Lough Tay and the Sally Gap

The lake that looks like a Guinness advertisement

From the road on the western shore, Lough Tay appears suddenly: a dark, almost black lake cupped between granite cliffs and a curve of white sand at its southern end. The family that owns the land — the Guinnesses — reportedly planted the white sand to give the lake the appearance of a pint of stout viewed from above, the dark water as the porter and the sand as the head. Whether the story is true or apocryphal, the view is genuinely striking, and Lough Tay has become one of the most photographed landscapes in Ireland.

The lake sits on the Sally Gap plateau in the Wicklow Mountains, roughly 45 kilometres south of Dublin. It is not a stand-alone destination in the way that Glendalough or Powerscourt is — there is no visitor centre, no admission charge, no cafe, and no monument. You park in a lay-by on the R759, walk to the wall, look at the view, and continue your journey. That is the point. The satisfaction is architectural: the proportions of the lake, the cliff on one side, the slope of heather down to the strand on the other, and the sensation of having driven to something that is simply landscape.

Getting there from Dublin

Lough Tay is not reachable without a car or an organised tour, and there is no public transport to the viewpoint. The most direct route from Dublin is the N11 south to the Kilmacanogue junction, then the R760 through Enniskerry and onto the R759 over the mountain plateau. Allow 50–65 minutes from the city centre. The R759 is a single-carriageway mountain road that narrows in places — it is fine in ordinary cars but demands attention when meeting oncoming traffic or tour coaches.

Most organised day tours that cover the Wicklow Mountains pass the Lough Tay viewpoint. The Powerscourt, Guinness Lake and Glendalough tour is the most direct choice, combining the three most distinctive Wicklow sites in a single day. This tour departs Dublin in the morning and returns by early evening, making stops at each site with adequate time at each.

The Sally Gap

The Sally Gap itself — the crossroads at the highest point of the road — is a bleaker place than the lake. Treeless bog in every direction, a few sheep, wind, and the occasional cyclist grinding uphill. The Military Road runs north-south through here, built by the British after the 1798 rebellion to allow rapid troop movement through the mountains where rebels had found easy cover. The road is now a scenic route and attracts cyclists from Dublin in the summer months; on a clear day the views across the bog plateau toward the sea are wide and austere.

Walking from the Sally Gap

If you have walking boots and a few hours, the area around the Sally Gap offers several routes across the open moorland. The ridge above Lough Tay (Luggala Mountain, 595 metres) is accessible from the road but requires good navigation in mist and appropriate footwear — this is not a place for trainers on a wet day. The Wicklow Way long-distance walking route passes close by, and you can join it from the gap for a section of the ridge before returning to the road.

For more structured walking with a guide, the Wicklow Mountains page has details on organised hiking tours that cover this area. Glendalough is 15 kilometres south from the Sally Gap on the same road, making the combination of viewpoint and monastic site a natural pairing.

Luggala House

On the far shore of Lough Tay, barely visible from the road, sits Luggala House — a Gothic Revival shooting lodge that formed part of the Guinness estate from 1937 until 2018, when it was sold. The estate attracted a remarkable number of artists, writers and musicians over the decades, including Brendan Behan, John Huston and Samuel Beckett. It is now a private retreat and not open to visitors, but it adds a layer of literary and social history to the view.

Filming locations

The Sally Gap and Lough Tay have appeared in numerous Irish television productions, most notably as a backdrop for several scenes in the BBC drama Normal People (which was filmed extensively in Wicklow) and in older productions going back decades. The combination of accessible moorland and dramatic lake scenery close to Dublin makes it a regular choice for location managers, which means the landscape may feel oddly familiar even on a first visit.

Combining with the wider Wicklow circuit

Lough Tay works best as part of a wider day in Wicklow rather than a destination in its own right. The natural pairings are Powerscourt to the north — 20 kilometres via the R759 — and Glendalough to the south, another 20 kilometres on the same road through Roundwood. This triangle is the most rewarding Wicklow day-trip combination and can be done comfortably in a car with an early start from Dublin.

The wicklow-glendalough day trip guide has timing recommendations and driving routes for the full circuit.

When to go

The viewpoint is accessible year-round, but the light and weather vary enormously. Autumn (October–November) gives the most dramatic bog colouring — bronze and russet heather against the dark water. Spring (April–June) brings green growth and lower visitor numbers than summer. July and August weekends see the parking lay-by filling by 10 am; arriving before 9 am or mid-week avoids the worst. In winter the road can be icy and is occasionally closed in severe weather; check conditions before setting out.

Photography is best in soft morning light when the cliff face on the east shore catches the early sun, or in late afternoon when the shadows lengthen across the water. The lake is almost always darker than it looks in photographs — the tannins from the peat bog stain the water brown-black in reality, which is part of what makes it so distinctive.