The Wicklow Way - Glenmalure to Iron Bridge (Stage 5)

Distance  14km
Terrain     Forest Roads, rough tracks and boggy paths. Virtually no road walking.
Summary  Shorter distance than previous stages but very hilly so will take some time to complete

As usual we brought two cars and left one at each end of the walk. Iron bridge is literally a bridge so is not marked on any maps. To get there you drive to Aughrim, and turn left, once you cross the bridge that brings you in to Aughrim. You follow this road for about 9km's keeping right when the road branches off and park at the entrance to a woods where you see the Wicklow Way way markers. It's easy to miss, so keep an eye out. The walk begins in the gorgeous setting of Glenmalure where we finished the last walk. A couple of minutes into the walk, you pass ruins of an old British army barracks. Unfortunately it is closed off so you can't get near it.

Nearly immediately after this, we crossed a small river (where a guy was washing his feet) and reached the official Wicklow Way halfway point. It's strange because the pillar states that we have walked 63.5km's but the book says that although the pillar states 63.5km's, we have actually walked more. Why don't they just put the correct distance on it then? It doesn't make sense to me. Either way, we have walked more as we did one of the routes there and back, if you remember. After this pillar we enter the woods, where we stay for most of the remainder of the walk. Again the book uses language that doesn't actually prepare you for what's in store. The book tells us that we must climb steadily but fails to mention for how long.

1.5 hours is how long. That's a long time to be walking uphill even if "hills are our friends". Johnny's new phrase of the day on this particular day was "negativity breeds failure" and as such I had to be positive. Part of this 1.5 hour hill was a narrow steep forest path. It was very boggy in parts and we really could have done with some gaiters. You definitely would ruin your footwear if you wore runners on this trek. I had bought a set of walking poles only that week and would you believe it, I forgot to bring them with me. They would have been ideal for this really boggy bit. At one point, Johnny had to throw back his pole to me to use to steady myself to get over some rocks. The bog was deeper than our ankles so we tried as much as possible to climb over the rocks where possible. This section was definitely the most tricky to maneuver through over all the sections of the Way. Be prepared for it. I couldn't imagine what it would be like in the rain.

When it leveled out we stopped for lunch by a quite road overlooking a hill (I don't know which one). It was so peaceful and a popular lunch stop but the bits of rubbish around. I don't understand how people can leave rubbish in the countryside. It's disgraceful. After lunch we began the descent. There were some new sleepers, which gently sloped downhill. At the bottom, we met a quiet road which we only had to walk a couple of minutes on before entering another wood. A hostel is just 1.5 km further down that road. Once in the forest you ascend again for about 1km before descending down with amazing views of Lugnaquilla. This was the first time we have had a clear view of the "Lug", which we hope to climb on Good Friday (weather permitting). It's definitely going to be a tough one and we will have to be careful of not going over one of the two steep sheer drops. After descending to meet the road, we crossed the Ow river via the "Iron Bridge". We turned left and continued on the road until we came to our car.

Although not a relatively long trek, this one is tiring. It took us approximately 3.5hrs to complete. It is predominantly uphill and mostly through forest. The positives are that the forest shelters you from any wind so you are not exposed and the views of lugnaquilla make it worth the climb. If you have gaiters, wear them at the boggy bits and also bring poles if you have them. It's hard to believe that we have the tougher part of the way completed and that we only have two stages left. Looking forward to our navigation skills walk next Sunday.