Glencullen to Three Rock
Distance: 10km
Time to Allow: 2-3 hours
Take a 44B bus from Dublin to Glencullen. These buses leave from either Killcross (take a DART train to Blackrock and a 114 to Kilcross), Eglinton Road (take a 44, or 48A from the city and ask to be let off at Miltown, or from Dundrum Shopping Centre (the 12:15 on Saturdays). The 44B is a very iregular service, so it is vitally important check the timetable for times and departure point before you travel. The bus you want will be a single-decker, and it should say "Glencullen" on the front. Ask the driver to make sure it is the right bus.
The 44B is itself a stunning bus trip, going higher than any other Dublin city bus route (it reaches 1,026 feet at it's highest point).
The bus squeezes along narrow mountain roads (the timetable is designed so that two buses never meet going in opposite directions on the narrow sections). You will have a good view of Dublin Bay from the lefthand side of the bus.
After reaching it's high point, the bus will go downhill beside a row of windswept trees, before turning right at a crossroads, and heading up Glencullen Valley. After a while the bus will reach it's terminus, a specially built turning circle on the edge of the narrow road. This is where you get off.
You want to continue walking up the road, with the valley on your lefthand side. After about a mile (shortly after crossing a bridge) you will come to a clearly signposted walking track going straight up the side of the mountain on your right. This is the way that you take. The track is rough, but walkable. You will be climbing steadily for some time before it levels out, with some lovely views back towards and across the Wicklow mountains (as in photo above).
After a while you will come to a branch - follow the main track which turns sharply to the right across the smooth rolling top of the mountain. The track becomes quite rocky and difficult at this point, but it is not so steep. After a little while, you reach the crest of a small hill and can see the track stretching out for a couple of miles before you, right up to the summit of Three Rock Mountain
After about a mile you come to another crossing of the ways. The main track turns sharply left and goes downhill. You want to continue on a more bumby track which you can clearly see heading towards the top of the mountain (straight ahead).
You will eventually come to a mound which has been raised to mark the highest point, and from here, if the weather is clear, you will be rewarded with spectacular views in all directions. You will be able to see across Dublin Bay and beyond, miles across the Irish Sea, and the whole of Dublin will be spread out ahead of you. You are now at the summit of Three Rock Mountain.
A small pile of stones and a concrete post marks the summit of the mountain.
This is a good place to rest or picnic for a while, as even if it is windy, you can get protection from the wind by sitting on the other side of the mound. I found that to get to the summit took just under an hour and a half from getting off the bus (20 minutes walking on the road, the rest on the track)
From the mound, looking down towards Dublin, you will see a number of transmitter masts below you on the hillside. You want to take the track that leads down towards these masts.
You will be going downhill quite steeply now, and will pass by the transmitter farm on your right, with dozens of masts, large and small.
At this point you will meet up with an unmade vehicle road which leads through the state forest.
As you descend through the pine forest of Ticknock, you get some lovely views. The structure in the foreground is part of an old Army firing range, now disused and overgrown.
Follow this down through the forest and you will come to a small paved road, which will lead to a bigger road, and so on. Now you will be walking downhill on a country lane Walk facing the oncoming traffic and be very careful on the corners.
After a little over a mile you will come to a large main road. Turn left (you now have footpaths to walk on) (Getting to this point from the summit takes about an hour and a quarter).
You will cross over a bridge over the M50 motorway, and a short while later, on your right, you will see a residential road (Kingston Crescent). Follow this road down through the housing estate, and when you reach the bottom, turn right (along Kingston Avenue) and follow that road as it runs towards a green area, and turns left and goes down to a set of traffic lights.
Directly on your right on the main road at these lights is the terminus of route 16 - this is a frequent service all day long, that will take you back into Dublin City Centre.
The route is best walked in this direction (Glencullen to Kingston/Ballinteer) so that you start off on the less frequent bus, and end up on a much more frequent service.
I found more walks you might like at
http://jorgenpfhartogs.googlepages.com/home