Need advice about Wicklow Way

I'm planning a trip to Ireland and was hoping to walk Wicklow Way. Here are my questions, I'll be taking my backpack with me on the trail and planning camp along the way. I know that you are technically suppose to ask the landowners for permission, but I've read that if you don't start a fire or leave a mess that generally it's not a problem, and I also know that wild camping in Glendalough is strictly forbidden, so, I was planning on just staying in a hostel there. Would I be okay camping as long as I am careful? Also, I am a 21 year old female going alone, am I ridiculous for wanting to do this or will I be okay??? I am in good physical shape and quite athletic, for instance, I could go jog a few miles no problem. Ideally, I know that it's better to be in the company of others for safety's sake, however, I will be alone on this trip. If this sounds too risky, does anybody know of any other cheap alternatives? I'll be flying into Dublin and very much enjoy the great outdoor, and when I say cheap I mean around the cost of 15 euros a night. Thanks!

Most of the Wicklow Way goes through upland, above agricultural land. Unless the weather is very good, the open heath and bog is unsuitable for camping. There are lots of state forests (thick conifer plantations) where technically camping is not permitted, but so long as you don't use a fire or cause a mess it is highly unlikely you'll be bothered. They are very dry and sheltered underneath, but beware of the midges at certain times of the year! There are some very popular areas just off the trail where the landowners get a bit uptight about public access (there are lots of 'no entry' signs), but with a bit of common sense you should not have a problem.

Fitness wise, you should have no problems, its not a particularly tough walk, much of it is quite tame actually - there are no tricky technical sections or anything like that. Its all quite safe in most respects, although do remember that you are not far from the city, so at night in some areas there could be antisocial activity in some remote areas (but common sense should tell you the areas to avoid, look for the litter and burnt out cars!). The only real hazard is that the weather can close in very quickly in upland areas in Ireland and this will affect visibility so in some sections it would be easy to get lost. Most of the area has decent mobile phone connections so bring one and take the details and advice of the local mountain rescue team - http://www.dwmrt.ie/.

Bring plenty of food, there are very few shops up there. There is a nice shop (called Glendalough Fayre I think) for stocking up in Laragh (near Glendalough), otherwise you need to bring nearly everything with you.

There are quite a few alternative walks (although in general, Ireland is poor for hiking due to public access issues) and nearly all can be accessed by bus or train from Dublin. The Carlingford area is lovely and quite interesting, as are the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland. If the weather is wet the Burren in Clare is great as its limestone pavement so always dry underfoot (although camping is difficult to find there). The finest hikes are probably in west Cork and Kerry, but some can be quite technical and demanding and can be a little difficult to get to by public transport.

I don't know how familiar you are with Ireland and walking in Ireland. I wondered if you had a good reason to choose the Wicklow Way in particular. Although it passes some lovely scenery (especially the stretch from Knockree past Loch Tay to Glendalough), it tends to skirt around rather than go through some of the best bits of the Wicklow Mountains. The far northern part is rather suburban and then goes through some not-too-attractive stretches of cut-down coniferous forest (I walked this myself recently). The southern part involves rather a lot of road walking. So if you were to choose purely on the basis of scenery, you might get more out of staying a few nights in the hostel in Glendalough and doing day hikes from there. The Way just goes down into the valley and out the other side, but there are some really great circular walks in that area. For example you could do the Way from Marley Park to Glendalough (which would I include the Loch Tay section I mentioned above as one of the best bits), then stay in Glendalough and do some day hikes, and get the Glendalough bus back to Dublin.

I realise you may already be aware of all this, I just thought I'd mention it to make sure you are choosing something that really matches what you want to do.

Edited by: alan1972

Thank you both, it has given me a bit more peace of mind. No, actually I hadn't thought about doing day hike around Glendalough, but I will definately look into that. Thanks again, any other thoughts are welcome.

If you're thinking of walks around Glendalough there are some suggestions (mostly relatively short ones) here:
http://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/WalkingTrails.html

The "Spinc and Glenealo Valley" walk is particularly good (better done on a week day if possible, it gets busy at weekends).