Wicklow Mountains

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The Wicklow Mountains (which include at the northern end the Dublin Mountains) are a range of mountains in the south-east of Ireland. They run in a north-south direction from south County Dublin across County Wicklow and into County Wexford.

None of the Irish mountains are particularly high: in this range Lugnaquilla is the highest peak at 926 m (3039 ft). Mullaghcleevaun at 847 m is the second highest. The summit of Kippure is the highest point in County Dublin, at 757 m.

The River Slaney has its source south-west of Lugnaquilla and then flows south along the western slopes of the mountains for some 45 miles before entering the St George's Channel at Wexford. The Turlough Hill power station is the only pumped storage hydroelectricity scheme in Ireland: it is located on the Wicklow Gap midway between Hollywood and Glendalough.

The whole area is much frequented, especially at weekends, by Dubliners, as the region offers multiple choices of recreation, ranging from fishing to rafting to hill walking.

In the midst lies the Monastic settlement of Glendalough, believed to have been founded by St. Kevin.

The southern limits of the Wicklow Mountains are set by Croghane, the highest point on the Wicklow / Wexford border and the scene (in the nineteenth century) of Ireland's only Gold Rush.