Following weeks of antisocial behaviour, excessive littering and unauthorised camping at Lough Dan and the Inchavore Valley, access has now been closed.

In acknowledgement of the responsible recreational visitors the area attracts, access to Kanturk remains open.

This situation will be reviewed on a monthly basis beginning in mid August.

This announcement follows a number of clean up operations to tackle the significant volumes of discarded tents, sleeping bags, bottles, cans, food items, wet wipes and other camping material that accumulate on a weekly basis. Damage to trees and vegetation is also evident.

Members of Wicklow Uplands Council organised an evening clean up only last week as part of the “Clean Up The Uplands” category of the PURE Mile Competition, where a large dump truck was filled to capacity with waste items. After only one weekend, the area was again littered with an array of items and fire pits from the increasing numbers of visitors using the location for irresponsible camping activities and parties.

There has been widespread support to this decision with all key stakeholders keen to address the issue in this area of outstanding beauty and fragile ecosystems. There are reports of similar challenges in other rural areas in the Wicklow and Dublin uplands – possibly due to Covid 19 measures and the influence of the ‘disposable camping’ culture witnessed at music festivals

Wicklow Uplands Council advocates and promotes the use of the Leave No Trace Principles when visiting rural settings. For more information on the principles, please visit www.LeaveNoTraceIreland.org