Groudle Glen and Maughold Brooghs

Tuesday 22nd April 2025

After my walk on the day before this along the coastal path of the Isle of Man, I decided that my focus should be in the wooded valleys, which were at their best at this time of the year, rather than following the coastal path, which often veers away from the coast and onto dull country lanes. My first target was Molly Quirk’s Glen, which is within walking distance of the capital city, Douglas, where I was staying, so I headed through the large village of Onchan and down a path that was so steep I thought might be slippery, and then promptly slipped over, injuring both my hands. This left me rather dazed so I carefully made my way down the rest of the steps to the start of Molly Quirk’s Glen, where I found, to add insult to literally injury, the path was closed, and I could clearly see that this was due to fallen trees. So, after tending to my injuries, I made my way back up the road, avoiding the path I’d slipped on, and through the streets to White Bridge where I was able to access Molly Quirk’s Glen, and I was so glad as this was a magical place filled with wild flowers, including bluebells, wood anemones, celandines and wild garlic. It was fabulous. Although fallen trees blocked my way in places I was able to weave an enthralling route through the glen and back to White Bridge where I sadly failed to enjoy the nearby Bibaloe Walk and instead I had a difficult time trying to cross the busy road. I was then frustrated to discover that if I had been on the other side of the stream I would have been able to cross safely underneath Whitebridge Road thanks to an underpass.

With thoughts of how this day was not going well for me, I proceeded into Groudle Glen, which paled in comparison to Molly Quirk’s Glen, solely due to a lack of wild flowers, but this slowly improved as wood anemones began to appear and the valley walls narrowed forcing the path to take to wooden boardwalks. While the path clung to the side of the stream, I made my way through the narrow glen until finally I passed under a viaduct and into an enchanting valley. The enthralling walk eventually brought me to Port Groudle where I crossed the glen and climbed back up to the road just before my tram passed. Wishing I had kept a closer eye on the time, I disconsolately walked beside the road wondering what else could go wrong. Despite passing the station and over the viaduct I kept going until I came across a path on my right which turned into woodland and circled around the short side valley formed by the Lhen Coan River and eventually brought me back to the Groudle River and the glen. Slowly, I made my way back up to the railway station where I waited half an hour for the next tram, and I appreciated the rest because I was feeling very tired, possibly as a result of my accident on the approach to Molly Quirk’s Glen. When I got off the tram in Ramsey, however, I didn’t rest any longer, or linger, and immediately headed off through the streets following a walk I had found called Ramsey Glens.

This took me over the course of the TT race and along residential streets towards a steep bank of woodland called Claughbane Plantation and eventually entered a wood that was liberally decorated with wild flowers particularly what appeared to be white bluebells, though they were probably a garden escape of a white lily like three-cornered garlic. They were a pleasing sight, but all too soon I entered the plantation ahead of me which was mainly coniferous and so contained hardly any wild flowers. Despite missing a turning that forced me to turn back, I slowly climbed the steep bank through the conifer plantation until I reached the top and then followed the edge until finally I turned into Elfin Glen. My path climbed high above the western bank with only occasional glimpses into the deep, overgrown glen far below me, which was awe-inspiring but it was frustrating that there was no room for a path. The path continued to climb until eventually I crossed the dense valley and headed back down the eastern bank. A maze of paths took me around the side of the hill, eventually crossing the course of the TT race and bringing me into Ballure Glen. The Ramsey Glens walk now decided to head down to the coast, but I turned left to climb into the valley, but there was little to see and eventually brought me to a reservoir.

A rocky byway led me steeply back down the hill and onto the main road where I had a choice of whether to turn left and head back into Ramsey, or to turn right and follow the coastal path, Raad na Foillan. I decided to turn right, though this initially involved some road walking until, at Port Lewaigue, I turned left around the headland of Gob ny rona, which afforded me with views north along the largely flat coast north of Ramsey and out to sea. A great path led me over many small bridges around the headland before depositing me on the shingly beach at Port-e-Vullen. After a short walk along a road I was able to follow a fabulous path around the coast high above the steep, craggy cliffs of Maughold Brooghs, which, despite a strong wind, was an invigorating walk and led me over the hill and towards Maughold Head, even though it frustrating bypasses it. While feeling annoyed to be crossing tedious farmland I emerged back onto the coast with stunning views back to Maughold Head and the lighthouse that sits at the end. An exciting, though woefully short, walk along the craggy coast brought me into Port Mooar, a short distance away from the tram station at Ballajora. This was a funny day when it felt like things were not going right for me, but the weather was fantastic all day and I felt my decision to pick and choose my route was the right thing to do rather than blindly following the coastal path, though the section over Maughold Brooghs was great. 

Douglas to Castletown

Monday 21st April 2025

After climbing to the top of Snaefell, the highest point on the Isle of Man, the day before this walk, I wanted to start following the coastal footpath, Raad ny Foillan, with my first instinct being to head north from the capital city, Douglas. However, the ‘traditional’ way goes in the other direction, so since I was keen to do the section between Ramsey and Douglas I thought I’d start from Ramsey instead and head towards Douglas, but when I walked out of my accommodation it was raining so I decided to start with the official first stage heading south from Douglas, which I thought was described as leisurely, so best for the inclement weather, though it is actually moderate. It starts at the Millennium Lifting Bridge over the River Douglas and soon had me climbing the hill above Douglas Head, past a big hotel and, through a grand entrance, onto Marine Drive. This was a quiet walk despite being on a tarmacked road, the reason for which I would soon discover, as the rain slowly began to ease and I made my way along the road with views along the spectacular, craggy coastline while the yellow flowers of gorse decorated the side of the road. Eventually the rain stopped and I was able to shed my waterproofs and soon after I passed a locked gate, preventing cars from proceeding, though not those on foot, and soon I saw that the road had been partly eroded by the sea, necessitating the closure and why I hadn’t seen any cars.

The dramatic coastline continued past Little Ness and below towering cliffs, which I enjoyed in quiet solitude. Port Soderick had now come into view and eventually I came off the road onto a narrow footpath that descends to the beach where I turned right, away from the coast and through Port Soderick Glen, which was a fabulous walk through a wooded valley that was filled with wild flowers, especially the delicate white flowers of wild garlic while the delicious smell of garlic filled the air. All too soon I emerged from the glen and onto a road that took me up to a prolonged spell of walking beside a main road before I mercifully turned left to head back towards the coast, passing some foul-smelling farms until I finally returned to the coast where a fabulous section of coastal walking followed that must rank amongst the best in the British Isles. It kept to the edge of the high cliffs, often with farmland on the other side of a fence, but along a narrow strip of the rugged, wild margin between sea and land. The path meandered around with the landscape, up and down, left and right with gorse as the dominant plant while the weather slowly improved with blue skies and the sun now coming out. It was very windy on Santon Head but the sheltered inlet of Santon Gorge was spectacular so there I stopped for my lunch while admiring the views out to sea with the sun dancing on the waves.

The delights continued across Port Grenaugh and on along the coast to Port Soldrick until I finally turned inland into a shallow, wooded inlet along a path that was heavily decorated with wild flowers, though it was very muddy and route-finding on the other side was challenging. When I found myself on the edge of a landfill site I turned back and still couldn’t find the path, so I just followed the coast until eventually, on the edge of the airport, I found the path that goes around the runway and eventually brought me into Derbyhaven where the first stage of the Raad ny Foillan ends. With plenty of time left I was inclined to keep going but, while my old Harvey Map shows the trail heading straight towards Castletown, the route now goes around the Langness peninsula. I wanted to catch a train back to Douglas and I soon realised that I would not be able to walk all the way around the promontory and catch it so I turned back towards the road and followed that into Castletown. The second stage of the Raad ny Foillan is described as leisurely as the terrain is low lying and so I didn’t think it would appeal to me as much as the rugged coastline of the first stage. Although it was rather early for my train I wandered into Castletown and waited at the station for the train that eventually brought me back to Douglas.

This first stage of the coastal footpath taught me that it is a varied trail with some excellent walking but also some annoying inland diversions along roads so I decided that, instead of being obsessed with completing the whole trail, I would just try and pick some of the good bits and focus on the highlights of the Isle of Man. Although I was there all week, I soon realised that it would not be enough time for me to see everything, so I needed to prioritise and I didn’t think the coastal footpath was the best walking that the Isle of Man had to offer. Port Soderick Glen had shown me my fortune in seeing these wooded glens at their very best and, for me, that was the priority as the colourful display of wild flowers was sensational and even guaranteed whereas the coastal footpath sometimes disappointed, though on this stage it was second to none.

Snaefell

Sunday 20th April 2025

For my Easter holiday this year I decided to come to an island that I have long harboured a desire to visit: the Isle of Man. I have planned to go there on several occasions over the years, most recently in 2019, but now I had finally got myself organised. I caught a train to Liverpool and then a ferry across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man, though the weather when I arrived was not great and it was already two o’clock in the afternoon, so there was not enough time for me to do any walking and instead I just wandered around the capital city, Douglas, and followed part of the local heritage and nature walk called the Douglas Trail. The highlight was visiting Summerhill Glen, which was filled with tiny, magical fairies, or at least the doors to their houses, and reminded me that the Isle of Man has many narrow, wooded glens which are just the sorts of places that I wanted to visit while I was there. But my first goal was Snaefell, the highest point on the island and the only point that is more than two thousand feet above sea level, and so the only mountain. Thankfully the next day was sunny so I set off on one of the astonishing Victorian railways on the island, the Manx Electric Railway, a tramway that hasn’t changed in over a hundred years, even down to still using the same trams. This took me to Laxey where one of the paths up Snaefell starts, however, there is also an ancient mountain railway that takes tourists up to the summit and I couldn’t resist hopping on hoard for a ride. 

This took me all the way up to the bitterly cold, windswept summit of Snaefell where cloud was obscuring the view so I immediately got back on the tram and came straight back down again. Now I finally decided to stop being a tourist and do some walking, so I headed out of the village along a road that steadily climbs Laxey Glen, passing the iconic Laxey Wheel, the largest working waterwheel in the world, and on through the hamlet of Agneash into the quiet valley on a rough track. With the sun shining, a pleasant walk took me slowly up the valley while the trams continued to trundle up the other side until I reached some mine ruins where I left the track to follow a faint, often boggy path across the side of the hill. Although this was quite tiring, the sun was out and I relished the feeling of climbing a proper mountain path towards my first mountain of the year, unfortunately civilisation soon rudely interrupted me with the mountain road that is part of the famous TT motorcycle race. On the other side the mountain path climbed straight towards the summit of Snaefell, though on the steepest section I thought I could see faint, well-graded zigzags in the grass, while the beaten track ascends steeply up. I tried to keep to these easier routes, but they were hard to follow and eventually I just ploughed on up to the summit station and café.

It was still very cold and windy at the top but the mist had cleared so I had extensive views around the northern half of the island, though the crowds prompted me to not linger and I soon made my way north past one of the two masts that blight the summit and, after crossing the railway tracks, descended a faint path with views ahead of me towards a range of hills that terminate on North Barrule, the second highest hill on the Isle of Man. If I was so inclined I could have set myself the goal of visiting the summits of all the hills on the island more than one thousand feet high and I would have started by taking my descent along the ridge between Clagh Ouyr and North Barrule before descending into Ramsey. Instead I was following a route on visitisleofman.com (and the OS Maps app) called Route 1 - East Summits, which turns away from these hills to head east towards the coast. Steady progress on variable paths took me into the strong easterly winds around the side of the Verandah and, ignoring the proscribed route, I kept to the path that crosses the southern slopes of Slieau Lhean. Once sheltered from the cold winds, and with great views out to sea, I had an enjoyable walk slowly making my way down the track and finally returning to the village of Laxey where I took advantage of time to descend to the coast at Old Laxey where I turned right to follow the Laxey River back up to the railway station. This was a fabulous walk, despite cold winds at the top, as it felt wonderful to be climbing a mountain again and under no compulsion to push myself, it was gloriously relaxing.