Month: January 2023

Glen Helen

The one time I forgot my camera and my mobile phone is the one day I would really have liked it. Although I know it has done little else but rain on and off for weeks, I hadn’t given any thought to the fact that the waterfall would be quite spectacular. But not only the main waterfall, there were waterfalls in places we don’t usually see them, and water permeating through the rocks and dripping onto the paths in spectacular ways.

So, no photos today I’m afraid. Instead, I will try and describe the walk using old-fashioned words. I was doing a recce of a part of the walk I am leading a week on Tuesday, and I wanted to check out the various routes through the Eairy Beg plantation. Taking note of the weather forecast I had left it until late morning to avoid the rain. I parked at Swiss Cottage, donned my walking boots and set off over the river. Already I could see there was a fair amount of water in the river, and as I reached the children’s playground there was an impromptu waterfall gushing onto the surface and finding a hidden way to reach the main body of the river. I continued on the far side of the river, gradually making my way uphill, over the wooden bridges where the water was tumbling underneath with great agility, and up the steps to the top of the glen where the forest meets the farmland. The principal waterfall is left at this point but I was only intending to visit the plantation so I turned right and joined the track and higher entrance into the plantation. This track was a little muddy but was quite passable. It is initially a wide track, as it would have been the main path to the ruined tholtan, now standing a little precariously in the middle of the plantation. Just past this point is a junction, where I turned left to make the climb to the top of Beary Park. This narrow path was muddy in places and it is quite steep for about 30 minutes. The colours and shapes in the plantation are interesting at this time of year – the bright green mosses growing in the mud and stone walls contrasting with the grey angular shapes of the denuded trees, which looking higher up sport splashes of dark green foliage. Occasionally, I would come across single Christmas trees looking odd in the landscape.

If you are walking this on your own, the path keeps left of a mossy wall. It is wide and soft to walk on, the only detour necessary being a slight dip around a fallen tree. In the distance were glimpses of light through the trees, heralding a change of terrain. Suddenly, you find yourself out of the plantation with moorland in front of you. To the left is a slight schism in the moorland, a hollow from which all the water on the moor gathers to make its steady flow downhill through the plantation to create the waterfalls. At this point, there are good views to Sartfell and the ridge of Greeba Mountain. Being moorland, this section was boggy, but there is plenty of grass to the side of the path making it much easier and drier to walk on.

Once you reach the saddle, the path continues down to Greeba, our path turns right into the plantation again, and after a gentle ascent you find yourself at the top of the hill, and now you can see right over the top of the trees, through the gaps in the mountains to Snaefell. Continuing on this path (I went over the moor here, pointlessly) you are on the road to the transmitter pylon, keeping the edge of the plantation on the right. From here, it is all downhill and as it is on the edge of farmland there were great views towards Peel and the south, that had not been visible from the top. This is a slightly steep, grassy path, which can be a little slippery, but there a wire fence with some wooden staves to help with support if needed, but I would recommend using walking poles on this section.

The path rejoins the forest and there is much less mud on this side and fewer streams and waterfalls. It is a really pleasant forest walk, mostly level or gradually descending, back to Swiss Cottage. At this point, I couldn’t resist going to see the main Glen Helen waterfall, so I contoured through the forest and rejoined the top path. This was very easy walking; however, do take care of the wooden boards and bridges which were quite slippery today to the extent that I preferred to walk through the bogs in some places. The boardwalks are perfectly passable with care, and again, be careful on the steps down to the waterfall for the same reason.

Despite the promise of better weather in the afternoon it rained the whole time from when I re-entered the plantation, and it continued whilst I sat on the bench eating my lunch by the waterfall, admiring the sheer force of the water plummeting through the narrow gap. All along the river, streams and the force of the roaring water was creating foamy waves billowing over the rocks. How I wished I had a camera, but really memories are more enjoyable than photos and last longer.

It is just under a mile to the waterfall from the car park, a mile of very easy walking and wonderful sights. I saw chaffinches, great tits and robins today flitting about between the trees, and there were geese in the meadows by the river.

I hope to see you on my U3A walk but if you can’t make it on 17th Jan, and you live on the island, can I encourage you to at least walk down Glen Helen and see the waterfall in its full fury. It looks very dramatic, and the Glen itself is particularly nice when it is not shrouded in a leaf canopy. You don’t have to do the mountain walk. Indeed, even on our walk, we will only do this extra section if the weather is suitable, but I will still take you to the tholtan if the weather is unsuitable to go higher.

Total distance 5.25 miles. Ascent about 1000ft, mostly all Beary Mountain.

New Year’s Day – and What a Day

I forgive the many of you who decided to abandon thoughts of a walk this New Year’s Day. The weather forecast was not great – we could expect at least a few short, sharp showers, but some clear spells too, and given there is nowhere to take shelter on this walk I imagine this might have put a few people off, especially as it was hailing cats and dogs in some parts of the island I gather.

Is this a good idea?
Where’s Cronk Ny Arrey Laa gone?

Even I was wondering whether this was a sensible route to undertake today, and in my head I had prepared a few other options with more cover or escape routes, if required: Glen Maye, Port Soderick, Marine Drive or total abandonment of the walk. One of my trusty walkers who is usually game for anything rang up to sorrowfully back out at the last minute – you know who you are – which left just three hardy fellows including me to climb South Barrule.

We met at Round Table as planned and the weather was already dull. I could see rainclouds bubbling up in the distance and I knew this was the calm before the storm. I did offer my alternatives but the group would not be discouraged and we began our ascent of South Barrule. There was no snow today, but in its place was water – everywhere, and it was hard to avoid placing one’s foot in one puddle or another. Even so, it was easy walking and a pleasant climb.

No sooner had we started when I got a call from my son, then another from my friend and a text from my daughter as my Garmin watch was under the impression that I had had an ‘incident’ and it promptly notified my emergency contacts, detailing exactly where I was (well, close..) and demanding that they contact me to see if I was all right. Quite what I had done to initiate this technical emergency response I don’t know as I had not had a fall, neither had I severely knocked my watch, but at least I know the system works!

We continued up South Barrule with Andy leading the way while Eve and I chatted. Then came the rain, and the mist – not quite enough to consider it to be ‘fog’ – engulfed us as we reached the trig point. To be fair, there was the tiniest glimmer of sunlight at this point for which we were thankful. It was a little breezy on the top, but for the first day of the new year, it was at least fairly mild, though a glance to the skies indicated it was not mild enough to stop for a coffee at this point.

From here, it was all downhill, trampling over the gorse and heather to avoid the slippery, stony and wet paths whenever possible. It may not sound great but I really was enjoying the walk and the company despite the rain, which would stop every now and again and afford us views into the distance, so I was able to point out the longer route we could take if the rain would cease. Um, yes, that was quite a big ‘if’.

On reaching the road, the decision whether to extend the walk was unsurprisingly made by the weather which turned really nasty for the rest of the walk back to the car. We had chosen to walk along the road rather than take the longer detour, but there was no shelter here at all, and the rain lashed relentlessly in our faces for 1.75 miles. I didn’t take any photos at this point – rain doesn’t show up on an iphone – but stepped up the pace a little and considered humming a merry song. We were drenched, thirsty and hungry, but still cheerful, as how else should you spend New Year’s Day but with a typical walk on the Isle of Man.

Did we really just do that?

I have to say, it was nice to get home and change out of my wet gear (including underwear!), make a nice hot cup of tea and have a slice of cake. But would I do it again – you bet I would!

No map today, except for the road walk – I must have forgotten to switch it on! I have recreated one underneath, but it is approximate. Distance: about 4 miles; Ascent: about 650 ft.