Distance: 9.0km

Time: 3 hours

Difficulty: medium - one steep stretch. Mostly along gravel-surfaced roads.

Recommended footwear: stout shoes, runners or walking boots.

This is a delightful walk which features a viewpoint known as the 'Ride Rock'. This is the top of a cliff and looks out over a bowl-like valley surrounded by cliffs. At the far side is Powerscourt Waterfall, the highest waterfall in the British Isles. Other features of the walk are the remote and wild valley of Glensroulan which is above the waterfall, and some pleasant walking through forest.

The walk starts in one location and ends in another, so you will need two cars, or a helpful volunteer who will drop you at one end and collect you at the other. The walk is best done in the direction indicated. The instructions here assume you are doing the two cars option.

Start: The Two Car Shuffle

Drive to Long Hill Car Park. From Enniskerry in north County Wicklow, follow the signs towards Roundwood. After a few kilometres, turn left at the T junction then almost immediately right up a minor road, signposted for Roundwood. After another 1.6km, the Long Hill Car Park is on the right. Note that this car park closes at 4pm, so you should aim to be here by about 11am at the latest to allow plenty of time for the walk. Leave one car here.

Drive to Crone Car Park: leaving Long Hill Car Park, turn left, back along the route you came. After 450m, turn left down a side road. This goes down a steep hill. At the crossroads turn left. The road continues to descend steeply. At the bottom of the hill, you will see the gates into the grounds of Powerscourt Waterfall straight ahead. Don't go through the gates, but follow the road as it bends sharply to the right. Continue up a steep hill. About 1.8km after the gates, you will come to Crone Car Park on the left. The car park is very large so there should be no problem finding parking.

The walking trail starts at the top of the car park, the other end from the road. If you have a smartphone which can measure distance, set it to zero at the start of the trail. All distances are given from this point.

Crone Woods

For the first 4.2km you will be following the path of the Wicklow Way, Ireland's oldest long-distance trail. This is clearly marked at any junctions with a wooden post marked with a yellow symbol of a walker and an arrow. After a short, easy climb through coniferous forest, with left turns at 100m and 600m, you are now walking along the side of Maulin mountain on a fairly level track. You leave the forest and there are good views out to the left, where you can see the conical peak of Sugar Loaf, which looks like a volcano but isn't one.

The Ride Rock

At 2.0km, the road bends sharply to the left and starts to climb, followed by a sharp bend to the left. At 2.4km you reach what is probably the highlight of the whole trip, the spot known as the Ride Rock. You come suddenly to the top of a very steep slope, almost a cliff, with a fabulous view out in front of you. The valley below is shaped like an amphitheatre with parkland at the bottom (grass and widely spaced trees). The cliffs around the edge are densely wooded. Over to the right you can see Powerscourt Waterfall which is the highest waterfall in the British Isles, at 121m high (397 feet). You'll probably be able to see the cars of those day trippers who have paid at the gates to see the waterfall up close.

From the Ride Rock, the path goes to the right and follows the edge of the cliff. It's not dangerous as there is a good fence to prevent you from falling. The path begins to climb. All along the next 700m or so you get really nice views of the waterfall on your left. Eventually the waterfall disappears among the trees.

Glensroulan

At 3.4km, the path crosses an old wall. This is the edge of the Powerscourt Estate. In front of you now is wild Wicklow - nothing but heather-covered mountains for miles and miles. You can see War Hill almost directly in front of you, and the flat cone of the bigger Djouce Mountain further to the left. You're not going to climb these mountains today - the trail turns left and descends steeply into the delightful Glensroulan valley. There are rough granite steps, or you can walk down the grassy path beside them. This is quite a tricky descent, particularly if the stones are wet, so take your time.

At 3.7km you reach the bottom of the valley and the River Dargle. This is the river that flows over the waterfall just a few hundred metres downstream. Do not attempt to go down the river to see the waterfall from above. Many people have died over the years by climbing near the waterfall, so keep away from it.

This valley is a lovely spot, unreachable by road so it feels very remote, but only a few kilometres from civilisation. If you brought a snack, this would be a good spot to stop and eat.

Cross the solid wooden footbridge over the river.

The next stage involves quite a steep climb, keeping the wall and fence on your left. It's only for a few hundred metres. Again, take your time. At the top of the hill, the path crosses the fence on your left at a stile, just as the fence itself turns sharp left. Just 60 metres later, at 4.2km, there's a five-bar metal gate on the left. Go through the gate, leaving the Wicklow Way long-distance route. You are now in the forest known as Djouce Woods. You've done lots of climbing to get to this point. It's almost entirely downhill from here for the rest of the trail.

Djouce Woods - descent to Site of Paddock Pond

You are on a gravel-surfaced 'forest road', big enough to drive tractors etc along. It's extremely unlikely, however, that you'll encounter any such machinery or even any walkers along the next stretch.

Almost immediately, at 4.3km, the road swings to the right, climbs very slightly then steadily descends. A lot of the forest is new growth after felling so the trees are small and you will have good views towards Sugar Loaf. Go straight on at the crossroads at 4.7km. At 5.5km there are a few bends.

At 6.5km you reach the bottom of the valley and cross it on a raised causway. This is in fact a dam, but there is no water on either side of it. There used to be a small lake known as the Paddock Pond on your right, and you can still see that the vegetation there is different, being flat ground covered in rushes. On 26 August, 1986, Dublin and Wicklow experienced the worst storm in a century - it was the tail end of the American Hurricane Charley, no longer a hurricane by the time it reached Ireland but bringing vast amounts of rain. The lake overflowed and then burst through the dam. The entire contents of the lake poured down the valley causing much destruction and sweeping away one woman on horseback, whose body was never found. After the storm, the dam was rebuilt but the lake has never been filled up since, and is still standing empty 30 years later.

Djouce Woods - the final stretch

After crossing the dam, the road swings left, and almost immediately, at 6.7km, you leave the road, taking the obvious track slightly upwards to the right into the forest.

For the rest of the walk, the path is almost level, following the contours of the side of the valley as the land to your left drops downwards. At first it is through mature forest, then at 7.3km you come out of the forest and after 100m or so you'll get one last view of Powerscourt Waterfall in the distance. Then the path goes back into the forest.

Go straight through any junctions. At 8.6km you meet up with and continue along a forest road. At 9.0km you arrive at Long Hill Car Park where your car is waiting. Now you must retrace your route by car to Crone Car Park to collect the other car.