A bit of a walkablog about our expedition to the North of the Island yesterday. There are lots of pictures on https://www.facebook.com/WelbeckHotel/?fref=ts if you don't fancy the full read. Basically from Port Moaar, we followed the Raad-ny-Fiollan (Way of the Gull) marked by pictures of white birds on a blue background.
The original idea was to catch the Manx Electric Railway in the morning and head off for Ballaglass Glen but due to a little over indulgence on the bed front, we eventually decided to take the car.
Opposite the Glen Mona Hotel, there is a small grassy lane which runs alongside a stream. Despite some board walk, it can me a little damp under foot here and in a few other areas of we traversed, so boots or quite sturdy trainers would probably be the best option.
This takes you across the MER track and down to the ford where the Port Cornaa Road forks off to the Cashtal-yn-Ard Road and we opted for the latter.
For those of you who don't me, I was a long distance race walker and I have used this road many times over the years in training and even directed people on occasion to the the ancient burial site, so this was a great opportunity to visit Cashtal-yn-Ard instead of thundering past as I would have when I was an athlete.
It is only 300m off the single track road and is a collection of stones, thought to date back to 2000BC. Apparently there was once a megalithic, chambered cairn which was built as a monument and though this no longer exists, it is still supposed to be one of the best preserved sites of its kind in the British Isles.
We then continued on down past the back of Ballaglass Glen (The Walk from there to Port Cornaa and down to Laxey was covered in 2013 http://michaelswelbeckblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/walkablog-heads-north-well-south.html and then up to Port Cornaa Halt
The end of daffodil season is coming but there are still plenty of late blooming examples along the roadside, as well many others, including a very pretty purple flower, we couldn't identify.
Having walked the last few miles on tarmac, it was a pleasure after dropping down to the outskirts of Maughold, through the dreaded, Ballajora (well it's dreaded by many travelling in the opposite direction) to turn along to Port Moaar and then to be back on the trails.
Some ares are reasonably challenging, so a fair level of agility and fitness is required.
It always amazes me how few people you meet on these footpaths; there were only two other people between here and Maughold Head, apart from some sunbathers on one of the beaches, though it was a great irony that as soon as I returned to Facebook Land later, one of my friends had covered a very similar route.
A little further along form the photograph below, we saw our only seal of the day, idly fishing just a few metres off the cliff side, though unfortunately, he (I think) seemed camera shy.
The views from the top of Maughold Head are amazing but it is a lung busting hike to reach the summit! This is the gateway to the Brooghs (For some reason the Northern Brooghs have an 'H' but the Marine Drive Broogs do not) which is a dramatic walk along the top of the cliffs, looking towards Ramsey and the North of the Island.
We finally arrived back on the bitumen for a short hop down to Port-e-Vullen which is a very picturesque little bay but be careful if you are following our route towards the North as it is only signposted for people heading South (probably South East or due East actually) and very easily missed.
Also, you have to be careful not to go at high tide as we did all those years ago and had to scale across the rocks.
When you come off the path at Port Lewaigue, it is only a short stroll back to the main road. Of course, we managed to mistime it, so that we didn't make either the bus or a tram and had to walk back into Ramsey to catch one though there would be an opportunity to either take public transport back or continue on the Raad-ny-Foillan. However, after over 3 hours, it decided enough was enough for us.
The good news is that the Glen Mona Pub is once again open, following major refurbishment. The bad news is that all the detail on Facebook and the internet from the former regime is still there and the new owners are having a nightmare failing to remove it, so make sure you use the correct FB icon if you require information https://www.facebook.com/GlenMonaHotel/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf
We enjoyed a well deserved pint there but unfortunately were too late to eat. Please support it though, as the country pubs need to be used if they are going to survive.
No comments:
Post a Comment