Tag: Lag Ny Keeilley

Lag Ny Keeilley, Eary Cushlin

I ventured out on the first sunny day I could find to do a short recce of an optional extra I was intending to offer on our next U3A walk. Lag Ny Keeilley, the home of a long gone hermit was my destination, and I was starting from the ‘car park’ at Cronk Ny Arrey Laa. I don’t propose to give you a full breakdown of this walk as I shall write it up another time, with a better map and possibly an alternative end-section, but most of this walk is absolutely stunning, especially if you did it as I did, first thing in the morning, before other people have got out of bed.

Having said that, as I started walking down the lane, I bumped into a man with his grandson picking bilberries. There are heaps of bilberries on this island. I did pick a few myself just to check what they were like. I walked down until I reached the footpath sign leading into the Dalby Nature Reserve, only I turned left instead up and over a stile onto the moorland on the lower edge of Cronk Ny Arrey Laa. The light was wonderful and the wild flowers were in abundance, making this a joyous walk. I walked alongside the wall, slightly uphill, until I reached the path leading down from Cronk Ny Arrey Laa, and followed that to Eary Cushlin. This path is becoming worn in places so do take care.

The path to Lag ny Keilley goes to the left in a southerly direction skirting along the bottom seaward edge of Cronk Ny Arrey Laa. Ignore the footpath sign to the right unless you want to visit the waterfall and have a steep climb back up the hill! Our path continues for about 3/4 mile hugging the coastline. It is not particularly exposed but neither is it a particularly easy path. You need to be sure-footed as it is uneven in a number of places and there are gaps in the path on the seaward side, so you may lose your poles if you are not careful. But, it is passable with care, and if you do trip you will get a soft landing :-). It is also very wet in places, made worse by the constant rain we have had recently. There is a bench if you want to stop and enjoy the views, which are spectacular. I sent a Whatsapp to my children with a couple of photos, saying that people go on holiday to get views like these, and here they are on my doorstep.

There is also one rather large boulder you have to navigate, but otherwise it is a narrow packhorse track, going steadily downhill. Before you reach Lag Ny Keeilley, look out for the Holy Well, which no doubt kept the hermit going with a constant supply of fresh water. I didn’t go down to the site itself, but I did take a photo. It looks rather uninspiring from a distance, but it is interesting when you get there, and imagine the life that was lived here, and the visitors it has seen. You can learn more about the site here : https://culturevannin.im/exploremore/places/lag-ny-keeilley-717214/ and here: http://early-med.archeurope.com/british-isles/the-celtic-church/lag-ny-keeilley/

It is a steady climb back to Eary Cushlin. The remaining section is on a stony road up the hill. Altogether this was a 4 mile walk, with 1000ft of ascent, which completely surprises me. I have checked the ascent on a couple of maps and it appears to be correct, but it is not at all difficult.

I shall not include this on my next U3A walk but instead I shall offer it as a separate walk sometime in the future, and maybe include Dalby Nature Reserve which will make it an even more interesting walk.

Below are some examples of the uneven path:

Update: Monday 7th August – found a tick embedded in my leg this morning, despite being fully covered from head to foot during yesterday’s walk. Am awaiting advice from dr as previously I became very ill following a tick bite. So, do be careful if out around bracken this summer. These tiny pesky creatures sit atop grasses and such like looking for passing prey. If you do find one on you, use a tick remover and seek advice sooner rather than later.

Teaser for Tuesday

On Tuesday I am leading a walk for the U3A down the Rushen Valley up to the Round Table and on to Cronk Ny Arrey Laa and Eary Cushlin. I had offered an extension to view Lag Ny Keeilley, so the purpose of today’s walk was to check whether the coast path from the top of hill to this historic site was suitable for my walkers.

I must admit I wasn’t really in the mood for walking – horror of horrors I hear you say, but my apathy was soon dispelled once I started moving. It was a lovely day and there seemed to be no-one about so I had all this wonderful countryside all to myself. Maybe everyone is watching the Commonweath games or gone away…

The route to the top of Cronk Ny Arrey Laa is well travelled and easy. It is about 300ft from the road and takes about 15 mins to reach the top, from where the views are unsurpassed anywhere on the island, with the exception perhaps of Snaefell. The route down to Eary Cushlin is not so easy. It is narrow and steep and the footings are tricky in places where the ground has been eaten away over time, leaving fairly high steps on the banks. Having said that, it is easily passable with care. It looks no distance from the top but in reality takes between 20-30 mins to walk down and across the moor to where the path meets the lower path at Eary Cushlin.

On Tuesday, we shall continue straight on past Eary Cushlin house and back to the cars. I haven’t described the earlier part of the walk as I have covered this before. When I write it up on Tuesday I shall tell you all about the Tholtans in the area. However, for those wanting to visit Lag Ny Keeilley, turn left and continue mostly downhill on a rough path for about 3/4 mile. This was originally a packhorse route which would have run all the way around the steep western slopes of Cronk Ny Arrey Laa to the Sloc. I decided this path was not suitable for a group. Not only is it narrow and overgrown with bracken the ground has broken away in places on the slopes making the path very difficult to negotiate. It really needs some maintenance, but I guess this is not a very frequented path so won’t be high on the list of things to do over here.

If you do continue, the views are beautiful on this dramatic coastline, and it is extremely peaceful. There were several little birds hovering and chatting as I walked along and a very big bird kept circling overhead – possibly a harrier. When I eventually reached Lag Ny Keeilley, over 1000 years old, you will initally see two modern cairns at the entrance. The whole area is surrounded by a circular wall, though this is difficult to see, indicating a burial ground. Indeed several burials have been found, including a lady who lived at Eary Cushlin who was buried there in 1800. The keeill itself is fairly substantial and significant finds were found here, including the original altar and quartz pebbles, often found in these settings as a mark of respect for the dead. The remains of the priest’s cell is also visible. If you would like to know more about this site, take a look at Andrew Johnson’s explanation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkxEbGS6Sos. Although his video was made only a few years ago, the site seems in better condition then than it does now, which is a shame.

Overall, the distance of this walk was about 4 .5 miles, and 1070ft of ascent and roughly the same amount of descent.