Few would expect where the small opening set into the Sean Walsh Memorial Park, and urban sanctuary of green in Tallaght, could lead to. But as you begin your hike, the spiked needle-like leaves of Noble firs and Scot Pines begin to close in on each other as the wooded landscape deepens. Crossing over 43km worth of hiking trails and settlement areas, the Dublin Mountains spoils visitors for choices in the many facets of nature it has to offer for our viewing pleasure.

Fir lined bowls of water cut into the earth at Bohernabreena Reservoir are short walk away from a valley of eternal snow, calcium carbonate deposited across the barren land from the bubbling limestone springs. Along the Shankill track, cross high-crosses and crumbling bawns hidden behind low-lying ferns in the Rathmichael forests. Dusty rock, desiccating under the harsh glare of time remain standing at the Old Lead Mines Tower, the turret serving as the only vertical structure for miles around. The Ticknock path is infamous for the Three Rock Mountains it wraps around, daring visitors to scale the three distinctive boulders at the edge of the mountain’s peak. The cairns of Fairy Castle evoke more intrigue than they do wonder for the ruins resemble a mound of knucklebones washed bleach white by the wind and rain.

If you ever tire of relying on your feet as transport, you can choose to hurtle down uneven dirt tracks on a mountain bike or try your hand at bouldering for a little change of pace. Touted to be the most difficult of the trails, the Hellfire circuit has earned its name from the hair-raising remnants of the Hellfire Club. Intended as a hunting outpost for the silver spooned young men of the 18th Century, it is a common wives’ tale that unscrupulous satanic rituals, illicit gatherings and even manslaughter too place on those very flagstones. A natural museum of civilization’s past and the steady constants of the wild, the Dublin Mountains leave much to be discovered with each and every visit.