Kerroodhoo Plantation, Barrane, Eary Cushlin

This is one of my favourite walks. It has such variety and breath-taking views. We began by walking through the Kerroodhoo plantation, which is a very pleasant path, keeping ourselves in the dappled shade as we made our way downhill. There were a couple of obstacles, such as steeply dropping paths and streams to cross but nothing too daunting. Towards the bottom end of the plantation a new woodland of deciduous trees is being created whilst the everygreen Norway Spruces are being removed as part of a community measure to improve the environment. The idea is to create more diversity and provide better habitats for three b’s – birds, bees and butterflies. New trees being planted include Birch, Oak, Alder, Hazel and Ash, all native trees that have been grown locally. It will be interesting to watch this develop in future years.

Reaching Barrane and its chattering ford, we soon found ourselves crossing over meadows strewn with flowers to greet the footpath on the coast above Whitesands. Niarbyl lies in the distance and the white cafe stands aloft, although it has been closed as a cafe for a while and no-one knows when it is to reopen. The path southwards is not seemingly part of the coastal footpath route but is perfectly accessible and provides a super lunch spot where you can sit on rocks, watch the butterflies and listen to the birds circling overhead, all the time gazing wistfully into the distance at the towering cliffs of the southwestern part of the island.

After lunch we followed a grassy but uneven track with overgrown bracken for the next mile of so. In places, it is a little exposed as the cliffs fall away into the sea. We met a lady and her dog from Arnside who had never visited the island but was now smitten by it, as we all are. It was a little tricky crossing the swollen stream at Glion Mooar, and then we had our main uphill section of 300ft or so. We took it steadily, stopping to look at the wild flowers, or to admire the beautiful common blue butterflies that were darting here and there, or just stopping when we wanted a rest.

When we reached Eary Cushlin house a few of us were pleased to remove ourselves from that environment as we were being bitten by midges and such like. It was then a flat walk along the track back to the cars, but not before we stopped to admire the glorious heather on the Dalby Nature Reserve. We had had a wonderful day and enjoyed each other’s company. Distance: 4.25 miles, 935ft of ascent and descent.