Sally Gap is a bleak crossroads in the middle of the Wicklow Mountains, about 495 metres above sea level, where the road from Dublin meets the one running across the hills from Glendalough to Roundwood. There is nothing there but a signpost, a sheep or two on the tarmac and a view of huge, rolling bog under a sky that seems to change every ten minutes. It is the sort of place that feels at the edge of the world, although the centre of Dublin is only about forty minutes away.
The road itself, the Military Road, was built in the early nineteenth century after the 1798 rebellion, when the British wanted to open up the hills where rebels had been hiding. It runs south from the village of Glencree along the flank of Kippure, and you pass the Glencree valley, once home to a barracks. Near the gap, you can look down on Lough Tay, a dark lake in a steep-sided bowl that is nicknamed the Guinness Lake, thanks to the pale sand on one shore and the peaty black water, and it is part of the Luggala estate owned by the Guinness family. The River Liffey rises on the slopes of Kippure close by and begins its long run to Dublin Bay.
The surface is generally good, with long views, easy sweeping bends and a few dips, but there is no shelter, and wind and fog can arrive without warning. Sheep wander on the road at will, so slow down, particularly on blind crests. In winter, ice and snow can close the road. In summer, weekends bring a steady stream of cyclists, walkers and cars, and the best time to ride is early morning or on a weekday evening.
Enniskerry and Bray lie to the north, and Roundwood to the south has a few shops and pubs. The hills are part of Wicklow Mountains National Park, with heather, blanket bog and a surprising number of red grouse, and the view back down to the lowlands on a clear day is worth the climb.