As seems to have become the norm at this time of year for me I have been standing on the mountainside at Glassamucky waiting for the fog to clear enough to see the sunrise, but (again as seems to be the norm) it didn't. However, I am now convinced by what I did see that I am right about the winter solstice alignment there.

The wind was bitterly cold and I seriously desired, more than anything else on the planet, a good pair of fingerless gloves - a thing it seems very hard to get hold of in Dublin.

Then, while wandering around Piperstown Hill looking for the stone circle I found standing stone, which may actually be part of a 50m long stone row. Fantastic!

After starting the day with some 'long-range' sites (i.e. ones that I just saw from the roadside) I then went for a hill walk and encountered a seriously intact, but peat smothered, ritual landscape.

Two marked cairns led me to the top of Lugnagroagh mountain where forestry has taken it's toll, but fortunately the area I spent a couple of hours wondering around hadn't been touched - let's hope it stays that way!

Around the most southerly cairn is a scatter of possible standing stones, proto-altar type rocks and a few probable enclosures. This hill, on the west edge of the Wicklow mountains, offers phenomenal views across Co. Kildare to the west and back into the Wicklows to the east. The south is dominated by Church Mountain (County Wicklow) and Sorrell Hill (County Wicklow) to the north east.