Come and join Joe, your local tour guide, and learn about the rich flora and fauna of County Wicklow, Ireland, on your premier day trip or day tour hill walking experience

Indeed, County Wicklow is also fortuitously location just outside of Dublin City, making it easy to reach by car and bus. It really is a hill walkers dream due to the breathtaking views, lovely landscapes and the rich variety of plants and animals that it show cases, and the best way to explore this enchanting County is on foot.

Those lucky enough to visit County Wicklow on a walking holiday, will see host of plants and animals, and should keep a look out for the following:

Dear are probably the most common animal, and Sika deer especially in the County Wicklow area. These deer are not native to Ireland, and were imported by Lord Powerscourt so that he could hunt an exotic species within the Glencree Valley area, and they are smaller in size than the native deer. Indeed, the native deer are red deer, and are far larger in size than the imported species.

The red fox is also very common in the both the Dublin and Wicklow mountains, and is probably native to Ireland. There are large numbers of fox in County Wicklow, and they are a common site in both residential and forest areas.

Badger are common all throughout Ireland, although quite hard to spot.

The Irish Mountain Hare is common around the Loch Tay area in County Wicklow, which is an animal reserve, and they cannot be missed due to their enormous size. 

You will also see feral mountain goats leaping amongst the granite, quartz and mica shist of the spectacular glacial valleys and lakes of Wicklow, and especially Glendalough. 

The beautiful native red squirrel, with its bright coat, are a visual treat, leaving behind the tell tales signs of knawed pine cones and cracked hazelnuts, with wood mice scampering around for any left overs.

Pipistrelle bats also roost in dark attics in buildings throughout Wicklow.

In terms of plant life there is a variety on display. The magnificent golden coloured gorse will impress hillwalkers and day trippers alike, as it flowers during late spring and over the summer.

The beautiful shades of purple cover the mountains due to the prolific wild heather, which flowers during the summer months, and changes the landscape of County Wicklow to one of colour and incredible natural beauty.

Ferns flower over the summer months as well, and their deep green hue adds a fourth colour to the mix of gorse, heather and rolling bog land of West Wicklow, which is punctuated by the white of the bog cotton. The low lying fraughan(similar to blue berries) offer a tasty treat to those lucky enough to be hill walking in Ireland during the summer months, although you must keep your eyes open to see them, as they do not flower in a distinctive way.  

There are many other wild flowers in Wicklow, especially around the Glendalough area, that are a real visual treat, and again the best way to see them is on foot, even it is only for a Dublin day tour or day trip. 

The scarlet red of the fuschia as it hangs from the leaves makes an interesting contrast over the deep green of the ferns. The magnificent pink of foxglove grows in the mountains, and along the roadways, and it is hard to imagine that a flower of such beauty proliferates so well in the wild. 

Bluebells offer a visual treat with their deep blue, and grow alongside the white of Wood Sorrel, and the golden coloured St John’s Wort. Cuckoo flower, honey suckle and sheapsbit also add to the diverse colours and visual splendour of the Wicklow and Dublin mountains, adding to the stark landscapes of the glacial lakes and valleys that are best explored on foot.

The bird life in Wicklow is also incredibly rich, and those with a keen eye may spot some of the following:

Willow Warblers fly around the lake areas in summer, such as Glendalough, with Redwings which migrate from Scandinavia in the Winter. The beautiful white breasted dippers will amaze you as they swim underwater searching for insects to feast on, whilst the Grey Herons and Wagtails hunt for similar prey in similar areas of County Wicklow.

The beautifully coloured tree creepers fly from trunk to trunk, and Irelands smallest bird, the Goldcrest stay in the branches far above. Coal tits frequent one of the few native species of tree in Ireland, the Scots pine.

Lake areas such as Glendalough may also reveal the Gooseander, although this shy fish eating suck is often hard to find. The peregrine falcon flies spectacularly across the sky, at speeds of up to 300km an hour, as it attempts to hunt smaller birds in the region.  

Rooks, magpies, jackdaws and chaffinches also make up some of the diverse birdlife in the Wicklow and Dublin Moutnains.

Lastly you can see some beautiful oak trees and Scots Pine, some of the only native trees in Ireland, and hiking under their branches will give you an idea of what Ireland would have looked like hundreds of years ago.

So explore the rich flora and fauna of County Ireland, and remember the best way to do it on foot, and keep your eyes open for some of the plants and animals listed above. If you are unable to spot them along the route of your trek or hike, then opt for a guided day tour or day trip, and enjoy the full Wicklow experience.

© Walkabout Wicklow 2009