The Avonmore Way Walk

 

The Avonmore Way is a 12km trail which follows a mixture of minor roads, forest roads and tracks.  It provides stunning views of the Wicklow Mountains as it skirts around Trooperstown Hill before winding its way through the beautiful Clara Vale Nature Reserve alongside the Avonmore River.  The trail is suitable for all fitness levels.  There is trail head signage at the beginning of the walk and the route is marked with yellow walking man and arrows on a black background along the way.  The walk starts from the Laragh side at Trooperstown Forest car park and from the Rathdrum side at Stump of the Castle Forest Entrance.

The idea for this walk goes back to 1994 when Finian McEvoy, a local resident of Laragh and Coillte employee, did a thesis as part of his Rural Development Diploma studies about ‘The Development of the Avonmore Way as a Walking Route’.  Finian said: “Walking was growing in popularity and The Avonmore Way ticked all the boxes, the outstanding beauty of the landscape, the diversity of flora and fauna and Clara Vale itself with its beautiful Church, old school, and narrow arched bridge over the Avonmore River.”  In 2013 Finian joined the board of Wicklow Uplands Council to represent Glendalough & District Development Association and the development of the Avonmore Way began.  

The development of the trail has been undertaken in partnership with Wicklow County Council, Coillte, NPWS, County Wicklow Partnership, private landowner Lucy Morgan, St. Laurence O’Toole Diocesan Trust, Parish Committee for Clara Vale Church, Glendalough & District Development Association, Laragh/Glendalough Tidy Towns and Rathdrum Tidy Towns Association. All local residents living close to the trail showed  great support to the project and helped all the way.  

The Avonmore Way is an important and strategic route in Wicklow as it provides a pedestrian link with train and bus services in Rathdrum to Laragh.  Due to Wicklow’s proximity to Dublin, tourism in the county is dominated by day visitors.  The development of this trail will promote independent visitors to the area who can stay longer and boost the local economy.  This important link will also enable hikers to join the network of trails in the Wicklow uplands including the Wicklow Way and the St Kevin’s Way.  And of course visitors in the Laragh area will have the opportunity to walk to Rathdrum and Avondale House.  Therefore this is a very important link for Wicklow tourism and the local communities.

The Avonmore Way was officially launched by journalist Valerie Cox at the Old School Clara Vale on Saturday 16^th April.  The local communities walked from either end of the trail and met at Clara Vale for the launch of the walk.  

Commenting on the spectacular scenery along the trail and the views across the Wicklow Mountains, Valerie noted at one point along the trail that you can view both up the Glenealo Valley towards The Wicklow Gap and also up the Glenmacnass Valley towards the Sally Gap simultaneously. She commented on the importance of the Avonmore Way for the local communities, and the value of having a trail that is accessible to all. 

Valerie shared a story about a Viking ship that had been excavated in Denmark back in the 60’s. It was determined that the oak used in the construction of the ship had come from the surrounding woods in Clara Vale. Due to these origins a reconstruction of the ship was named ‘The Sea Stallion of Glendalough’. 

Wicklow Uplands Council plans to develop further links from the ends of the trail with the local towns.  The long term vision is to realise a route that will link Kilmacanogue to Woodenbridge creating an ‘Eastern Greenway’.  For more information about the walk, please visit www.wicklowuplands.ie