Wicklow Mountains — Military Road Dispersed Parking and Sally Gap Staging

The Military Road from Rathfarnham south to Aghavannagh runs through the heart of the Wicklow uplands, crossing Sally Gap at around 1,600 feet of open blanket bog with views north to Dublin Bay on a clear day. It’s a proper road — paved, dramatic, and passable in any rig — but the landscape around it is wild enough to feel genuinely remote. Pull-offs along the roadside let you stage for walks into the Wicklow Way corridor, fish the Liffey headwaters, or just stand in the bog and feel the wind off the Irish Sea.

Dispersed parking is informal along the roadside near Sally Gap junction — no formal campsite but overnight van camping has a long tradition here under Bord na Móna tolerance. Keep it clean, take everything out, and don’t camp in restricted Coillte forestry blocks. Nearest resupply is Roundwood or Blessington. Road is paved throughout but can ice hard in winter.

Bleak bog, Dublin views, Ireland's spine road.