The best road cycling routes around Avondale Forest Park

Historic hillside town above the Avonmore valley, with roots in Celtic ring forts and later a centre of flannel and wool trade. Close to Avondale House (Parnell) and perfectly situated as a gateway to the Vale of Clara and the Wicklow routes.

Historic hilltop town above the Avonmore Valley, with roots in Celtic ring forts and later a centre of flannel and wool trade. Close to Avondale House (Parnell) and perfectly located as a gateway to the Vale of Clara and the Wicklow routes.

Located at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains, this bridge offers a picturesque view of the babbling Avonmore River. The current five-arch stone bridge was built around 1754 by John Braddel and connects the lower part of Rathdrum with the charming hilltop village centre. Look downstream from the bridge to catch a glimpse of the impressive Victorian railway viaduct, a masterpiece of civil engineering from the 1860s. This area was once the beating heart of the local wool industry and corn mills.

The Glenmacnass Waterfall cascades 80–100 metres down several broad steps into a carved U‑shaped valley, one of the wildest landscapes in the Wicklow Mountains. From the R115, you have a frontal view of the granite ledge over which the water falls, with open moorland, peat slopes, and the river winding its way towards Laragh.

The waterfall plunges in multiple stages, 80–100 meters, down a wide granite ledge. The combination of steep walls, open highlands, and the winding river below makes this one of the most dramatic panoramas in the entire R115 corridor.

Sally Gap, one of the highest and most open crossroads in the Wicklow Mountains. Here, the R759 and the Old Military Road (R115) intersect at over 500 meters altitude, in the middle of a vast moorland and heath landscape without buildings or shelter. The panorama is a full 360°: the dark bogs of Liffey Head Bog, the flanks of Kippure, the valleys towards Glencree, and the long, empty Military Road that runs like a pencil line through the highlands. This location is world-famous as a backdrop for films and series such as Braveheart, Vikings, and P.S. I Love You.

You are here on one of the most characteristic sections of the Old Military Road, built between 1800 and 1809 by the British Army to control the Wicklow Mountains after the 1798 Rebellion. This section of the L1013 runs across an open high plateau with wide, rugged views towards Glencree, Kippure and the northern Wicklow Mountains.

In the heart of the rugged Wicklow Mountains lies the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof, a place of deep peace and reflection. Here rest 134 people, mainly German military personnel (mostly pilots and naval staff) who died in or near Ireland during the First and Second World Wars, as well as a number of civilian internees. The symmetrical rows of crosses, the low granite, and the open grassy expanse create a subdued atmosphere that strongly contrasts with the rugged Wicklow landscape surrounding it.