Cruagh to Blue Light

• Difficulty - Medium

• Distance - 13.3km

• Time - 4.5hrs

• Pack - Raingear / boots / grub / táe

• Ground - mix

Start:

Start off from Cruagh Forest carpark. Shaggy Dog Coffee are there most days for that delicious morning warmth. Head up the main track from the carpark and take the right at your first junction.

Keep to your right and you’ll head uphill and eventually hit a clearing after 1km. Out in the open now but keep going until you see the sleeper train tracks on your left hand side.

Take the right at the bottom of these tracks and you’ll come around the loop at Cruagh valley. You’ll start to head downhill so after 3km a right turn will appear bending around to the direction you’ve come. Head that way.

This route zig-zags through the edge of Cruagh Wood and out to the main Cruagh Road. Cross the road and enter the Zipit carpark (Tibradden Wood).

Walk to the end of the carpark and follow the red walker signs to cut through Tibraddden Forest out to the opening. You’ll have just passed the 5km point of the hike.

From here, there’s a single path that rises all the way up to the peak of the mountain at the Tibradden Cairn (467 metres (1,532 feet) high). This is thought to be the burial place of Bródain, after whom the mountain is named.

Continue on straight and you’ll now be flowing downhill to where Tibradden meets the Wicklow Way. At 7km we’re at around halfway point so it could well be táe and sambo time. Once the brown sauce has been washed down take the left turn at the end of Tibradden. A quick right and we’re onto a 2km straight all the way to Fairy Castle (536 metres (1,759 feet) high), which is the remains of a passage tomb.

Take the track North towards the city. We’ll head downhill and reach three rock. From three rock, there are two routes to the left, and two routes to the right. Take the second route to the right, i.e. the one just past the last transmitter. We’re at around 11km.

Follow the path down which wraps to the right of the trees and eventually swerves down to Ballyedmonduff Road. Take a left along this road and follow it for 1.5km until we reach the mecca that is the Blue Light. Quench yourself with lovely bainne, you’ve earned it.