Editing Glendalough (section)

== Recreation ==

===Walking trails===
{{see also|Lists of long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland#Boarded mountain paths}}
[[File:561 Glendalough, County Wicklow.jpg|thumb|View west, ''White Route'' boardwalk]][[File:Glendalough Miner's Path Wicklow Ireland.jpg|thumb|View east, Miner's Road Walk]]
There are nine [[Trail blazing|way-marked]] trails of varying difficulty around Glendalough that are maintained by the [[Wicklow Mountains National Park]] (and who provide a map of all trails).<ref name="trails" />  Some of the trails stay on mostly flat-ground pathways around the two lakes of Glendalough (''The Miner's Road Walk'', ''Green Road Walk''), others lead up the Poolanass Waterfall area with options beyond into a network of forest paths (e.g. ''Derrybawn Woodland Trail'').<ref name="trails" />  The most notable trails used to take the steep 600–step boarded path (using [[Railroad tie|railway sleeper]]s), but replaced by a zig-zag path in 2020 from the Poolanass Waterfall up to vantage platform of '''The Spinc''' (from the Irish "An Spinc"; meaning "pointed hill"), which overlooks the upper lake and the Glendalough valley below.<ref name="spinc" /><ref name="trails" />

The most noted Spinc trail is the ''White Route'' which follows a further scenic boarded path westwards along the cliffs of the upper lake to the '''Glenealo Valley''' (home to herds of [[red deer]]), and down on stone paths to the Miner's Village, and back along the Miner's Road on the north shore of the upper lake, to finish at the upper lake car park, (off the R757).<ref>{{Cite web |title=R757 - Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki |url=https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=R757 |website=www.sabre-roads.org.uk}}</ref><ref name="spinc">{{Cite news |last=John G. O'Dwyer |date=17 May 2017 |title=The Spinc Loop: Walk for the Weekend: Haunting beauty of Glendalough |work=[[Irish Times]] |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/travel/walk-for-the-weekend-haunting-beauty-of-glendalough-1.3080076 |access-date=8 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Adrian Hendroff |last2=Helen Fairbairn |date=22 October 2018 |title=Ireland's 30 best autumn walks – with a cosy meal or pint at the finish: Number 11 The Spinc |work=[[Irish Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/ireland/irelands-30-best-autumn-walks-with-a-cosy-meal-or-pint-at-the-finish-37439356.html |access-date=8 March 2019 |quote=This route is the most popular of nine waymarked walking trails in the Glendalough valley, and rightly so. It climbs through a forest to the top of a high cliff overlooking the Upper Lake, where the exposure and views take your breath away.}}</ref>  As the entire  ''White Route'' loop is on paths (either stone/sand paths or boarded railway sleepers), it can be completed in running shoes and does not require climbing footwear; the entire 9-kilometre loop of the ''White Route'', starting and ending at the upper lake car-park, takes circa 2–3 hours.<ref name="trails">{{Cite web |title=Walking Trails |url=https://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/recreation/walking-trails/ |access-date=8 March 2019 |publisher=[[Wicklow Mountains National Park]] |quote=There are nine way-marked walking trails in the valley of Glendalough. The walks vary from a short half-hour stroll to a long four-hour hill walk. Large maps of the walks are displayed outside the National Park Information Office and at the OPW Visitor Centre beside the Monastic City. All the walks start and finish at the National Park Information Office near the Upper Lake. Each trail is signposted with colour-coded arrows. Staff at the Information Office can help you choose a suitable route.}}</ref><ref name="spinc" />

The [[Wicklow Way]], a [[List of long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland|long distance waymarked walking trail]], also passes through Glendalough.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WICKLOW WAY:Glendalough to Glenmalure |url=http://www.wicklowway.com/trail-description/glendalough-glenmalure.php |access-date=8 March 2019 |publisher=WicklowWay.com |quote=The Wicklow Way crosses the main valley floor, just after the Visitors Centre, via a footbridge over the Glendasan River, and continues up-valley to Poulanass waterfall. Here the trail turns into the Lugduff valley and the start of a 4–5 km uphill trek of 400m to the shoulder of Mullacor (657m), crossing the boggy saddle between it and Lugduff on a boardwalk.}}</ref>

The 30-kilometre medieval pilgrimage tail, [[Saint Kevin's Way]], starts in [[Hollywood, County Wicklow|Hollywood]], and ends in Glendalough.

===Rock climbing===
[[File:Glendalough Main Face Rock Routes.png|thumb|Marked climbs on the ''Main Face'']]
Glendalough's south-facing [[granite]] cliffs, situated on slopes of [[Camaderry]] above the north-western end of the valley (just above the Miner's Village), have been a [[rock climbing]] location since 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peter Kenny |date=14 June 2005 |title=Glendalough: First ascent of Spillikin Ridge |url=https://www.irishmountaineeringclub.org/blog/2006/06/14/spillikin-ridge/ |access-date=9 March 2019 |publisher=IMC Journal}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="1993 guide" />  The north-facing cliffs on the other side of the upper lake are not considered suitable for rock-climbing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climbing & Bouldering |url=https://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/recreation/climbing-bouldering/ |access-date=8 March 2019 |publisher=[[Wicklow Mountains National Park]]}}</ref>

The 2009 [[Mountaineering Ireland]] [[climbing guidebook]] for Wicklow,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Wicklow Rockclimbing Guide |date=2009 |publisher=Mountaineering Ireland |isbn=9780902940239 |pages=334}}</ref> as well as the online guidebooks for Glendalough,<ref name="wiki" /> list about 144 routes at all [[grade (climbing)|grades]] up to E5 6b (''Bathsheba'' and ''The Wake''); the cliffs are particularly noted for their long, and multi-pitch, VS/HVS routes.<ref name="ukc">{{Cite web |title=Glendalough (Ireland) |url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=1309#overview |access-date=8 March 2019 |publisher=UKClimbing |quote=Superb climbing on clean rock in a fantastic scenic location. Some absolute classic routes especially in the VS/HVS range.}}</ref><ref name="1993 guide">{{Cite book |last1=Lyons, Joe |url=http://www.climbing.ie/isbn.html#wicklow |title=Rock Climbing Guide to Wicklow |last2=Fenlon, Robbie |publisher=[[Mountaineering Council of Ireland]] |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-902940-11-6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011003638/http://www.climbing.ie/isbn.html#wicklow |archive-date=11 October 2006 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The climbs vary between one and four [[pitch (vertical space)|pitches]], and up to over 100 metres in length. There are several sectors:<ref name="wiki">{{Cite web |title=Glendalough Rock Climbs |url=http://wiki.climbing.ie/index.php/Glendalough |access-date=8 March 2019 |publisher=Irish OnlineClimbingWiki}}</ref><ref name="ukc" />
* ''Twin Buttress'', lying at the far western end of the cliffs overlooking the Miner's Village, is a large buttress divided by a seasonal waterfall (which itself is often split into two streams), with the most popular climbs split over ''West Buttress'', ''Expectancy Slab'' and ''Main Face''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Twin Buttress Area |url=http://wiki.climbing.ie/index.php/Glendalough_West_Wing_%26_Main_Face |access-date=9 March 2019 |publisher=IrishClimbingWiki}}</ref>
* The ''Upper Cliffs'', a band of cliffs high up on the hillside east of Twin Buttress.
* ''Acorn Buttress,'' a small buttress just below Twin Buttress, which is a popular base-camp location.
* ''Hobnail Buttress'', a small buttress with some easy climbing, on the hillside one kilometre to the east.

The [[Irish Mountaineering Club]] has operated a [[Mountain hut|climbing hut]] since the 1950s.

Below the crag is an extensive [[boulder]] field which is also used for [[bouldering]] activities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bouldering in Ireland |url=http://www.theshortspan.com/features/boulderinginglendalough.htm |website=www.theshortspan.com |access-date=2 April 2007 |archive-date=19 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519215531/http://theshortspan.com/features/boulderinginglendalough.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>