Lough Tay

Lough Tay Loch Té
The Guinness Lake
Lough Tay
Location	Wicklow Mountains, County Wicklow
Coordinates	53°06′22″N 6°16′00″W / 53.106014°N 6.266763°W / 53.106014; -6.266763Coordinates: 53°06′22″N 6°16′00″W / 53.106014°N 6.266763°W / 53.106014; -6.266763
Primary inflows	Cloghoge River
Primary outflows	Cloghoge River
Basin countries	Ireland
Surface area	48.1 ha (119 acres)
Average depth	10.1 m (33 ft)
Max. depth	35 m (115 ft)
Water volume	0.005 km3 (0.0012 cu mi)
Surface elevation	246 m (807 ft)
Islands	none

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Lough Tay (Irish: Loch Té), commonly called The Guinness Lake, is a small but scenic lake set on private property, in the Wicklow Mountains in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies between the mountains of Djouce and Luggala, and is most easily viewed from above, from the R759 or the Wicklow Way as it descends past the J. B. Malone memorial. It is fed by the Cloghoge River, which then drains into Lough Dan to the south.^[1] It is not possible to visit Lough Tay without prior permission.

The name is believed to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *teh₂w-, "melt", "dissolve", "flow".^[2]

The northern coastline forms part of an estate belonging to the Guinness family; it is edged with a beach of startlingly white sand, the dark peaty water and the white sand create a striking similarity to a pint (a glass) of Guinness. The best way to enjoy it is to drink a pint on the cliffs above.

The philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote in his Autobiography:

"Twice I went with my Aunt Agatha to Ireland. I used to go for walks with

Michael Davitt, the Irish patriot, and also by myself. The beauty of the scenery

made a profound impression on me. I remember especially a small lake in

County Wicklow, called Lugala. I have associated it ever since, though for no

good reason, with the lines:

Like as the waves make toward the pebbled shore,

So do our minutes hasten to their end.

Fifty years later, when visiting my friend Crompton Davies in Dublin, I

induced him to take me to Lugala. But he took me to a wood high above the

lake, not to the ‘pebbled shore’ that I had remembered, and I went away

convinced that one should not attempt to renew old memories."^[3]

Many people say that Lough Tay is the site used to portray the city of Kattegat in the very popular series Vikings.

References