The Great Sugar Loaf And The Glen Of The Downs, Co. Wicklow

An Beannach Mhór Agus Gleann dá Ghrua, Co. Loch Garman

Glen Of The Downs from the Great Sugar Loaf, Co. Wicklow

The Glen Of The Downs from the Great Sugar Loaf, Co. Wicklow.

(c) John Kennedy

Glen Of The Downs from the Great Sugar Loaf, Co. Wicklow
(c) John Kennedy

Glen Of The Downs from the Great Sugar Loaf, Co. Wicklow

The Glen Of The Downs from the Great Sugar Loaf, Co. Wicklow.

(c) John Kennedy

Enlarge image

The Great Sugar Loaf, (Ó Cualann also Beannach Mhór ) also known as ‘The Sugar Loaf', is a peak 1,644 ft high in the Wicklow mountains. It is located south of Dublin City off the M11 and M9 motorways.

The Great Sugar Loaf is often mistaken for an extinct volcano but is in fact a deposit of rock created by heat and pressure inside the earth. It is set apart from the other peaks in the Wicklow Mountains National Park , however it provides views of much of the region. Plants include species of heather and lichens which grow on the slopes.

Glen Of The Downs from top of the Great Sugar Loaf, Co. Wicklow

A view of the Glen of the Downs from the top of the Great Sugar Loaf. The wooded valley is bisected by the N11.

(c) John Kennedy

Glen Of The Downs from top of the Great Sugar Loaf, Co. Wicklow
(c) John Kennedy

Glen Of The Downs from top of the Great Sugar Loaf, Co. Wicklow

A view of the Glen of the Downs from the top of the Great Sugar Loaf. The wooded valley is bisected by the N11.

(c) John Kennedy

Enlarge image

The Glen Of The Downs (Gleann dá Ghrua) is a wooded valley located close to the Great Sugar Loaf and is bordered by terrain over 800 feet high. The wood, which includes rowan, oak, ash and cherry trees covers 60 hectares bisected by the M11 dual carriageway.

Birds in the area include  wren, blackbird, grey wagtail, chaffinch, blackcap, jay, sparrowhawk, robin, blue tit and great tit. Other wildlife includes squirrels, deer, foxes and badgers.

There is a car park next to the roadway and a number of walking paths through the woods.

More information can be found about Great Sugar Loaf at www.lookaroundireland.com and the Glen of the Downs at www.discoverireland.com