It may not show here…. But it is pouring rain, and the taxi driver offered to take a picture of us at the beginning of the Wicklow way. It seemed ridiculous at the time, but now, it more seems like evidence. It was not like we were going to take our phones out of their dry pockets any time over the next three hours…. It poured for the first 3 hours of our first day, a time when we both questioned what the hell we were doing. Flying half way around the world so we could walk uphill in the pouring rain.

There is basically almost no accommodation along the Wicklow way. It is a trail/path/road pieced together to pass through the Wicklow mountains, heading north from Clonegal to Dublin … or the other way around. The accommodation is basically a group of bed and breakfasts that work together with the trip planners to pick up and drop off people from places along the trail and then take then back where they left off the next day.

The rain had lightened at about half way along and by the time we ended there was not rain at all and we vaguely remembered why we came.

The first night we left the trail to walk 2.5 km into Shillelagh. (Yes the town where the Shillelagh originated. Gorgeous town, only 300 people.

Fortunately there is a bar/ B&B centrally where a lot of the hikers stay. Instead of the regular breakfast room, there was a large room with a large table and a well stocked fridge and pantry. The host just said to help ourselves…. And to make sandwiches for the next day as well. We met a couple of guys who were from Scotland. The older man said that he and his son in law were doing the hike in honour of his daughter and Hussain’s (the son in law) wife. She had died recently of a pituitary cancer. Hussain was originally from Iran, and had lived in Scotland for 20 years. They felt he was likely the first Iranian to do the Wicklow way.

There are others along the trail who are tenting, which seems to be more in line with how the trail was set up. There are essentially very few amenities along the trail. In fact the only place along the trail so far that was an actually a business, was a bar called the dying cow ….. So far we have always found a place for dinner, and breakfast is provided so only lunch to worry about. We DID get supplies in Wexford, so are stocked for another day with lunch ….sandwiches, but we hope by then to find a store.

It really is a beautiful hike when you get out of the clouds.

The trails are all lined with gorse …. (The scourge of the Oregon coast). According to legend, Lord Bennet was the one to name Bandon (a town on the Oregon coast where we lived for 13 years). He named it after a town in Ireland called Bandon, and brought with him a gorse plant being his favourite to remind him of his home land. And ……Gorse went on to destroy many parts of the Oregon coast, as well as the cause of a fire that destroyed Bandon (gorse burns like Rocket fuel). There were those who questioned whether he was really a lord, but I guess half way around the world, who would know ? 🙂

I guess it just goes to show that there is more than one way to climb a fence

So starting today on our third day of the Wicklow way, we will pass the half way mark.

Bye for now Janet and Ken