Glen Maye Magnificent

A few weeks ago, Irene and I had a walk down Glen Maye, which has been one of our national glens since being purchased in 1960 and is located adjacent to the village of the same name.

For those that do not particularly enjoy walking, this is quite a good place to visit, as the waterfall itself is very close to the car park opposite the pub, though due to the nature of the paths and steps, a certain degree of mobility is still required.

You may also wish to include this area as part of a longer walk and Peel and Dalby are not far away along the Raad-ny-Foillan (the coastal footpath which translates as the Way of The Gull.) It is also on the bus route, though it pays to check as the service is quite sporadic https://www.gov.im/media/1350476/service-4-8-29-march16-v2.pdf

Spring is a great time to see the Island and this place is very beautiful with Monterrey Pines at the top, then mainly ash, elm and sycamore trees, not to mention wildflowers and daffodils (which I'm never sure if they are wild or not?) as you go down towards the sea.

I'm not really much of a botanist myself but apparently, there are plants here not found anywhere else in the Island as well as a unique micro species of blackberry called 'Glen Maye Bramble.'

The Rushen River runs right though the centre and the scenery is enhanced by the abundance of a great variety of ferns which are able to grow because of the shelter the Glen affords and the mild climate.

The name 'Rushen' itself does create a little confusion as Rushen is the Parish which encompasses most of the South West tip of the Island but confusingly, not Castle Rushen or Rushen Abbey which I think are in Malew and Arbory and not Glen Rushen, River Rushen or Rushen Mines which are all in Patrick! Got it? ;)

Quite close to the place where you briefly rejoin the road there is still a casing for the Mona-Erin Waterwheel as mining took place here from 1740 to 1870 though it produced very little lead.

It will probably take about 15 to 20 minutes to reach the coast.

You may just be able to make out the Irish Mountains in the background

There is a terrific charitable organisation in the Isle of Man called Beach Buddies, founded and run by a friend of mine, former newspaper owner, current editor of the Online publications Western & Southern Chronicles, Bill Dale.

The aim is simply to clean our beaches (and inland on occasion) and they enlist the help of the Manx and visiting public to do a fantastic job of removing the flotsam, jetsam and all the terrible plastics that find their way onto our shores.

Here is my own personal 'Beach Buddy' doing the business.

I'm ashamed to say that Irene and I have never actually managed to join Bill's team, though we try and make sure that we do our little bit whenever we have the opportunity.

If this is something to which you like to contribute to simply like https://www.facebook.com/Beach-Buddies-Isle-of-Man-117658954956301/?fref=ts or email beachbuddiesisleofman@gmail.com