This week has been a week of hiking which has been great. My brother came home from America for the holidays and is into mountain biking. He was heading to the mountains a few days to hit the trails so I thought I would tag along and hit some trails of my own. The weather had not been great the past few weeks and I had just not had a chance to plan another hike so I was excited to get back out there. The weather for the first 2 of the 3 hikes was also fabulous which made the views incredible. I also recently got a tripod and Bluetooth remote for my phone so I was very excited to be able to take some photos on my hikes.

I headed to Ticknock Forest which has both hiking and biking trails on the first day. I headed out on a loop that would take me to Three Rock and Fairy Castle while giving an amazing view over Dublin city and the Irish Sea. The weather was amazing, a little chilly and very windy but blue skies as far as the eye could see. The views out over the city from the top were amazing as the day was so clear. The hike ended up being around 8km and it wasn’t too hard. A couple of uphills but mostly a nice easy trail which took in sections of the Dublin and Wicklow Ways. There were lots of people out enjoying the trail which was nice to see. I finished off the hike with a nice hot chocolate to warm me up and a piece of carrot cake, then we headed off for a pub lunch having the first turkey and ham of the season which was beautiful.

The next hike I did also took in parts of the Ticknock trail along with a new section. Starting out in Glencullen Adventure Park in the Dublin Mountains I headed up towards Three Rock coming from the other side compared to the day before. Once again the weather was beautiful with the sun shining but it was also extremely windy which I didn’t mind. Once again the views out over Dublin city were amazing on this hike. I headed up around by the Fairy Castle which took the same trail as the last time before taking a new trail to loop down. I was following an AllTrails map which was nice as this section of the trail had no markers and just pathways but it was fairly easy to follow. Coming down was a little tricky as it was filled with rocks to step over and it was a little muddy coming down the steep slope. I had one slip that ended in one leg getting covered in dirt but nothing crazy. I then came back into the bike park from another side and headed down to the bottom. There is a cafe there called The Gap Kitchen which does some amazing food so we sat down to have a great burger and chips along with some sweet treats. It was the perfect end to the hike and just what I needed.

The final hike I did was in Crone Woods which in true Irish fashion we needed to take a one-lane track with grass growing in the middle to get there. The weather was a little cloudier today but it was also not as windy as the previous days so that was a nice bonus. This trail starts off on a nice wide-open pathway through the forest before coming to a lookout point over Powerscourt Waterfall which was beautiful. We then started to head up towards Maulin Mountain with steep uphills and switchbacks so you never really knew when you were getting to the top. Along the way, we had a beautiful view out over rolling green fields that Ireland is famous for. After scrambling our way up to the summit we were greeted with a cloud of fog so no views were seen, unfortunately. Then we headed back down the mountain and back to The Gap Kitchen to meet up with my brother and get some food. I had a wonderful Kinder hot chocolate which warmed me right up and then some beautiful roasted tomato soup, to end off a wonderful morning.

It was nice being able to get out and take advantage of the nice weather and get to explore some places that I have never been to before even though they are so close to where I live. Coming home I have really taken the opportunity to make the most of everything that I have on my doorstep because it is only when you go away and come back that you realised how much is really there is you only look. So go head out and discover a place near you that you have never been.

Also, I am super excited that I am now a Brand Rep for DYM Athletics. This is an activewear brand that I found a few months ago because honestly, I live in activewear. Since discovering them on Instagram I have made a few orders and they have been great. It is a small business in America that was started in 2020 by one lady and now she has a friend helping her out. They package everything from her house and do all of the other things involved in running a small business. The quality of the pieces is amazing and they are also very affordable which is great. They also have some really interesting designs too so you can feel comfortable and look cool whether you are working out in the gym or hitting the hiking trails. So if anyone is looking for some new pieces to give them that new year motivation why not head over to their website and check them out. If you use code EMMAMURPHY at check out you can get 10% off and who doesn’t love a discount.

Emma

xx