2024

St. Kevin's Way đź‘Ł Ireland's Pilgrim Paths /  by ellie berry

St. Kevin’s Way is an ancient path, said to follow in the footsteps of the Irish saint as he travelled through Wicklow to find a remote corner of nature for his hermitage. Reputedly born in 498AD, there is little that can be said for definite on his life, but he has inspired many tales in this area, and born a beautiful walking trail.

Overview:

  • Distance: 26km

  • Format: Linear Trail

  • Time: 6 - 10 Hours

  • Start / End / Parking:
    Start point: Hollywood
    Some on-street parking is available within the village of Hollywood
    End point: Glendalough
    Plenty of parking throughout Glendalough in the provided car-parks. Around €5 for the day.

  • Trail difficulty: Easy
    Covering everything from roads and boreens to forest trails, raised boardwalk, and open foothills, this route takes you on all the best kinds of surfaces Irish hiking has to offer! This is a well way-marked trail, using a twist on Ireland’s traditional “yellow walking man” way-marker by having a yellow saintly figure as the path finder.
    Read about trail grading in Ireland here.

  • Trail quality: 4.5/5
    The only draw-back to this trail is the short road section outside of Hollywood along the R756. This is a busy road and walkers should take care. Every other section is well developed and enjoyable!

  • Views: 5/5
    Really wide variety of terrain and landscapes

  • Buggy/Wheelchair friendly: No

  • Dogs allowed: No

In this article and accompanying video, I walk the traditional route from Hollywood - Glendalough. There is an alternative starting point in Valleymount.

Related Links:

It’s a beautiful sun-filled evening as I set up my camera beside the old phone-box/heritage-info-centre, the early October air starting to feel crisp. Walking around the village of Hollywood, the picturesque pubs and well-kept lanes keep me at the start line for longer than I planned, admiring all the little details that you can only really appreciate at a walking pace.

Starting from the trail info board, you walk directly across the road and through the red gate into the field that narrows to a short valley. Looking up the steep wall on the left, a grey statue gazes down, his features obscured from the distance, but a religious stance is clear. This is St. Kevin, resting above the caves of Hollywood. It’s said that these caves were Kevin’s first step towards becoming a hermit, but they weren’t remote enough for his liking. One of the famous stories linked to his time in these caves tells of unrequited love: a local woman pursued Kevin, yet no matter how hard he refused her, she would not relent. One evening, in a fit of frustration, he threw his chair from the caves, and it landed in the valley below. Right by the path, you’ll find his castaway chair, now turned to stone, but nicely curved to sit back in.

Not content with the caves of Hollywood, St. Kevin carried on along King’s river towards the Wicklow Gap, looking for true wilderness. And so on I walked, leaving the field behind me and coming out onto the small boreens of the area.

The trail circumnavigates a small hill called Slievecorragh before joining the R756, one of the main roads out of Hollywood. This main road is quite busy, and is the one section of the route where walkers should be weary of traffic.

As I turn back onto smaller lanes once more, the light begins to take on the blue tinge of dust. It’s not long after seven, yet the nights are starting to creep in, and so I pick up the pace, knowing I have about 4km along this small boreen before I reach my end destination for the evening.

I almost make it without taking the head torch out - almost, but not quite. Turning off the lane I climb a short, steep little hill to my home for the night. An TeachaĂ­n Beag, the little cottage. Stepping up onto the front step as dark truly sets in, drop my bag, and set to lighting the fire while the kettle boils. Curling up with a cup of tea in the armchair, I bask in the warmth and enjoy the cold burning of my face - the kind of feeling you only get after spending hours outdoors.

I get a text from Belle, the owner, asking how the evening went, and I promise her that I’m loving the trail so far - it’s thanks to Belle that I’m here walking the trail in this moment. With her new little cottage for rent along the trail, Belle asked if I wanted to trade some images of the trail and local area for a nights stay. I jumped at the chance, as this was a trail I’d been promising myself I would do this year.

The next morning was all pink skies and slow coffee. Setting off from An TeachaĂ­n Beag, the grass in the middle of the lane quickly grows from a small strip to the main terrain underfoot. Passing through a farm gate, I say goodbye to tarmac for the next few hours, and become completely immersed in the surrounding forests. I feel so incredibly lucky to be having such a fair-weather day, the slightly lower autumn sun casting everything around me in a warm glow.

I cross more streams and rivers as the day progresses, and every time the wooden footbridges spark a particular happiness in me - something in the way they sit naturally in the landscape, with a timelessness that hints at the ages gone past.

The next time I reach a road, it’s where the Valleymount off-shoot joins the main trail at Ballinagee Bridge. Examining the info board, it looks like I’m half way through the overall trail, and I know the climb of the day is not far ahead of me.

The route passes through the Wicklow Gap, which is the highest point of the trail (480m), and is one of only two east-west routes across the Wicklow Mountains (the other being the Sally Gap). One of the old stories of the gap says that back in penal times, only a mad man would choose to cross at the Wicklow Gap as it was full of highway men that would rob you blind. One of the most famous was Conway from Hollywood, where I had started the day before.

As the legends go, Conway would shoe his horse backwards to confuse his pursuers, and evaded capture for years longer than anyone else, amassing a hoard bigger than any other. However, when he was finally caught and asked for his last words beside the executioner, Conway shouted to the crowd, “Men of Hollywood! I have hidden my treasure in Scalp!”. Since that day, people have scoured the area for sign of his loot, and while some priceless trinkets or silver spoons have been found, never the full reward.

The trail twists and turns in the valley carved by King’s River, following some trails and forestry roads on the north side, before shortly crossing the R756 south again to find St. Kevin’s Pool.

Well known as a swim-spot, the Annalecka Brook is caught by large boulders as it descends to join Kings River in the valley below, creating a beautiful babbling brook with many deep pools. I had planned on braving the October chill for a dip in the pools - until on arrival I realised I’d left all my swim-stuff in the car, waiting for me in Glendalough.

Carrying on from the pools, the trail is consumed by a pine forest, with a raised bog bridge / board walk the only line through. The density of the trees mute the sound, and it feels like I’m passing through somewhere that hasn’t seen another person in years. Pockets of heather blaze in the sea of green, and every so often a bird chirps from somewhere just around the corner.

It’s on leaving this forest that I finally climb up to the top of the Wicklow Gap, the wind blowing away any cobwebs I may have picked up among the trees. From here, the route descends down into the valley of Glendasan, and I begin what feels like the home straight of the trail.

Glendasan is most famous for the mining that happened here at the turn of the 19th Century. Like its sister valley Glendalough, deposits of lead, silver and zinc were the primary minerals extracted. Ruins of the mining are strewn throughout the valley, with the largest village accessible from the road.

Large stone slabs are used for much of the trail as it makes its way through the valley, and I wonder as to how many are left from when it was mined. It makes for easy going, and the kilometres disappear as I make it down to the valley floor and Glendasan River.

Once Kevin made it to Glendalough he was led by an angel to the lake-side caves, now named “Kevin’s Bed”, where he spent seven years living as a hermit. His devotion and reputation as a religious teacher spread, attracting many to him and his way of life.

Eventually, this notoriety grew into a monastic city, famous for its dedication to education and worship. Since the 7th century, people have travelled there in pilgrimage, most following the same route that I walked for this trail. 

Today, most of the building remains date from the 11th and 12th centuries, which is considered the peak in the pilgrimage era for Glendalough. There’s beautiful architecture to see, including a round tower, high crosses, and numerous churches.

I’ve spent so much time in Wicklow over the years, that I was surprised when I rounded a corner and could see the round tower of Glendalough poking out over the house in front of me. The trail had managed to almost sneak into one of the busiest tourist areas in Ireland, without anyone noticing.

Walking through the Monastic City hundreds of years after its inception, it’s clear that there is something special about the place, whatever your beliefs are. Nature inspires awe and causes reflection, reminding us of the fleetingness of life, and the importance of how we use it.

I felt like I couldn’t end this piece on the trail without mentioning the final famous story of St. Kevin, as it came up again and again in my research on the trail:

St. Kevin built his Church in Glendalough in the Co. Wicklow. He spent most of his time praying in his cell. One day as he knelt in prayer with his hands out-stretched a blackbird alighted on his open hand and finding it so warm and comfortable the bird brought moss and built itself a nest. St. Kevin saw what was happening. He did not move his hand but allowed the bird to lay its eggs and hatch them. Not until the Blackbird's young had flown from the nest did the saint move his hand.

- “Old Stories”, from the National Folklore Collection, Duchas.ie

Accommodation & Public Transport

I walked this trail over two days, breaking it into roughy 10km on the first day and 16km on the second day. This split was a lovely way to enjoy the trail at a leisurely pace for me. Many people will walk the route in one day.

A big thank you to Belle for having me stay, and for telling me all the wonderful stories of the area - learn more about An TeachaĂ­n Beag here.

Buses to / from the trail include:

Further exploring

This trail passes through the Wicklow Mountains National Park - learn more about the park and the history of Glendalough here.

Other trails in the area:

Coffee/food options:

  • The Hollywood Cafe, to get you going at the start of the trail.

  • I got my celebratory finish line chips at St. Kevin’s Kitchen food truck, parked right beside the trail’s info board / end point in Glendalough.

  • Glendalough Green Cafe, Laragh: a Wicklow institution, I’ve been going here since before I could walk! this is the perfect cafe for a cosy mocha on a winters day, or a coffee and sweet treat to take out into the sunshine of a summers day.

  • In the upper car park of Glendalough there are food trucks, and there are few things more satisfying than grabbing a bag of chips after a hike!