The Murrough
Out and back, as far as you choose · Flat elevation
About
The Murrough is the long shingle and grass strip that runs north from Wicklow Harbour between the sea and Broad Lough, and it is the walk locals actually do. Wicklow Town's own tourism site calls it the longest wetland on the east coast and a birdwatcher's paradise, and Wicklow County Council monitors its bathing water as one of the county's non-identified bathing waters. The path is level compacted gravel and grass, backed in places by rock armour where the sea has been eating into it, with the water on one side and the wet grassland and the railway line on the other. It is completely exposed, which is the point: on a clear day you can see the whole sweep of Wicklow Bay with the town and the port behind you, and on a bad day you find out very quickly what an east wind is. Start at the Murrough car park, which is the cheapest parking in the town, and walk as far north as you feel like before turning back.
Highlights
- ✓Level, step-free walking on compacted gravel and grass with the sea on one side
- ✓Broad Lough and the Murrough wetlands, one of the better birdwatching sites on this coast
- ✓A playground, pump track and skate park at the town end
- ✓All-day parking at the Murrough car park for 0.50 euro
Tips
- →There is no lifeguard on the Murrough at any time of year; the council's lifeguarded bathing area in the town is Wicklow Harbour.
- →It is entirely exposed to an easterly. Take a windproof layer even in July.
- →Wicklow County Council monitors the water quality here through the bathing season; check wicklow.ie before swimming.
