The Triskelion Way Part 1

Not only do we have our gorgeous Raad Ny Foillan coastpath, but we also have an equally interesting pilgrimage route called The Triskelion Way, which covers 36 miles from Ballasalla in the south to Maughold in the north east. You can do this in 7 sections or combine some of them if you don’t have the legs or the time to do long stretches.

Today was the first of a 4 day pilgrimage, organised by Phil Craine. A group of about 15 people, of mixed ages, abilities, nations and religions assembled at Ballasalla and began walking along the lovely Silverdale Glen up to the Ballamodha Road, stopping at the Monk’s Bridge where fellow pilgrim Paul delivered a haiku poem he had written, setting us in the mood for the journey.

The walk along the river gave us all a chance to get to know each other and find out about each person’s extraordinary gifts and talents or to walk in silence if preferred. The next section across the road is still closed, so we walked up the road and across fields to Grenaby Bridge. From here, we followed the very quiet lane uphill, passing the Kerrowkeeill chapel on the way to the junction with the Ronague road. This provides expansive views to the south and Langness – if only it weren’t so misty. For those interested, you can hear a recording of the Manx Language Harvest service held there in 1969 here: Kerrowkeeill. Unfortunately, we couldn’t visit as the building is now in private ownership but at least one of the pilgrims could remember attending services there.

We joined the Whisky Run, a stony track leading up to the main entrance to South Barrule at Round Table, one of our high points for the day. The midges were out in abundance at this point, but the bilberries tasted delicious as we had a short stop. By this point one or two of the pilgrims had gone their separate ways and another had joined us.

Next was the continuation of the track down to Glen Maye. It is only a few weeks since I wrote about (the tholtan on) this route, so I will simply show you some photos coming from the opposite direction. The cover photo is from this area. It is here that the route becomes most attractive and sitting by the bubbling river eating my homemade onion foccacia I had a blissful few moments amongst the purple heather and the yellow gorse. The rest of the group had stayed at the tholtan for lunch, but there were just too many midges for me – and couple of others who turned up shortly after I sat down. I am still feeling the presence of the midges three days later!

The path down by the Glen Maye waterfall has been upgraded in several sections. There was little water there today, but the greenery was magnificent. I never fail to be amazed by the vines tumbling from 100ft until they just touch the water. There have been two small landslides in the glen, one causing a minor encumbrance on the path, the other on the far side closer to the sea. The last section of the walk was along the wonderful coastline, a walk of about 4 miles. It is so different here from the south with its rugged cliffs. Here the cliffs gradually slide into the sea exposing the rocks below. You can see for miles, all the way to the Calf of Man.

We walked at our own pace and a small group of us led the way, which became a smaller group as we reached the end. I had a very interesting chat with the co-leader about health and illness and how the mind can influence the body, which continued all the way down the grassy Peel Hill and took my mind off my aching legs. From here, you can see all the way to Jurby, but there was heavy cloud on the hills spoiling the views along the way. No sight of the Mountains of Mourne on this occasion.

The group had become separated by quite a distance apart by the end, as the miles mounted up and the hills began to feel harder to walk. It was a good 12 miles from start to finish, with almost 2000ft of ascent, so a major achievement for all no matter what age or ability. A few of us met up again and compared notes at the Retreat in Peel where some of them were staying, and where we had a most welcome cup of tea.

Thank you to all who made this day so enjoyable, with a special mention to Val, who became a taxi driver for the day as well as a general dogsbody, helping out wherever needed – and her sister too. What stars they are ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

More pilgrimage blogs to come, or just one actually, another beautiful route across our big hills. To view any photos full size, just click on the individual photo; some of them are showing as portrait when they should be landscape, but when enlarged they show the full photograph. I will post details of a book that has been written about the Triskelion Way and contact details for anyone wanting to join a similar pilgrimage in the future, tomorrow.

26, 1000ft + Peaks Challenge – Day 1; 22nd May 2021

I imagine the title will make some of you feel exhausted, turn over and go back to bed, but if I can do it as an OAP, so can you. Not that I’m sure I can do it yet. Having various infuriatingly only partially diagnosed metabolic problems makes hill-climbing often painful and extremely tiring to the extent I have to rest for several days afterwards. But this is who I am and what I have done all my life, though without so many encumbrances. I adore being out in the hills, wind, rain, snow, sun, I don’t care. If I stop now I will lose a lot of my identity and what gives me purpose in life.

These 26 peaks take in the majority of the Manx Slate hills, which run diagonally north east to south west. We didn’t start with Bradda Head or the Carnanes the furthest points south as these are just under 1000′.

Cronk Ny Array Laa (437 metres): We started out gently at the car park on the Sloc road towards the top of Cronk Ny Array Laa. I don’t usually have a problem with this, but the group started out fast (as groups always do) and I found it difficult to lift my legs or breathe. Not a promising start. When we reached the trig point of this our first peak I advised the leader that I may discontinue and that I would take it at my own pace. Cronk ny Array Laa means Hill of the Day Watch. The cairn above it is a burial plot dating to the late Neolithics. Just beyond this you will see a stone memorial citing the Manx Fisherman’s Evening Hymn, written by W.H.Gill.

Round Table: The next section was downhill, flat and slightly wet as we crossed the moorland to the Round Table and the crossroads taking you either around South Barrule, towards Niarbyl in the west, Colby /Ballasalla in the south or Port Erin in the south west. This looks such a short section and yet it always take quite a while to walk through the peaty moorland.This is the meeting point of 3 parishes and also denotes the separation of the Northern and Southern divisions of the land. Just over the road is a kissing gate, and to the right of this is a flat mound or tumulus, an ancient monument barely visible and never excavated. It would originally have been square, but the story goes that the soldiers used to argue as to who should sit at the head of the table, so they made it round. It is strategically located, given its tiny size. It is the highest point in the dip between South Barrule and Cronk Ny Array Laa, and from here you can see the sea in all directions, so it must certainly have been some kind of lookout, perhaps like a keep. If you want to go and look for this yourself, on the Colby/Ballasalla road there is large white stone on top the wall, and immediately behind it should be the tip of the hillock. You are looking for a raised area of just a few metres diameter with an indentation in the centre and the hint of a surrounding ditch.

The walk across the moor from Cronk Ny Array Laa

South Barrule (483 metres) : onwards and upwards, on a well defined track and then a stony path for about 180 metres. Now you start to feel the wind, but it was really quite a pleasant day, though hats and gloves were much in evidence. The path starts gently with some sections rising, a little like terraces. There are a few outcrops where you can stop to admire the view or have a coffee break. On both ascent and descent, you go through a stone rampart encircling the top of South Barrule. This was an enclosure of 5-6 acres, and within this have been found 85 round huts, the remnants of many of which can quite clearly be seen. The rampart itself is made of turf and faced with stones, most of which have tumbled away and lie strewn across the ground. This was an Iron Age fort. Radiocarbon dating of a hearth in one of the huts showed it to have existed since 524BC. It doesn’t take much imagination to wonder why they picked here. It is one of the few places where (on a good day) you can see the Seven Kingdoms of Man, but it is also inhospitable, and is thought to have been inhabited partly due to climate change affecting the lower levels – plus ca change plus c’est la meme chose.

2nd Peak – yours truly in bobble hat and purple cagoule. Photo courtesy of Ken.

From here we made our way down through the gorse and heather in a northerly direction until we joined the Sloc Road and the Cross Vein mine workings (now defunct). Notice how barren the land is, almost like volcanic ash. The next section was road walking, but this is not an issue as there is hardly any traffic, until we took a detour for lunch in the Arrasey plantation. This was first planted between 1935 and 1967, and is continually being felled and restocked with Sitka Spruce, Pine, Larch and more recently Corsican Pine. After lunch we got our first view of the western coast and Peel, with field after field of soft green farmland, such a contrast to the higher moorland.

Here we have a social grouping of humans tucked away in the undergrowth communicating and eating

Slieau Whallian (383 metres): We walked around the edge of the plantation and rejoined the lane downhill until we reached a bend in the road at 210 metres where we turned uphill along a stony track. Under normal circumstances this would be the way to St John’s, but our leader had negotiated an extension with a landowner who kindly agreed to allow us to go onto his property so that we could reach our final top of Slieau Whallian. He had even put up ladders for us. Thank you so much, Mr. Farmer (not his name!); we appreciate your permission and your thoughtfulness. It was a very straightforward walk to the top and afforded us a wonderful view all the way back to our starting point and we could see all our stopping points in between. And of course we could see all the way to Douglas and beyond and Peel and the north in the opposite direction, with big hills right in front of us.

Our final peak of Slieau Whallian and views all around, showing where we have been

Then came perhaps my favourite part of the day. The hills are soft and gentle underfoot, but in places surprisingly steep, creating amazing vistas that somehow you don’t expect to see on this island. It’s not altogether obvious as there are few erratics scattered around compared with say Yorkshire or the Lake District, but the topography of the southern and northern uplands (over 200 metres) has been created by glacial drift, giving it its distinct undulating shallow upland basins and deeply incised streams/ glens. These round topped hills could be seen everywhere as we made our way down.

Our final descent was through the Slieau Whallian plantation. You have probably heard the story that it is called the Witches Hill – how they were put in a barrel with spikes inside and their body weight rolled it down the hill. I don’t imagine that would have been a pretty picture when they opened the barrel at the bottom! Our descent through the trees was far longer than I was expecting, but not difficult. The sun was glinting through the forest lighting our way, and eventually we made our way down to the back lane into St. John’s. Apparently my watch slightly undercooks distance and it was just about 10 miles; 1631 ft of ascent and 2769 ft of descent. My body battery was 79/100 when I started and 7 when I finished, and it has taken 2 days to get it anywhere near that level. I shall attempt Day 2 next Saturday and take it at my speed and hopefully make it through. I don’t give in easily.

Thank you to Ken for a great day, and to the group for being excellent company.

Hope Bowdler Circular 8 miles – 16th March 2020

The sky was clear as a bell when I awoke, so an early start onto the hills was in order. I had worked out and memorised a route I wanted to take starting from Hope Bowdler, though whether it would work out in practice was anyone’s guess.

I parked in a lay-by alongside mums taking their children to nursery and walked along the road through the pretty village. I knew my path would be just behind the village on the eastern side of a stream, and I found it without a problem. It was all uphill to the source of the stream, keeping Hope Bowdler Hill to my right.

I fully intended to traverse west across the moorland so that I could take in all the peaks, but you could carry on between the hills if you preferred. There are three mini peaks, all nameless, one around 390 metres, the second about 410 metres and the highest at 426 metres. The views across to the Long Mynd were spectacular and the sun warmed my soul as I walked along the ridge. I should mention there is no footpath marked on the OS map but there is a clear path in practice.

*View of the Caer Caradoc range from the* *mini peaks of Hope Bowdler Hill*

From here there is a steep and uneven descent that curves around the hillside contouring for a short time, before entering the valley, scrubland and forest that is very very boggy. The paths here are less obvious but there is plenty of choice and as long as you know roughly the direction you want to go, you will get there. As it was, I didn’t deviate from my mental route all day, which rather impressed me.

There are little streams to cross, but these are not difficult and eventually you hit the main ‘thoroughfare’ between the Hope Bowdler Range and the Caer Caderoc range. There is a choice of routes. There is a steep path up to the first crag to the left, but given my physical condition I tend to look for the more gradual routes, so I walked eastwards on the path until I reached a gate and stile.

*Going off piste; the stile is at the top*

There is a clearly visible route that heads directly to the top of Caer Caradoc, but again I wanted to take in the mini peaks, so I ascended over the tussocky ground to join an easy path to the east to view the nameless peaks. The ridge walk was lovely, undulating and soft underfoot, and there is a slightly steeper rockier ascent to reach the craggy highest point at 459 metres. The views are just stunning from here.

Unfortunately, it is all downhill from this point, and quite steeply too. I would recommend walking poles if you are slightly unsure of your balance. The descent is mostly on peat and heather, as opposed to the grit at the top, so if the path is worn or slippery you can walk on softer terrain which will give you more grip. As the descent eases it turns into a grassy track. You could carry on at this point and do the final hill in this series, but that was not in my plan.

I took a path to the right at the shoulder of the hill and followed this round the base of Caer Caradoc to Cwms Cottage, which is actually a ruin. At this point you are back on the former track. The walk continues for a couple of hundred metres west before turning south to go around another unnamed hill, with Cwms Plantation to the left. Once you reach the stile, the path follows a field boundary for about 10 minutes to a point where there is a conjunction of paths.

*The* *view northeast with the Wrekin in the distance*

My route took me south and uphill again over but not over the top of Willstone Hill, across an area called Battle Stones. My path then continued over lovely sheep filled grassy meadows and took me down to Middle Hill, where I expected to walk through a farm and continue.

However, it was marked private and no access. I do apologise but I climbed over the fence because the recognised footpath appeared to continue straight on. However, I would not recommend this. I saw no-one but I heard loads of dogs that were clearly aroused by my presence. They were contained in sheds and not visible, but it was a little alarming.

There is an alternative route, so don’t go down to Middle Hill but go to Cardington Hut and follow other waymarked routes. It will add on another mile, but you can actually start this whole walk the far side of Hope Bowdler, so it would even out. As for me I continued on the farm track. Once on the farm track there is another route via Greystones which takes you down to the main road. Either way, all paths lead to the main road and from there it is simple walk on a grassy verge back to Hope Bowdler.If you get the chance to visit St Andrews in Hope Bowdler it has the feel of centuries of worship and activity. It is only a small church, but it is very special, with an avenue of enormous yew trees leading you to the church entrance, and a lytchgate that still has the stone coffin stand in its entrance.

This was a really super walk. It took about 4 and a quarter hours; 8 miles with 1889 ft of ascent and 1922 ft of descent.

Postscript, 22nd March 2020: Sadly, I had barely written this post when news came through that because of the coronavirus, anyone returning to the Isle of Man after 23.59 on Tuesday (the next day) would have to self isolate for 10 days. I took the rapid decision to get the 2.15am ferry and return to the Isle of Man, so after a hurried evening dinner with HF, I packed my car and shot off up the motorway.

On arriving home, I decided to self-isolate for 7 days in any case, so that is what I have been doing these last six days. Thankfully, I do not have any symptoms so I hope to scale up to the social distancing only stage from tomorrow. Our IOM govt has decreed that as long as we are sensible we can take ourselves for solitary walks, so I will try and fit a few in while most other aspects of life have been put on hold.

La Palma, Canaries – January 2020: Day 2 – Cube de la Galga Ravine and Coastal Walk to San Andres

The title makes it sound as if this is an easy walk, but this was the hardest walk of the week. It started with quite a long coach journey before being dropped off in the middle of nowhere in the Parque Naturel de Las Nieves. This time I opted for the ‘harder’ walk and it certainly was harder than yesterday. After a brief level start we then climbed steeply up a rocky path for 400 metres through a most attractive laurel forest. I have been having trouble with a persistent but low-key cough for weeks and the steepness and difficulty of the climb made breathing difficult, especially as some of the walkers insisted on a fast pace, which basically I ignored. I never see the point of walking at speed on a holiday, where the idea is to see the views and imbibe the magic of the region. As yesterday, but for different reasons, the path was often slippery and a tumble was only the next footstep away if care was not taken.

The laurel forest only exists between 500m and 1200m, so that shows the height we started at! It doesn’t lend itself to wonderful photographs except for the specialist, but the sun played around between the trees and there was a cooling draft that was very acceptable. Beneath the laurels are lower ground hugging plants such as tree heathers so the whole forest is a very pleasant mix of greens and where the sun can really break through wild flowers grow near the paths. The forest only exists because of the trade winds, which allow a cloud forest to develop bathing the forest in moist air. We reached the Mirador de Somada Alta,at 790 metres. which is just a viewpoint and a resting stage, then we continued more of less contouring before turnwards eastwards and returning to our starting point. I cannot emphasize enough the beauty of walking through these remote woodlands and they make a fine contrast to the banana plantations below and the bare volcanic rocks above.

From here we followed well made paths down to La Galga, where a platter had been prepared for the walkers in a local restaurant. There is a wonderful viewpoint of the Barranco de la Galaga here at the Mirador de la Galga, tucked behind the local church, and an equally impressive view in the opposite direction down to the sea.

You can see how rugged and tricky the descent and ascent might be into the first ravine. We then followed a local path on the side of a hill which had been terraced for growing crops, such as wines, bananas, avocados, oranges and lemons. The lower terrains are covered with smallholdings.

Reaching the coastpath GR-130, the path undulated and made various twists and turns before we encountered our first major Barranco, which are steep-sided ravines, sculpted by water – hard to believe considering the tiny amount of water that falls in La Palma. They would originally have been faults in the lava flows which are then corroded by water.

The first ravine near Los Galguitos (though the village was not visible from the path) was the steeper of the two, with a narrow rocky path to negotiate in both directions, before we were able to continue contouring all the way to next ravine near Llano de Pino, which looked as if it would be daunting as at this point we reached sea level. But the ascent was much easier with intermittent level sections and with a few rest stops we soon reached our destination of San Andrés. This is a very attractive village with a beautiful central area around its imposing church, and lots of bars.

This was a varied and interesting walk, so different from the day before and different from anything else we would do. It was very exhilerating if demanding and we enjoyed a very welcome drink in the bar before getting the coach home

Distance: 8 miles (13 km); Total ascent 1700 ft (510m); Total ascent: Approximately 3,000 ft.

Ridge Walk Snaefell to Ramsey – 30th September 2019

This was a first, at least for me. For the last twenty years I have visited the Isle of Man and the last five years I have been living here, yet in all that time I had not done this spectacular ridge walk. We could have hoped for a sunny day, but this is the Isle of Man where we are more likely to encounter strong winds and rain or the dastardly Mananan’s cloak, but we could be lucky…

It all started out so promisingly as I drove to Laxey in bright sunshine, and the forecast promising not to disappoint until 4pm. The other walkers arrived at the station and it was still just about sunny as we hopped on the tram up to the top of Snaefell. As we reached Bungalow we realised the weather had other intentions as the top became swirled in mist. I could almost feel my fellow walkers psychologically putting on hats and wet-weather gear in anticipation. I did feel disappointed for the visitors to the island who might have hoped the see the seven kingdoms of Man, but it was not to be. However, you can see what a cheery lot we are as we set on down the mountain.

We reached the TT course and crossed over to start our ascent. Although classified as a strenuous route, this seemed a misnomer as we were starting at the highest point, with a few ups and downs but mostly downs until we reached the sea.

The ridge affords some wonderful views even in this semi-cloudy state. Every now and again clouds would swell up in the valleys and filter across the shoulders of the hills and engulf everything in their path; in between we had some fine glimpses into the distance and occasionally saw the Lake District and even less occasionally saw Scotland. I waved to my son, James, who is wild camping in Galloway though I couldn’t see Scotland at all at that moment, and instantly I received a video text from him waving to me and saying he couldn’t see the Isle of Man either. Talk about coincidences.

Our first hill was Clagh Ouyr (551 m), followed by two unnamed hills. I did think we should have given these demoted tops some appropriate names to identify them given them as they are still good heights for the Isle of Man, the first at 550 metres and the second 533 metres. The superior-minded North Barrule, which is only a matter of 565 metres seems to think it literally rules the place, which I guess it does. The pointy peak reminded me of Thorpe Cloud in Derbyshire. It’s not a difficult climb, being mostly on peat. It was rather boggy in places but easy walking along the ridge.

As lunch approached, so did the clouds and we sensed a change in the weather. Our guide, who for some reason I keep wanting to call Steven, but whose name is actually Ken, pointed out that the formation of clouds showed that the rain was just being held at bay, and we hoped long enough for us to make our descent.

Spirits were still high as you can see, though I did wonder who was challenging who to jump off first.

North Barrule itself is a lovely hill and its one of those where you feel you want to abandon your rucksack and run up it and be a child again for a moment, but this was not quite the day for such frivolities.

The route down is a little tedious as it is very uneven, wet and boggy and therefore a little slippery. Even so, we did have some splendid view of cloud formations over Ramsey Bay.

We eventually met a green road taking up to Ballure Reservoir and Glen. The reservoir was completely dry, which is ironic as at this point the heavens opened. It is only dry for maintenance and it was interesting to see it without any water. We proceeded down the glen amongst the trees and finished on the beach.

It was a really great walk and one that I can imagine I shall do many times in the future. Thanks to the Isle of Man Walks Festival for putting this on and many many other walks every day for a week. I look forward to seeing you again on Wednesday for Greeba Mountain if you will have me after I was telling what an unsociable walker I usually am!

Distance 7.39 miles; Elevation 854 ft; Descent 2734 ft

Circular walk from South Barrule 11.75 miles, 2,200 ft of ascent – 28th May 2019

This was a fairly tough route, or at least it felt so by the end of it. It would have been easier had I walked it a different way round, but I ended with the majority of the climb towards the end of the walk – never a good idea!

I parked the car on the western edge of the Barrule plantation and followed the well trodden footpath downhill to the Glen Rushen river. Usually, this is a quiet route, but today there were several bikers also enjoying the route… but spoiling my peace. However, the countryside is there for everyone, as vouched for by my own TT guests who seem to be absolutely enthralled by our lovely island.

There are wonderful views in all directions, but perhaps my favourite view on the way down the hill was of this old delapidated farm house, protected by hawthorn trees. In the garden was a swing and I could almost hear the children playing and the grownups going about their daily duties looking after the sheep.

The further I went down the valley, the more interesting it became in some ways. I noticed old quarry workings beside the river that I hadn’t seen before, and a flock of long-tailed tits were twittering and flitting about in the trees. I stopped briefly by the Glen Maye waterfall, which was shrouded in sunlit mist and admired the vines dangling down into the river.

I was well protected from the wind at this point, something I became well aware of as I reached the beach at Glen Maye after 4.5 miles. This was to be my first lunch stop, but I can tell you, it was quite a short one! The white horses were more visible than they appear on the photos.

I climbed to the top of the low cliff onto the southern coastal path, which at this point is very short, as very soon afterwards the footpath follows the full length of the main Dalby road and there is no choice but to follow it. However, the views make it worthwhile.

I walked down to Niarbyl – toilet stops and a cafe here if you want them – had a quick look the the Tail of the Rocks, then followed the cliffs to Traie Vane where there is a quaint waterfall gushing into the sea. The locals call this Whitesand Bay , so named not because of any white sands but the very white pebbles on the beach. As I descended to the beach I was struck by the height of the reeds growing on the verge of the cliff. This beach is less frequented than others but it does have its own appeal.

What goes down has to go up, at least if you are parked at over 1000ft, so I ventured back along the cliffs. The coastpath is not entirely clear here. The map shows it going inland and indeed I did come across a stile, but there was also a fairly well worn path continuing along the edge of the cliff, which looked far more interesting, so I continued round and eventually joined the actual coastpath at a junction with a track. There is no reason to go inland; this path is absolutely fine.

I was aware of what was not far around the corner, having often walked this route the other way round. I knew the path would wind its way downhill again, then I would cross a small stream and have a relentless plod uphill to the top of Cronk Ny Arrey Laa. For me, the first part was much harder than the seemingly steeper and rockier part towards the top of the Cronk. Low down it is just a steepish grassy slope, but I was quite breathless at times on this section, so just took my time. Of course, I had already walked over 8 miles and my fitness is not as good as it usually is, so I shouldn’t be surprised at this.

I debated whether to take a different path when I reached Eary Cushlin, but that would have involved another downhill section followed by more uphill – and road walking, so I accepted that it was better just to continue uphill to the top and then have a leisurely and flat warm-down walk across the moor back to the car. What I hadn’t realised at the time, was that I would be climbing 1300′ in 3/4 mile, although of course I was half way there by now. At Eary Cushlin the vegetation changes and you lose the green grassy pastures and it turns to purple heather and heathland and rocky paths. The views from the top are breathtaking:

And finally, the flat walk across the moor:

I shall upload the route in due course. This was a delightful walk, full of variety and a few surprises. If you are not used to walking, you can vary the route and shorten it, but why not take a few hours out and stop at various points and enjoy the wonderful Isle of Man scenery in all its glory.

Meanwhile, I shall continue to try and do one walk per week that is between 10-15 miles, and meanwhile keep up the 10,000 steps per day (5 miles for me) as often as possible.

Maps:

7 miles to Traie Vane; 1 mile+ Traie Vane along coast; .58 m Around Gob Y Ushty; 2.58m Final section to Cronk & back

Figure of 8, Cronk Ny Arrey Laa, Tuesday 4 Sept 2018, 8.78 miles, 1533 ft of ascent

This is a walk of endless possibilities and permutations. Well maybe not endless, but there is a wide variety of starting and finishing points. If you prefer to finish with a downhill section, then start at the Sloc, as virutally any other path will mean a long uphill section at the end.

I started where the road turns to the right and a farm track continues to Dalby close to the top of Cronk ny Arrey Laa ( a regular parking spot for walkers), then descended south along the permissive path to the Sloc. It was interesting to see that the heather and gorse on the eastern side had virtually finished, whereas it was still in full bloom on the south side. On the eastern side, several shallow drainage ditches have been dug, and even though we haven’t had a lot of rain, every one on the eastern side was working well, with water in them flowing off the hillside.

When I reached the Sloc, I decided to blaze a trail to the top of Cronk Ny Arrey Laa, taking in the hillocks on the cliff line – cliffocks? – which are avoided by taking the standard path. Clearly others have done the same from the footprints and loosely made paths that I followed from time to time, but this was entirely new to me. It was quite thrilling and provided me with views that are usually unattainable. I did see one gentleman on the traditional path looking quizzically up at me. I couldn’t decide whether he thought I was just bonkers or whether he quite fancied traipsing through the heather himself. For me, it was worth the extra ascent and descent, but as he didn’t join me he obviously thought I was bonkers.

On reaching the highest point of the day, Cronk My Arrey Laa (437m), I descended via the steep coastal footpath which, once off the stony Manx group, crosses the wide and boggy moors towards Eary Cushlin and Dalby Mountain.

Here I was meeting the Manx Wildlife Trust again, this time to assist with the project “Bouncing Bogs”. I say “assist” but I am really not a lot of use, but I am learning a lot, and in time I may be of some use! I was late because I had got the time wrong, but it was neither here not there, as is usually the case with Manx time-keeping, and they hadn’t started. Dawn showed us bog asphodel in its orange burst of autumn glory, bog cotton, sheep’s bit scabious, eyebright, tormentil, purple knapweed to name but a few. She showed the children how to strip the soft rush to create rush lights and plucked and flicked thelicopter seeds from the nearby sycamore trees providing amusement for the children, though it has to be said the most fun was had by jumping about in the bogs. The gooiest thing of the day was a very ugly and slimy slug, which rather delighted Dawn. One thing we sadly didn’t see was the sundew which is common here, but maybe a little late in the year to show itself off. I havent included this section in my walk stats as this was an extra.

I then proceeded along the Bayr ny Skeddan towards Glen Maye, another route I had never walked before. It was just lovely, with continuous changing views across to South Barrule. The path is easy and flat until the end when it descends steeply to the river Rushen. This path is accessible from Eary Cushlin /Dalby Mountain car parks and is worth a walk on its own. You can see the mines, the river valley, and the moutains from a unique angle. Unfortunately, at this point, I ran out of battery – again – but I will revisit this area another time I am sure and take more photos.

I stopped for ‘lunch’ when I crossed the river Rushen. There are a couple of good places to have a picnic lunch here, either at the bridge sitting on the stones, or if raining, just a little further upstream there is a gate leading to a grassy and tree-d area where there is a confluence of streams. I sat by the bridge for a while. The sun was beaming down and the water trickling over the rocks, and I didn’t want to move.

From here, I ascended using the farm track to Round Table. It is reasonably steep initially and then becomes a softer climb, but it is all up hill. From Round Table, I continued across the moorland which does seem to go on forever, although it is no more than a mile or so. You can see the cars parked at Cronk Ny Arrey Laa from Round Table and they look deceptively close. This path was quite boggy and slippery and of course, still uphill.

I can throughly recommend this walk; you maybe don’t want to do it all. If you did the first half of the figure of 8 to Eary Cushlin you could join the Dalby track back to the car and this would be no more than 5 miles. Or, you could start by walking down the Dalby track and just do the second part of the figure of 8, and that would be about 5 miles too.

So that’s my long walk for this week. I am off on my hols to Majorca in a few days and work has to take precedence now until I go. I shall have my Garmin watch with me on my walks in Majorca so I may do a Majorca blog while I am away if I have an internet connection.

Santon to Douglas along Marine Drive – 8 miles

The weather forecast was promising, the steam train was running, what could possibly go wrong on my trip to Douglas today? I was out scouting for a new breathable waterproof jacket so the plan was to get the train to Port Soderick and walk the 4 or so miles into Douglas via the scenic marine drive.

I arrived early at the railway station and immediately had doubts as there was no train in the station and all the sheds were locked up. I had checked the timetable and there should have been one at 1 o’clock. Arriving at the booking office, the board proudly announced the next train would be 2 o’clock. Not wanting to waste more than an hour and a quarter I hopped on a bus. Only the bus doesn’t go to Port Soderick and I hadn’t got a map with me, so my guess was to get off at Santon and walk the extra couple of miles to Port Soderick. After all, I would still get there before the train.

So, that’s what I did. Only, not only was the weather forecast wrong, it pelted it down for the first half hour and I was beginning to wonder about the wisdom of getting off the dry bus when I could have gone all the way to Douglas on it. Anyway, too late. I took the attractive footpath behind the big house at Santon which leads to the old Castletown road. At least I kept mainly dry this way.

Then I had to follow the Old Castletown road until the turn off to Port Soderick, not the most exciting walk especially as drivers are using it as a short cut during the races, but necessary in the circumstances. And it rained. By the time I arrived at the lovely Port Soderick Glen and the coast, the weather had brightened up a little, so I enjoyed my sandwich and Millionaire’s Shortcake in something resembling sunshine.

Photos: Port Soderick Glen

Photo: Port Soderick Bay and the Port Erin to Douglas steam train

I took the steep stepped path up to the coast road. I instinctively knew that I would see the train at this point and I was not disappointed, although it looked somewhat strange with its engine facing the wrong direction. I turned on to Marine Drive and followed this lovely route and a lady walking very briskly all the way to Douglas. It kept mainly dry until the end when the wind suddenly got up and the clouds darkened before spitting out another dollop of rain. As you can see from the featured photograph (the one at the top), Douglas had put its coat on this afternoon, but by the time I arrived there, it was brilliant sunshine and it remained so for the rest of the day.

Did I get my waterproof? Well, yes and no. I had gone with a list recommended by reviews and no-one had any of those in stock, but I did take a fancy to the Berghaus Glissade 111, so asked for this to be put by for me. I came home and ordered it through Quidco, thereby getting cashback of £12.90 on the same item, which I shall now have to collect from Douglas another time. But then, I shall get the bus!!

P.S. I tried a different camera for this trip, but my mobile phone is so much better I shall have to return to this next time.

Ballabeg, Cringle Reservoir, Castletown 19th August – 11 miles

It’s always good to do different things. This walk takes you mostly over farmland and you get a totally different impression of the island compared with walking the well-trodden coastal footpaths or the popular glens. You begin to appreciate that people work on this land rather than work in this land. The feature photograph is typical of the extensive views that this walk affords for most of its length. It’s not a high walk, the total ascent was only just over 800 ft and is within the capabilities of most reasonably fit people, though you may prefer to take a full day to absorb all the wonderful views rather than the half day I was out.

I got to bus to Ballabeg and walked up the back road beside the lovely Arbory church before turning off onto a path I had never walked before. This was an attractive, narrow path leading gradually uphill towards Ronague, bordered on either side by a wide range of vegetation. I remember being told that you can tell the age of a path by the number of varieties of shrubs in the hedgerows. The blackberries are out in abundance and during the whole walk I regularly stopped to pick and eat the plump berries.

As other days, there were lots of butterflies, mainly speckled woods. The path widens out as you ascend to allow tractors to reach the fields from Ronague. This was very muddy after last night’s heavy rain, so I was glad I wore my walking boots. At Ronague a black hen came out to greet me. The map says there is a chapel, but this seems to have been converted to a house, as is so often the case.

There is some road walking on a small B road before turning to the right to follow farm tracks. It was here that the official route departs from the actual route on the ground. The official path is supposed to go north behind the farm at Ballaglashan over the ford and on to another dwelling and up to the remains of the medieval chapel. In reality these paths no longer exist. At Ballaglashan I had to climb over a fence and struggled with another gate, aided and abetted by a horse who wanted to see what was in my rucksack and kept nuzzling against the gate latch so I couldn’t see what I was doing – and at the next dwelling, the footpath has been removed (though it looks as if they may be redesigning the footpath access as there was one new stile) and there is no direct access to the remains of the old chapel, so I had to do a detour up to the road. The other footpath delineated on the map from the road doesn’t exist either, but you can see the remains clearly, as in the main photo.

Photo: Map showing the two dwellings where the official footpath does not exist

I continued to my lunch stop at Cringle Reservoir and watched a Cormorant swimming along and occasionally stopping to flap its wings. Considering the lack of summer rain and the hosepipe ban the reservoir was surprisingly full. South Barrule looked so inviting, but as I didn’t start my walk until 2pm, there was no time to visit. Another time…

The early part of the afternoon was taken walking down the Bayr ny Skeddan – the old herring path that leads from Peel to Castletown. I really enjoyed this, and it was along this route that I felt closest to nature and the integrity of the island. Unfortunately, it is necessary to walk half a mile along the Ballamodha straight, though had I had longer I might have taken the footpath to Grenaby and walked back the full length of the Silverburn. I had hoped there might be a path that would take me to the Grenaby road from one of the farms/houses but although it was apparent it was so overgrown and clearly unused this was not possible. There are one or two gates that are difficult to open and I gave up trying on the one beside Moaney Moar and climbed over.

The Silverburn Glen never disappoints and is always a delight. I stopped at the Mill and had a break before continuing down to Ballasalla, passing by the 13th century Monk’s bridge and the beautiful ford by Rushen Abbey, then over the fields to Castletown. You could finish the walk at Ballasalla and get the train or bus back, which would reduce the walk by about 2.5 miles. The walk from Ballsalla to Castletown is flat and easy though not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs. It follows the Silverburn all the way to the coast, and as the tide was in, Castletown looked rather nice in the early evening light.

I walked a little around Castletown before getting the bus back and wondering whether I was going to be able to move when I got off the bus at Port Erin!

Kirk Michael, Cronk & Orrisdale, 11th August 2018 – 8 miles

This is a walk of contrasts – so different from the coastline of the south and Peel with its hills and cliffs of manx slate, sandstone and limestone. To the north of Peel we encounter miles of sandy beaches and sandy cliffs doing their best to fall into the sea. It is here at Kirk Michael that the remains of the ancient Giant Deer has recently been plucked from the crumbling cliffs and is being examined by the Manx Museum.

I parked in Kirk Michael and walked along the main road with a completely different plan to the walk I actually did. Passing by the church on the left with its signpost to the Bishops’ Graves I turned left on a road towards a camp site. This was a wooded road with a stream running down to the sea – or it would have been if we had had any rain in the last two months. It was bone dry today.

When you reach the coast you are filled a sense of peace as the vista opens up into a massive expanse of sea, sand and uninterrupted cliffs. The tide was in, so I walked cautiously along the foreshore for 3-4 miles to the north, accompanied by the sand martins, seagulls, terns, oystercatchers, shags and cormorants who flew on ahead of me every now and again. I also happened to come across a seal that had been washed up onto the shore.

The cliffs are described as precipitous with danger of falling rocks. There was evidence all along of major slippages and I wouldn’t have cared to stop and stare too long there with the wind blowing as it was.

As I reached the far end, the cliffs fell away into sand dunes where I stopped for lunch and enjoyed the views. There is a car park here for those who might like to do part of this walk.

To the north, I could see Jurby church just a stone’s throw away, but I had walked far enough and the rain clouds were gathering, so I decided to start the return route, this time slightly inland, following country roads and the heritage railway track. These were not disappointing as they afforded wonderful views of the local hills and Snaefell even with its unattractive topping of pylons and ugly buildings. It is hard to spoil any view around here.

As I walked along the Orrisdale road, there were sandy fields to left and right, and I wondered in years to come what other mystical creatures might be unearthed from its bowels. The heritage railway track, which in former times went from Ramsey to Peel was very pleasant. There were loads of butterflies but most fluttered by me before I had time to work what they were. The blues were in evidence everywhere. In fact, blue seemed to be the colour as there were little clumps of harebells on the wayside.

All in all, a gorgeous walk. I shall return to the Cronk car park and continue northwards along the beach another time.

I am having a lot of difficulty uploading photos so I can only show you certain ones. I shall have to investigate….

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