Walking has only recently become Ireland's national pastime. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, word spread about the verdurous thoroughfares and coastal walks awaiting discovery. Once the Celtic Tiger roared, the citizenry of Dublin began looking for a way to escape the busy pace of their new lifestyles. The result was the first of many national trails, the 130km (80-mile) Wicklow Way. Taking time to walk this or any of the other marked paths takes you into the Emerald Isle's true soul.