A YORKSHIREMAN'S TRAVEL GUIDE
Wicklow Mountains, Ireland
August 2025
First Thoughts
Ireland in August 2025 was the first time I had returned to the same place since I had begun travelling again in July 2022. This time, I was going to see Dublin in a very different context; this time I was a leader on an organised adventure travel trip with The Scouts Organisation, with whom I used to be a volunteer. That meant that I was going to be with four other adults and a group of teenagers.
Whilst I’d be going back to some of the same places as my 2023 trip, I’d been seeing them in a very different context. This time we were camping in the Wicklow Mountains National Park, an area just to the south of Dublin city, with lots of outdoor activities to do, and some smaller urban areas to visit.
Days One and Two
The first day started with the whole group meeting at a local shop carpark at 5 am, and we loaded up the van. We took two vehicles, a minibus (for humans going on the trip) and a van (for items going on the trip), and took the North Wales Expressway from Sandbach, Cheshire, to its furthest point at Holyhead. From Holyhead, we were going to take a ferry across the Irish Sea to the port in Dublin. The mood was varied; while we were excited for the trip, it had been an early start, and the weather was overcast.
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On the ferry, the other leaders and I hung out, got some food, and I took the time to have a much-needed nap. From the deck of the ferry, we slowly saw the skies outside clear, and the city of Dublin came into view, where I was able to spot attractions such as Dalkey Island, which we would be visiting later in the trip. Once we’d disembarked the ferry, we took the two vehicles through the city centre, passing directly by the EPIC Museum and Trinity College, which I had visited first time when I had come to Dublin.
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The drive took another hour, but after we had headed south from Dublin, we came across our campsite, Lough Dan Scout Activity Centre, which we were to call home for the next week. The rest of the day was spent putting up our camp, the sleeping tents and mess tents, as well as exploring and becoming more familiar with our surroundings. In the evening, we took a short walk around the site, ending on the beaches of Lough Dan as the sun finally set around 9 pm.
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The next day, we had breakfast before heading out in the vehicles to our first major tourist attraction, the Avondale tree top experience. This turned out to be one of a series of European park areas dedicated to preserving and educating particular tree types, centred around a central tower. This tower doubled up as a viewing point, which one could slide back down afterwards. The slide, although it looked intimidating, was fairly tame. After lunch, I then led the Explorer Scouts on a 5-kilometre walk along a nearby river and around the edge of the treetop experience site. That evening, we returned to the activity centre, and after some food, myself and one of the other leaders headed up the nearby hills to a hammocking spot right on the edge of the site, giving us great views of the whole area.
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Images:
- Top left: The view of Dublin from the ferry upon arrival
- Top right: Lough Dan at sunset
- Bottom left: Myself and the trip mascot at the Lover's Lookout at the Avondale Treetop experience
- Bottom right: The viewing tower and giant slide at the centre of the Avondale Treetop experience
Days Three and Four
Day three began with some water sports; a group of external instructors came in and kitted up our Explorer Scouts, taking them out onto Lough Dan. Myself and one of the other leaders got changed too, and helped take the Explorers out onto Lough Dan. Whilst the lake itself was no larger than some of the reservoirs that you might go paddling on around the Peak District, it was certainly more stunning in terms of the surrounding environment, akin to a smaller version of the Scottish Highlands.
That afternoon, we then headed out in the vehicles to Larch Hill Scout Activity Centre, a roughly forty-five-minute drive across the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Larch Hill is the national HQ for Scouting Ireland, but it is an understated site, smaller than Ulfjotsvatn or Kandersteg, which I had been to on previous trips. However, it provided a great view from its north side of Dublin city, the outline of the port, the Wellington Monument and The Guinness Storehouse noticeable even at a distance. On the way back from Larch Hill, our driving route took us through the centre of North Wicklow Mountains National Park, which showed us some of the finest natural landscapes that you would be likely to find within the British Isles. As one of the explorers said, "You wouldn't believe we weren't in the UK".
Day four was a little different; it didn’t involve the vehicles at all. We set off on a hike, led by one of the other leaders, out from Lough Dan Scout Centre, and around Lough Dan itself. This was a distinctly hot day, and we were treated to epic sites, vast bushes of ferns, pebble sand bars/beaches and rows of trees. I personally found the area to be very quiet compared to the UK, indicating there is less of an outdoor activities culture in Ireland compared to home. We headed up the trail and through a forested area, returning to the centre after a full day of walking.
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Images:
- Top left: Scouting Ireland HQ Office at Larch Hill Scout Activity Theatre
- Top right: Our leadership team stood at a viewpoint in the Wicklow Mountains National Park
- Bottom left: The Explorers on the Lough Dan area day hike
- Bottom right: Myself on the Lough Dan area day hike
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Days Five and Six
The fifth day saw us up and out in the vehicles to Zip It Forest Adventures. Following a last-minute replanning due to Ireland’s Dalkey Quarry being deemed unsafe by Climbing Ireland, we booked Zip It, a cross between Zip World and Go Ape. We headed up to Zip It Dublin, one of the larger sites, found in the very north of the national park, not far from Larch Hill. The course was extensive; a set of high rope trails, bridges, platforms and jumps, followed by a zipline-focused course afterwards. I took the time to buy myself some new snazzy ‘Zip It’ branded sunglasses (having dropped mine under my car seat the day before the trip), and my fellow leaders admired them so much that they decided to do the same.
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After some lunch at Zip It, we all headed off to a neighbourhood in the south of Dublin called Dalkey, a seaside town on the edge of the city, akin to Portobello in Edinburgh. We walked down through the town towards the harbour, where we caught the Dalkey Ferry (a very small boat) out to Dalkey Island. Dalkey Island is a small, uninhabited island with unique views and architecture. Across the small island, there are three significant buildings: a small church, a medieval tower, and a Napoleonic-era gunnery. We posed with the views and the three buildings, avoided the island's wildlife, such as wild goats, and then headed back on the ferry to the mainland.
Day six started with a slow start, with us leading the Explorers in a ‘beach’ volley competition, where my team came a proud second. After lunch, we then headed off-site in the vehicles to Brittas Beach (I found no link to The Brittas Empire), where we played a number of games and buried one Explorer in the sand. One of the other leaders and I led them into the Irish Sea, which was cold but quite refreshing once you got used to it. With some reluctance, I headed off with everyone else back to Lough Dan. Realising the trip was going to come to an end soon, I then took one last evening walk around the site of Lough Dan Scout Centre, watching the sun set over the Lough.
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Images:
- Top left: The Explorers at Zip It Forest Adventures
- Top right: Myself at Zip It Forest Adventures
- Bottom left: One of my fellow leaders on Dalkey Island in front of the medieval tower
- Bottom right: Myself on Brittas Beach
Days Seven and Eight
The seventh day was a big one; we set off early in both vehicles to take the Explorers right into the heart of Dublin City. After a journey in the vehicles retracing our steps from day 1, we managed to park up in the city centre, close to Merrion Square. From there, I led the Explorers past several Dublin city attractions, including the Department of the Taoiseach (the Prime Minister’s office), St Stephen’s Green, and Dracula Author Bram Stoker’s house. Our walk took us to our first destination, the Museum of Ireland (Archaeology Branch). I had visited this museum briefly during my trip in 2023; however, this time we were spending two full hours here. Whilst the adults enjoyed the museum, it was not the sort of place a group of teenagers at the end of a week-long expedition would typically enjoy.
After finishing at the museum, I took the Explorers and other leaders on a walk back to Merrion Square, where we had lunch by the Oscar Wilde statue. After lunch, the adults and teenagers went their separate ways, with the latter heading off to complete the Dublin 8, an area of the city where a challenge to visit certain attractions exists. Meanwhile, we headed to the impressive and very touristy Guinness Storehouse, soaking in the history and then tasting the famous drink. Having visited the Storehouse on my solo visit in 2023, it was very interesting to see everything again through a different context and have someone to discuss with about some of the vibrant exhibits and impressive Guinness-related facts.
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In the evening, we headed to The Gaiety Theatre with the Explorers to see the anniversary of Riverdance, in what turned out to be the surprise highlight (at least for me) of the trip. This was followed by a very late drive back to Lough Dan Scout Activity Centre. In the morning, we were up early, and after breakfast, we started to pack away the campsite, and we were up and out. We managed to fit in a very quick trip to Bray, a small seaside town north of Brittas Bay and south of Dalkey. Bray was cold and windy, and we moved quickly on, taking one last drive through the centre of Dublin to get back to the ferry port. We took the ferry on the afternoon of Day eight, arriving back in Holyhead, before driving back to Sandbach as night fell, getting back about 9 pm.
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Images:
- Top left: The Oscar Wilde statue
- Top right: Myself at the Guinness Storehouse
- Bottom left: Myself and the other leaders in Merrion Square
- Bottom right: Myself on the return ferry back to Holyhead
Final Thoughts
Ireland continues to be a place that I enjoy going to, and whilst this trip kept me very busy as a responsible adult, I found some personal enjoyment from revisiting areas of Dublin that I’d travelled to before, but in an entirely different context. Whilst Scouting in Ireland has a clear presence, I was surprised to find a lack of ‘outdoor activities culture’ in comparison to the UK (just visit the Peak District on a Saturday).
The Wicklow Mountains must be one of the most beautiful areas of the entire British Isles.
Useful Links
https://www.visitdublin.com/ - Dublin official tourism website
https://www.scouts.ie/ - Scouting Ireland official website
https://visitwicklow.ie/ - Visit County Wicklow toursim website
https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/ - Ireland official tourism website
https://www.ireland.ie/en/ - Official Irish government website
https://www.nationalparks.ie/wicklow/ - Irish National Parks website Wicklow Mountains Page
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