Well no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t come up with a credible reason to duck out of my planned Monday walk with my regular hill walking companion Rosa Murray even after my exertions of the previous day with the Irish Ramblers so I found myself on the May Bank Holiday Monday making the short drive to Greystones to meet up with Rosa and her other regular walking partner Lousha.
Truth be told though, I was looking forward to the walk as an important part of my Camino preparation for a couple of reasons: I was breaking in my intended footwear for the Camino: a new pair of Meindl Meran GTX hiking boots. After a lot of agonising thought I had decided to seek an alternative to my Lowa Munro boots which although well suited to Irish rough ground hill walking had some drawbacks for the Camino – they are heavy coming in at 2.010 kgs and they are quite dense in the sole which makes them a little uncomfortable on prolonged tarmac/ pavement stretches of which there are several lengthy stretches of 10 km+ through cities like Pamplona, Burgos and Leon on the Camino.
The Meindl Meran’s weigh in at 1.610 kgs and have a softer sole compound and several 1 hour long road walks looked promising but what was needed to make a final decision was an extra long walk to see if any pressure points would show on my feet.
As my outline Camino schedule would see me averaging about 34.2 kms ( 21.3 miles ) daily, I wanted to put in 2 long back to back days with a full weight backpack and Rosa’s plan for the day would see us walk along the coastal path as far as Wicklow town where we would have a easy lunch and then return along the same costal path to Greystones, a round trip of 40 kms ( 25 miles ). The surface was a good mix of short sandy and pebbly stretches with longer stretches of grassy dune tops and concrete breakwaters which would give the boots a good trial.
Nice sunshine was our lot as we set off from Greystones
Rosa’s description of the underfoot surfaces to be encountered was proving to be spot on and exactly what I was hoping for to give the Meindl’s a true test of their suitability.
As we neared Newcastle Nature Reserve, a fine view was to be had of the Big Sugarloaf behind us.
The old railway station at Killoughter now converted in a private house, very reminiscent of the railway halts in the showdown scenes in American Westerns.
Wicklow Town is reached and a nice lunch in the Leitrim Lounge awaits.
On the return trip, Wicklow Head and the old lighthouse can be glimpsed. The lighthouse has been renovated and can be rented as an unusual location for a getaway break.
2 shots of yours truly endeavoring but with not total success to look like the hiking incarnation of James Bond.
My hiking companion Rosa Murray and her regular walking partner Lousha.
The old fishing village at 5 mile point now mainly comprising holiday homes.
A little nearer Greystones can be found the site where the 1st telegraph cable across the Irish Sea was laid and the now derelict cable house.
Although not directly relevant to my hiking or the Camino, we passed by the house of Sean FitzPatrick, former C.E.O. of Anglo Irish Bank and as it is called Camaderry after the steep hill which overlooks Glendalough there is a tenuous hiking/hillwalking connection .
supersullivan and the Camino 
Well done, Seamus. I’ve often done this hike from Mount Merrion to Wicklow Town and back. It’s a lovely change from the boggy Wicklow Hills but can be very tiring.