Little Sugar Loaf

This article is about the hill in East Wicklow. For its larger neighbour, see Great Sugar Loaf. For the similarly named mountain in West Wicklow, see Sugarloaf (West Wicklow). For other mountains of the same name, see List of mountains named Sugarloaf.

Little Sugar Loaf
Little Sugar Loaf, from the east
Highest point
Elevation342 m (1,122 ft)[1]
Prominence247 m (810 ft)[1]
ListingMarilyn
Coordinates53°10′8″N 6°7′12″W / 53.16889°N 6.12000°W / 53.16889; -6.12000
Naming
Native nameGiolspar
English translationGiltspur
Geography
Little Sugar Loaf is located in Ireland
Little Sugar Loaf
Little Sugar Loaf
Ireland
LocationCounty Wicklow, Ireland
Parent rangeWicklow Mountains
OSI/OSNI gridO2606514480
Topo mapOSi Discovery 56
Geology
Mountain typeQuartzite Bedrock[1]

Little Sugar Loaf (Irish: Giolspar, meaning 'Giltspur')[2] is a 342 metres (1,122 ft) hill in the far northeastern sector of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It does not have the elevation to rank on Arderin, Hewitt, or Vandeleur-Lynam scales,[3][4][5] however, its prominence of 247 metres (810 ft) ranks it as a Marilyn.[6]

The Little Sugar Loaf is situated northeastwards from the Great Sugar Loaf, but separated by the N11 dual carriageway. The northern side of Little Sugar Loaf directly overlooks the town of Bray; the eastern side (see photo) looks across the R761 between Bray and Greystones to the western slope of Bray Head. Little Sugar Loaf has a distinctive profile of a rocky double summit.[7] Like the Great Sugar Loaf, it consists of Cambrian Period quartzite bedrock.[8]

Irish academic Paul Tempan notes that the Irish name Giolspar is likely a translation of the English "gilt spur", based on a record of a 12th-century transaction by Diarmait Mac Murchada of land in the area which involved the payment of a pair of "gilt spurs" to him and his heirs on an annual basis.[2]

  1. ^ a b c "Little Sugar Loaf". MountainViews Online Database. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b Paul Tempan (February 2012). "Irish Hill and Mountain Names" (PDF). MountainViews.ie.
  3. ^ Simon Stewart (October 2018). "Arderins: Irish mountains of 500+m with a prominence of 30m". MountainViews Online Database.
  4. ^ Simon Stewart (October 2018). "Vandeleur-Lynams: Irish mountains of 600+m with a prominence of 15m". MountainViews Online Database.
  5. ^ Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins", Collins Books, Cork, ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7
  6. ^ Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Dublin & Wicklow: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848892019.
  7. ^ Dillion, Paddy (1993). The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits. Cicerone. ISBN 978-1852841102. Walk 2: Tonduff and Kippure
  8. ^ Sile Daly (May 2016). "The Great Sugar Loaf: Geological Context" (PDF). Irish Mountaineering Club. Retrieved 11 July 2019. Popularly mistaken for a volcano, its metamorphism has rendered the rock extremely erosion-resistant and the mountain owes its shape to the weathering characteristics of quartzite.