and runs North/South across the spine of the Wicklow Mountains to Aughavannagh.  Construction of the road was started in August 1800 and completed in October 1809.  It was built in the wake of the 1798 rebellion to open up the Wicklow Mountains to the British Army to assist them in putting down the insurgents who were hiding there following the Irish Rebellion of 1798.  We covered this briefly in an earlier post here.

So back on the stretch we drive slowly along this remote winding road across rugged mountain terrain through some of the most spectacular scenery in Wicklow and, naturally, we stop en route to bring you these compelling views.

Autumn Gold

It's a dull and rainy late autumn day in the Sally Gap en route to Blessington, Co Wicklow.  The Sally Gap is one of two east west passages across the Wicklow Mountains - the other being the Wicklow Gap a little further south of here.

It may be dull but there's still plenty of colour around as we take in the autumn gold - and the green.




Below, in the foreground, is the River Liffey which rises about a kilometre back and meanders for 125 km across counties Wicklow, Kildare and Dublin before entering the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay.

Fancy This?

En route to the Sally Gap, Co Wicklow we stop to take in this incredible autumnal scene.  Well actually, it's incredible at any time!  Directly across is Luggala Mountain also known as Fancy Mountain. It's cliffs are situated above the scenic Lough Tay with it's dark and peaty waters bordered on the right or northern side by a brilliant white sandy beach creating the illusion of a pint of Guinness.  Very appropriate, considering this is the 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) Luggala Estate belonging to Dr The Hon Garech Browne, a member of the Guinness family.

The buildings on the estate including the main residence, Luggala Lodge, pictured left, are available to rent all year round and the estate has been used as the location of major films including John Boormans's Excalibur.