The Wicklow Gap is Ireland's idea of a mountain pass, which is to say it is modest in height and enormous in mood. The road climbs out of the Glendasan valley onto bare, peat-brown moorland, with the long shoulders of the Wicklow Mountains rolling away on either side, and at the top the world opens into a high, empty bowl of heather, grass, and wind. Clouds move across it fast, and on a grey day the whole scene has a Scandinavian bleakness that is hard to match elsewhere in the country.
The mountains here are granite, and they are among the oldest in Ireland, shaped by ice and worn smooth. The valley below the gap holds Lough Nahanagan, a dark glacial tarn, and beyond it lies Glendalough, the monastic city founded by Saint Kevin in the sixth century. Its round tower and ruined churches stand beside two lakes in a wooded glen, and they are among the most evocative early Christian sites in Europe. On the hillside at Turlough, a pumped storage power station uses a reservoir that sits on the top of a mountain, an odd piece of engineering in an otherwise wild landscape.
The riding on the R756 is a pleasure when the weather behaves. The climb from the Glendalough side is steady, with bends that tighten and open and a surface that has improved in recent years, though frost and water can leave patches. The descent toward Hollywood and the Blessington lakes is longer and straighter, with fine views over the reservoirs. Sheep wander across the road, and fog can arrive in minutes, so keep your speed under control and your visor clean. Weekend traffic includes cyclists and walkers, particularly in summer.
Blessington, about seventeen kilometres to the north-east, is the nearest sizeable town with stations and shops, and Rathdrum and Valleymount are smaller places in the area. Carry a waterproof layer whatever the forecast, because wind and rain are likely, and a hot drink in Laragh or Glendalough before or after the pass is an excellent idea. Late spring and early autumn are the best seasons, with clearer light and fewer crowds. In winter, snow and ice make the gap treacherous, and it is sometimes closed.