At last! A few restrictions have been lifted and we can now enjoy limitless hours of solitary entertainment walking along our wonderful riverbanks, through our forests or along green byways. Psychologically I feel liberated, and no longer feel that eyes are watching me as if I am a criminal when I walk down the road.
After potting up more seedlings and planting more seeds, the warm sunny weather drew me out to go further afield. One of my boys had sent me a heart-warming photograph of a forest of bluebells that he had encountered on his daily Derbyshire walk. Spurred on by his thoughtful gift, I was prompted to drive to Silverdale Glen where I hoped the ramsons and bluebells would be flowering. And indeed they were, though perhaps not quite as abundantly as in previous years maybe due to the exceptionally dry weather we have had over the last month and they certainly weren’t as pungent as they usually are in most places.
I parked in the top car park and walked down the footpath to where the path divides. To the right the boating lake and to the left the wilder side of the glen with the leat running north to south to feed the mill at the lake. This was marked no access but I knew this would where the ramsons and bluebells would be standing at their most proud so I flouted the footpath closed sign for the sake of getting photographs.
The reason for the closure became obvious as the bridge has been taken down and a low one put in its place. Whether it is to remain like this I don’t know, but it would allow pedestrians and wheelchairs access to the other side of the river. It was so quiet down there and the sunlight darted about about the trees and vegetation. It was like being in a fairies’ playground.
There were a few people around the boating lake, some with their children at the play area but this place usually bustling with activity on fine days was a shadow of itself, but still very lovely. I walked to the old Mill and crossed the road and walked up the lane to go to the other man-made lake where there were ducks chasing each other in the water. I was surprised to see butterflies, given that it is so early in May. I saw male orange-tips flittering about never stopping long enough for me to snap them, and what I think is a speckled wood, judging by its eye on the underside.
There were numerous spring flowers lining the paths and riverbed, some of which I have included in the slide show, along with the butterflies and ducks!
I continued down to Ballasalla, passing Abbotswood and saying a little prayer for all those struggling with Covid-19 and the key workers there cleaning up the nursing home to make it safe again for the residents to return. On to the bridge and Rushen Abbey, then following the river north back to the Mill. I hardly saw a soul in the 75 mins I was out.
So, I finish my ramble with a slideshow of the flowers I enjoyed and the interesting trees with the unusual shapes they throw, often looking like hands or monsters creeping over the ground.
Distance: 2.3 miles; 121 ft ascent! 🙂
Gill's Isle of Man Walks 