Bray head cross sits at an elevation of 190m above sea level. The cross was erected in 1950 during the holy year. The walk to the summit of the cross takes between 30-40 minutes depending on which route you take.

Bray Head Walk Map

The blue route is the main route to walk to the cross on Bray head. You should be able to walk to the summit on the blue route in 30-40 minutes. In wet conditions, the blue route is very slippery and you should use the red routes steps to avoid any potential slips or falls. The red route passes the old cable car, which is definitely worth a visit. Allow another 15 minutes if you walk the red route.

Bray Head & Greystones cliff walk Free parking

The most direct route to walk to the summit of Bray head Cross is from the free car park here. Parking at the promenade is also possible but you will have to pay for parking at the promenade.

Bray Head Cross- Key information

• Follow the green arrowed signs
• Allow 40 minutes – 1 hour up and back
• 2km up and back
• Very slippy in sections (if wet)
• Hiking boots required
• Optional step section but it is longer
• Additional walk to Bray head cairn, if a longer walk is required
• 6 out of 10 for views

Bray head walk- Starting point/Parking

We started our walk in the free car park here. We walked to the Bray Cross during the week and the car park was nearly full. We expect that this is a very busy walk and an early start will be required on the weekend if you want to use the free car park. Additional parking is available at the seafront but it is not free.

We walk out of the car park and walk on the coastal trail for 10 meters until we see a path leading up the hill through a gate in the wall. The surface here is concrete, we follow this path up the hill.

Walking Bray head trail

Continue on the concrete path until it stops. The main path turns to mud after 100 meters from the entrance. From this point, the path becomes very rocky, slippery and steep. The ground conditions become very dangerous in wet weather. Bring walking poles and good boots to help with this.

The trail meets a small stream (winter only), which makes the walk uphill even harder and slipper. The trail splits but both trails end up in the same location. We followed the drier path to help prevent slipping and falling.

We eventually walk into a drier section of the path and we can see the end of the woodland and gorse bushes in the distance. This section is more exposed but we eventually start getting views of the surrounding areas.

This section of the Bray head cross walk has larger stones and is steep but it is much safer and has fewer chances of a slip or fall. The path cuts through the Gorse bushes, which are quite spikey but they do provide a lovely yellow and orange coverage to the hillside.

We reach a very small patch of trees. We take a small break here admiring the stunning Wicklow coastline.

We eventually reach the base of the stone hill where the cross is erected upon. We walk to the right slightly following the trail and walking up between the two stone mounds.

Bray Head Cross walk time

The top of the Bray Head Cross hike provides stunning views across the sea and Bray seafront. The walk is not too physically hard but it is very slippy in a couple of sections near the start (when wet). Allow 40-60 minutes up and back. A great walk with beautiful views of the summit.

Bray Head walk distance

The distance to Bray head cross is only 1 km to the summit and 1 km descent. Bray head cliff walk is a 7km walk.

Is Bray Head a hard walk?

The walk is 190m climb up a rough path. Good walking boots are definitely required in wet conditions. It is a moderate climb but very rewarding. Allow 60 minutes to hike it.

Additional Bray head walks

(Optional) An alternative walk is available to avoid the slippy sections. It also passes the old Bray cable car and the ruins of an old church. The walk is slightly longer, but definitely safer.

Additional walks- Bray Head

If you are not too exhausted after the walk to Bray head cross you can walk to Bray’s head trig point afterwards. Bray head has a trig point and is an additional 30 minutes walk. The walk continues after the Bray head cross. Follow the path towards Greystones going through the metal gate and following the wide path the whole way to the trig point.

The trail walks around stone outcrops and provides great views of the coastline. At present, the Bray to Greystones walk is closed due to a landslide. This walk provides a great alternative route to the cliff walk.

Bray Head loop walk Map

Wicklow County Council has a map (below) on their Twitter page showing the alternative route loop trails which include the cliff walk.

The post Bray Head Cross Walk Wicklow appeared first on Our Family Hikes.

Turlough Hill is a man-made lake that sits at an elevation of 681 meters. Turlough Hill is a pumped-storage hydroelectricity plant. This means that when there is a peak power requirement on the ESB electrical grid, the ESB can generate power by releasing water from the top lake down the tunnels and past the turbines to meet the power demand. More information on this amazing power generation plant can be found here. The top lake shape is a very recognisable structure and it seems to be visible from the majority of Wicklow other mountains.

Walk key information

• Start point- The walk starts here
• Length- 6 km out and back
• Duration- 2hours 15 minutes
• Buggy Friendly- Yes, an access road to the end.
• Summit- No real summit but there is an option for hiking at the end
• Is there access to the top lake?- No the lake is fenced off and cannot be viewed
• Elevation gain- 450m to 650m at the summit

Buggy friendly mountain walks

The walk starts at the top car park here. There is a small boardwalk over to a nice timber decking viewing point, which provides a nice view down the Wicklow valley.

We planned to walk the access road up to the top lake and walk to the top of the high point of 681 meters. We had never walked this route before but love exploring new hiking trails in Wicklow.

At the start of the walk, the roadway is blocked off by a traffic barrier but there is a small footpath to both sides of the barrier. Unfortunately, the footpath isn’t big enough for a buggy, but they do fit with a small bit of manoeuvring.

As we now have a 4.5 small adult, and 2.5-year-old toddler and a 7-week old baby, we need to be walking buggy-friendly walks, until the weather improves at least.  We are waiting until our 7-week old baby becomes more comfortable in her baby hiking carrier before leaving the buggies behind. We will also aim to walk Kippure and Mount Leinster in the coming weeks, weather permitting.

The road tarmac surface is really smooth and perfect buggy walking conditions for a sleeping 7-week old baby.

Starting the walk up the Wicklow mountains

The walk starts by walking up a gradual slope until we reach a sharp corner and viewing point over the lower lake. The children loved looking over the lower lake.

The walk got steeper from here but the kids were loving the views of the Wicklow mountains. The higher we got, so did the wind. Make sure that you have enough clothes or windbreakers to keep the kids warm.

We follow the road the whole way until we reach a crossroads. We continue straight here. The road then turns to the rear of the lake and we get amazing views of Lugnaquilla and the south of County Wicklow.

We abandoned the buggies at this point and walked to the right up towards the highest point. This takes us 10 minutes with the children but it provided us with a nice little walk at the end of the Buggy friendly walk.

Turlough Hill buggy-friendly walk Map

Turlough hill walk summary

A nice buggy-friendly walk that gives great views of Tonelagee, Lugnaquilla and the Great Sugarloaf. There is no real summit at the top but we did get amazing views and had some great family time together.

The post Turlough Hill Buggy Friendly Mountain Walk Wicklow appeared first on Our Family Hikes.