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T317-942 Sheet 56
Wicklow is a major town, where just about everything may be acquired.
Embarkation
Wicklow Harbour is by far the easiest access hereabouts for day trips to Wicklow Head, or journeys N. Most convenient for parking and launching is inside the E pier Use a sheltered gravel beach just inside the W pier where there is plenty of parking, reached by crossing the bridge in the town. Alternatively, use a slipway beside the Lifeboat Station just inside the East Pier T322-941, where parking is more restricted, reached by turning hard right before the bridge.
Broad Lough
The Leitrim River, only 1km long, connects the Broad Lough to Wicklow Harbour. The Broad Lough is an expanse of fresh water, running N for 4 to 5km, just inside the shoreline. The Lough is bounded on its E by a thin spit of low-lying land down which runs the main Dublin to Rosslare railway line. On the W is Tinakilly House, and some of the finest reed beds a thatcher ever saw. This is a summer breeding place of Reed Warbler. It is a wild place, home to Greylag Geese and myriad other wintering species in the cold months. It can be shallow and muddy at anything but high water which is sometime later than at Wicklow town itself. The Leitrim River is tidal with a significant flow on the narrower stretches when the water level in the harbour is lower than that in the lough. Broad Lough is good to paddle when conditions are bad elsewhere.
SPA
Little Egret, Hen Harrier, Peregrine, Merlin, Ruff, Bar-tailed Godwit, Kingfisher.
Text reproduced from Oileáin by kind permission of the author, David Walsh. Text was extracted from Oileáin (online edition) on 4th May 2010.
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