I started out with the intention of taking a slightly different route around Glen Maye. As I reached The Sloc, there were no cars parked and the hill looked so enticing that I parked up and walked up to the top of Cronk Ny Arrey Laa, and then contoured around the hill back to the car. This is a very simple route, though fairly steep. You cover 1000ft in the short distance to the top of the hill, but the good news is that it is all downhill after that – in the nicest possible sense of course. The path up is quite rickety and worn. It really needs a bit of maintenance. It is perfectly passable but you do have to watch your footing.
The highlight of the walk up was the streams of bog cotton hugging the moorland, or rather hanging on for dear life in the wind. They are visible as long strands from the road and they really do make the moorland look very pretty.
I only saw one person on the way up, and he passed me as I stopped to take photos and I didn’t see him again. On the way down, I met a lady and what I imagine was her grandson heading up towards the top, and as I contoured back around the hill to the car I only saw a bicyclist on the path. It was a quiet and very pleasant stroll, even it is was very windy – but then we are used to that over here, aren’t we.
That part of the walk was 3 miles with over 1100 ft of ascent. I then drove to Glen Maye expecting it to be busy, but it wasn’t. I have always taken the well trodden path to the waterfall and then down to the beach, but I knew there was another path that I hadn’t taken once since I have lived here, so I walked down the road a short distance and then crossed over to take the steep and relatively short path up to the Dalby Road. It completely bypasses the waterfall, so there is no point in taking this path if you want to see the waterfall without much of a walk. I then followed the road round a couple of bends before taking the coast path on a soft and springy path leading all downhill and eventually to the beach at Glen Maye. It wasn’t quite as windy here. I only saw one human family where the children were having fun dropping stones off the bridge and two families of ducks in the sea. The chicks were tiny and mum didn’t seem to bother with them too much. I have never seen quite so much seaweed on this beach!
After a short break on the beach I walked back up the glen. It is only a short distance so anyone can walk this. It is quite slippery where they have made a concrete gangway so you do have to take a little care. There were several brown trout in the lower reaches of the stream. As you can see from the photos, the river is quite small at the moment. We have had a little rain in the last couple of days but nothing that will make a difference to our reservoirs. I saw a few fulmars nesting on the cliff but not the numbers I am used to seeing there.
As usual, the waterfall looked lovely even if it was a little quiet due to its lack of water. Much as photos are lovely to look at, it can never be quite the same as being there and hearing the water as it bobbles over rocks and pebbles and listening to the birds singing in the trees. There were chaffinches here today.
This section was about 2 miles with a total of about 400ft ascent (and descent). A very pleasant afternoon, and I wanted a walk just in case the weather is as dismal as forecast over the weekend, Even so, I will hope to get out somewhere.
Gill's Isle of Man Walks 