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This Sunday (21st November) BBC1's popular Countryfile programme will feature Julia Bradbury walking Ireland's first long distance walking route, the Wicklow Way. The programme, which attracts up to 6 million viewers on a Sunday evening and is a great opportunity to promote the walking route throughout the UK.
The Wicklow Way, which celebrated its 25 birthday recently, extends for 126km from Marley Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin city, through the Dublin and Wicklow mountains to the Wicklow / Carlow border. It is a richly varied route, with the more dramatic scenery of mountains and lakes at the northern end, where although there is a strong sense of remoteness and few habitations, one is never very far from a public road. Among the dramatically scenic places taken in by the route as it wends its way through the mountains is the ancient and beautiful monastic site of Glendalough, where many will want to linger. Although the southern part of the route is less scenically impressive, the climbs are gentler as it wends its way along forestry roads through a landscape of conifer-covered foothills. Terrain consists of forestry tracks, quiet roads, boreens and mountain paths through open moorland.
The Wicklow Way, is one of 40 multi day walking routes in Ireland, is waymarked throughout with a yellow walking man logo and can be enjoyed by day walkers who wish to walk sections of the route or long distance walkers, who can comfortably walk the trail in 5 or 6 days.
Countryfile will air on BBC1 this Sunday at 6.30. Further information on the programme can be obtained from www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wcdzq and information on the route itself can be obtained from the websites www.irishtrails.ie and www.wicklowway.com
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