This walk always reminds me why I live here. It is just a stone’s throw from my house and within minutes I am atop the Carnanes perusing wonderful vistas in all directions – that is, on a good day. Today, it was misty and a little windy but even so it still holds its magic for me.
I parked at the southern car park on the back road to Peel just above Port Erin. I immediately noticed that the Manx Woodland trust have planted more trees in the car park area. They have done a great job this year reforesting parts of the Carnanes. I walked up the road a little, crossed over onto the moorland. It was very quiet today, hardly any cars or people; in fact, I didn’t see a single person in the two hours I was out today. I had the hills, the sky and the views all to myself.
This is a great walk for an afternoon stroll after Christmas dinner. It is easy walking along paths that are well trodden, and if you have children there are heaps of cairns on hillocks for them to run off and explore while you gently pace yourself and take in the air. They are many different paths, and if you wish to can take the green road down to the sloc, then follow the cliff path back towards to Port Erin and do a circular walk of about 4-4.5 miles. That was not for me today. My walk was about 3 miles altogether, visiting the cairns on the Carnanes but not going as far as the highest point of Lhiatee Ny Beinee. I occasionally traipsed over the heather to reach a certain point and I used the lesser paths to reach my viewpoints. It is not especially sensible to veer off the paths too much as the gorse and heather are quite thick and not easy to traverse unless you have a particular reason to venture through it. And be aware that some of the paths go nowhere, and occasionally you may have to retrace your steps as you can see happened to me if you look at the map!
I find the outcrops of quartz and striations in the manx group rocks fascinating. I just wish I knew more about them, as this area is not well covered in the textbooks. For instance, towards the end of my walk I noticed that the rock structure must change as there were several natural springs that I crossed on the path that I hadn’t noticed before. Presumably the rain water filters through the top of the hills until it meets some impermeable rock about half way down. I shall have to make it my mission to find out during 2022.
So ends 2021. I have not been able to do as many walks this year as I would like for a variety of reasons, but I shall continue with my blog in 2022 and try and find some new places to show you. I haven’t done anything like enough walking in the north of the island and it has such different topography that is just as interesting as the coast and the hills.
I wish all my readers a very Happy New Year and I hope you all have opportunities to explore your own landscapes and to feel the same exhileration that I feel every time I am out in the countryside.
Gill's Isle of Man Walks 