You know how writers and walkers all say that no two days are the same at the same location, well this is certainly true of this walk. Last week I was here with my grand-daughter, Emily, and the tide was satisfyingly in; yesterday, the tide was interestingly out, carving out a completely different landscape.
I was doing a recce for a walk from Castletown. If this is a walk you are planning to do, don’t take your car into the main streets and car parks of Castletown as there is only 2 hr parking. Instead, take the road to Derbyhaven and park either along the prom, or in one of the free car parks on just the other side of Hango Hill (above), opposite King William’s College. I had taken the train, so was walking from the station. However, I would recommend this walk to start at the first car park after Hango Hill. It is only a short distance back to explore this ancient monument before retracing your steps to start the walk.
As you can see from the photographs, if the tide is out, you can walk along the beach. Even so, there is a grassy footpath from the car park which is good to follow. It bypasses Derbyhaven and the start of the golf course, making a more interesting start to the walk. There are a few pebbles on the path as these are constantly thrown up by the sea, but it is easy walking. Eventually you reach the small lane and you are obliged to walk along this most of its way, but no more than half a mile or so. It is very quiet and there is lots of vegetation, birds and butterflies to look out for. You will pass the stone bird water trough commemorating one of the island’s principal ornithologists and you will very likely see Egrets or Herons perching on the rocks around here.
A little further along is the main car park for Langness and it is here where you enter the reserve itself, the paths taking you round the very tip of Langness. To your right, you will see strange rocks of conglomerate, arches looking as if they will collapse at any moment and notice areas of unconformity where millenia of rocks have miraculously disappeared. I am no geologist, but this area is described in many of our local books if you wish to find out more. If you are feeling adventurous you can scramble about on the rocks to the west as they dip and turn, but take care, not just of your footing, but make sure that you don’t get cut off by the tide, unless you want to join the shags and cormorants on the very last morsel of rock remaining at high tide!
The path takes you around the lighthouse, where you can take a look at the old foghorn. This is the most southerly point on Langness. It is a good stopping point for lunch, which is exactly what I did yesterday. As I sat muching away I heard the lamenting sound of a seal and got out my opera glasses (yes I know, proper binoculars would be so much better, but these fit into a side pocket). There they were, some lumbering about on the rocks, others swimming in the sea. As I continued on the eastern side of Langness there were even more seals. They do seem very big this year.
The eastern side has a different feel to the western side. The terrain is soft underfoot with more varied rocks landward and more gullies with sharp upright rocks on the seaward side. There is gorse and heather setting off the herring tower, and as you walk the mile or so towards the golf clubhouse you get amazing views of the range of hills all the way from Bradda Head to North Barrule. The path eventually goes onto the golf course itself, so keep towards the edge. There is plenty of room to walk beside the course rather than on it. However, to get to the clubhouse you do need to cross it for about 50 yards, so watch out for flying balls.
The golf club welcome visitors and the food is always tremendous so don’t be shy about calling in. The rest of the walk takes you around the glorious bay of Derbyhaven and then back along the road for about half a mile to the car park. There are few places like this on our island, and I thoroughly recommend it for a morning walk, a lunchtime walk, or an afternoon walk. Keep in mind, it can be very blowy as it is mostly flat with just a few humps and hollows. You will also be walking in a southerly direction so the sun can be a problem on the odd occasion it shows itself.
The total length of the walk from the Hango Hill car park is about 5 miles.
Walking with Gill 