Golden Falls

Last time I ran from Poulaphouca to Ballymore Eustace via the Golden Falls lake I had no camera, so to make amends...

The complete route 20.2 km

Showing the hard incline out of Ballymore

Detail of off-road segment past the Golden Falls dam

From Poulaphouca to Ballymore Eustace is off-road and much more overgrown than the last time I did this route, with stinging nettles and thistles to avoid but hopefully no deer ticks. The two photos below are of the "roadway" I referred to in my last post, along which I ran - as you can see it is artificially raised above the field level, for what purpose I know not but it must have taken someone a lot of effort.

Embankment at 'A' looking towards 'B'

Ruin at 'B'

Embankment at 'C' looking towards 'D'

Golden Falls dam at 'D'

Same

The Golden Falls hydro scheme was commissioned in 1943 and has a 4MW capacity which is not a lot but I suppose is better than nothing.  To get to where I took the photos I had to cross a barb wire fence and accidentally trod on some barb wire that someone had helpfully left concealed in the grass. One got the feeling someone didn't want folk going this way. The puncture didn't draw blood and I have since cleaned and plastered it.  The thing is, sad to say, the world is no longer barefoot friendly. Having said that, issues of this kind are very rare if one is sensible.

Historic photo of same, I was at left-hand end of the dam

Well-worn path from dam to old woolen mill

The Liffey below the dam at 'E'

The Liffey below the dam at 'E'

Pukka footbridge over water treatment outflow at 'F'

In addition to the Poulaphouca and Golden Falls hydro schemes, The Ballymore water treatment plant also takes water from the Blessington Lake and adds all manner of chemicals to make it suitable for Dubliners to drink. Personally I am glad our water comes from a deep well and is not treated at all (well, not wittingly). So the bridge above crosses a small stream which comes from the treatment plant and contains, I suppose, all the stuff the Dubliners didn't want in their water. In spite of that the stream appeared reasonably clear.

New running route

Exactly 12 miles door to door

I like to vary my running routes. During the week this is not possible because of time constraints but at weekends and if I feel suitably motivated... Today the women folk were having a "shower" for a girl who is about to give birth, so I took the opportunity to explore.

I may have been trespassing a bit to start with - hard to tell in Ireland. At Poulaphouca I left the safety of the roads and skirted a field containing two horses, keeping just outside the fence and through the wooded area shown below. At the jiggle in the path I was obliged to enter the field for a few yards because the ESB well fenced area comes right up to where I was. I then followed a farm track that turned into what looked like an old railway embankment. Maybe there was a branch of the Poulaphouca tramway leading to the Woolen Mills, but I can find no record of this.

From road to field

Ruin and Water Works

The track leads to a farmyard in ruins (yellow square on the aerial view). Here was a foot-path sort of gate so I climbed over and jogged uphill but found a residence but no footpath (blue diversion). So I retraced my steps and continued along the "embankment". This led me to the Golden Falls ESB dam.

ESB Golden Falls dam

Here I was surprised to find the beginning of a well-trodden path, complete with rough steps cut into steep declines down to the new river level.  This path continued, with a proper small footbridge crossing the outflow from the Dublin Water Works until it met a new hardcore track coming down from the main road on my right. I followed this track which took me the derelict Woolen Mills and from here to Ballymore Eustace.

The existence of this footpath made me think that perhaps I was not trespassing, but who can tell? Rights of Way don't happen like they do in the UK. And the rule here is - never ask for permission because the land owner granting permission makes them liable so they must decline.

From Ballymore I kept to roads - to Boleybeg crossroads (on the way to Dunlavin), turn left here and back via Broadlees and Ballysize.

Stats: Total distance almost exactly 12 miles, average speed just over 6 m.p.h.  Barefoot of course.