Great Sugar Loaf

The Great Sugar Loaf is 501 metres and the most recognisable shape in north Wicklow - a near-perfect cone that people regularly assume is an extinct volcano. It is not. It is Cambrian quartzite, a hard rock that resisted the erosion which stripped away the softer material around it, leaving the cone standing. The standard route from the Red Lane car park is short - about two kilometres return - but the last section is a genuine scramble over loose scree and rock where hands come out of pockets, and it is steeper than the approach suggests. The reward is a 360-degree view: Dublin Bay and Howth to the north, the Irish Sea east, and the Wicklow uplands rolling away south and west. It is popular enough that the car park overflows onto the lane at weekends, and the loose surface makes the descent harder than the climb.

What you actually see

• The cone - quartzite, not volcanic, left standing as softer rock eroded.
• The scramble - loose scree and rock over the final section.
• The summit view - Dublin Bay, the Irish Sea and the Wicklow hills.
• The short route - about two kilometres return from Red Lane.

When to go

April to October. Wet rock on the scree makes the descent slippery. Weekends fill the small car park; early mornings are quiet and the light is better for the coast view.

Honest expectations

Short but steep - the final scramble is real and unsuitable for anyone unsteady on loose ground. Descent is harder than ascent. No facilities at the car park, which overflows onto a narrow lane.

Nearby

Kilmacanogue and Powerscourt are nearby; the Bray to Greystones cliff walk is east.