Sally Gap

The Sally Gap is not a village or a pass in the alpine sense but a bare crossroads at around 500 metres on the highest part of the Wicklow plateau, where the Military Road crosses the road running from Lough Tay to the west. What makes it worth driving is the sixteen kilometres either side of it: unbroken blanket bog, no trees, no buildings, the peat cut in places into black vertical faces, and the Liffey rising as a small brown stream a short distance from the junction. The Military Road itself was cut by the British army between 1800 and 1809 to open the mountains after the 1798 rebellion, and it is still single-track with passing places for much of its length. The gap is exposed enough to close in winter snow, sometimes for days, and there are no services of any kind between Glencree and Laragh.

The landscape

• The blanket bog - unbroken, treeless upland in every direction.
• The crossroads - the junction itself, bare and unmarked but for a signpost.
• The Liffey's source - the river beginning as a peat stream nearby.
• The Military Road - single-track, built 1800 to 1809.

When to go

May to September. The road closes in snow and ice, sometimes for several days at a time. Cloud sits on the plateau often; check before committing to the drive.

Practical notes

Nothing here but road and bog - no shop, fuel, toilet or shelter for many kilometres. The road is narrow with blind bends and cyclists. Phone coverage is unreliable. In cloud the whole drive shows you fifty metres of verge.

Nearby

Lough Tay is east; Glenmacnass and Glendalough are south on the Military Road.

Key facts