Tag: North Barrule

Farewell to the Isle of Man

We could not have wished for better weather on our Saturday walk. It was warm and sunny, if a little misty. 11 of us set off on the tram up to the top of the mountain, where it was somewhat breezier than down below in Laxey. The moors were wetter than we were expecting and care was needed going down to Black Hut. Crossing the road a strong boardwalk has been created over the bog, one of the best I have ever seen. We paused momentarily to watch a female damselfly lay her eggs in the water. It was a short uphill walk and then we had the splendid views of the Conrhenny valley with North Barrule and its associate hills on our left (after moorland photos). It was beautiful. We decided not to do the higher ridge walk over heather, which in hindsight was a good thing as a few people were wearing shorts and one person’s shoes fell apart. Not that it was easy walking on the lower track as it is very stony and uneven. One of the party said that this had been a nice grass track in the past, but has been destroyed, I guess, by the motorbikes and cyclists that are allowed on this path. It was a steady walk down to Laxey, past King Orry’s graves and back to our starting point at Laxey railway station. A very memorable and happy day, with good friends, who I will dearly miss.

The Monday walk was a different affair altogether, with absolutely pouring rain. My camera and phone stayed firmly in my rucksack the whole way. Fortunately, it was only a short 3 mile walk, but even so, those of us who did venture out thoroughly enjoyed it. We looked at the different vegetation and vistas and we had a jolly good natter. The heritage trail from St Johns to Peel (it starts at Douglas) is of course flat and relatively wide, which makes it easy to communicate. The path is ‘wearing’ in well, after its overhaul a few years ago, when it was very hard underfoot. It is more pleasurable to walk on now, and of course, around the Raggatt is is beautiful.

As I had mis-guessed the length of the route, thinking it was 5 miles not 3 miles, we arrived early at Peel, which gave me time to say goodbye to Lara at the Manx Wildlife Trust and to get a coffee before the rest of the party arrived for lunch. Our small number of 4 then swelled to 10. They were certainly drier than we were, but everyone was very happy. We had a super meal at the Marine Hotel. Everything was cooked to perfection and served in good time.

This was a different, but just as enjoyable way of saying cheerio to yet more friends. I shall have some very fond memories of my last few days on the Isle of Man and I thank you all, and those who couldn’t attend, for making my life here on the island so happy.

So, this is me signing off from the Isle of Man. Once I am established in England I shall revamp the blog and have sections for different areas of the country and abroad. I was walking in the uplands of Norway recently and that was truly spectacular…

Ridge Walk Snaefell to Ramsey – 30th September 2019

This was a first, at least for me. For the last twenty years I have visited the Isle of Man and the last five years I have been living here, yet in all that time I had not done this spectacular ridge walk. We could have hoped for a sunny day, but this is the Isle of Man where we are more likely to encounter strong winds and rain or the dastardly Mananan’s cloak, but we could be lucky…

It all started out so promisingly as I drove to Laxey in bright sunshine, and the forecast promising not to disappoint until 4pm. The other walkers arrived at the station and it was still just about sunny as we hopped on the tram up to the top of Snaefell. As we reached Bungalow we realised the weather had other intentions as the top became swirled in mist. I could almost feel my fellow walkers psychologically putting on hats and wet-weather gear in anticipation. I did feel disappointed for the visitors to the island who might have hoped the see the seven kingdoms of Man, but it was not to be. However, you can see what a cheery lot we are as we set on down the mountain.

No view at the top

We reached the TT course and crossed over to start our ascent. Although classified as a strenuous route, this seemed a misnomer as we were starting at the highest point, with a few ups and downs but mostly downs until we reached the sea.

The ridge affords some wonderful views even in this semi-cloudy state. Every now and again clouds would swell up in the valleys and filter across the shoulders of the hills and engulf everything in their path; in between we had some fine glimpses into the distance and occasionally saw the Lake District and even less occasionally saw Scotland. I waved to my son, James, who is wild camping in Galloway though I couldn’t see Scotland at all at that moment, and instantly I received a video text from him waving to me and saying he couldn’t see the Isle of Man either. Talk about coincidences.

Our first hill was Clagh Ouyr  (551 m), followed by two unnamed hills. I did think we should have given these demoted tops some appropriate names to identify them given them as they are still good heights for the Isle of Man, the first at 550 metres and the second 533 metres. The superior-minded North Barrule, which is only a matter of 565 metres seems to think it literally rules the place, which I guess it does. The pointy peak reminded me of Thorpe Cloud in Derbyshire. It’s not a difficult climb, being mostly on peat. It was rather boggy in places but easy walking along the ridge.

The peak route

As lunch approached, so did the clouds and we sensed a change in the weather. Our guide, who for some reason I keep wanting to call Steven, but whose name is actually Ken, pointed out that the formation of clouds showed that the rain was just being held at bay, and we hoped long enough for us to make our descent.

Spirits were still high as you can see, though I did wonder who was challenging who to jump off first.

North Barrule itself is a lovely hill and its one of those where you feel you want to abandon your rucksack and run up it and be a child again for a moment, but this was not quite the day for such frivolities.

The route down is a little tedious as it is very uneven, wet and boggy and therefore a little slippery. Even so, we did have some splendid view of cloud formations over Ramsey Bay.

Ramsey 1

We eventually met a green road taking up to Ballure Reservoir and Glen. The reservoir was completely dry, which is ironic as at this point the heavens opened. It is only dry for maintenance and it was interesting to see it without any water. We proceeded down the glen amongst the trees and finished on the beach.

It was a really great walk and one that I can imagine I shall do many times in the future. Thanks to the Isle of Man Walks Festival for putting this on and many many other walks every day for a week. I look forward to seeing you again on Wednesday for Greeba Mountain if you will have me after I was telling what an unsociable walker I usually am!

Distance 7.39 miles; Elevation 854 ft; Descent 2734 ft

Snaefell