Wednesday 23rd April 2025
At the start of another day of good weather on the Isle of Man I made my way through the streets of Douglas to the railway station where I hoped to catch the steam train south, however when I got there I was informed that the trains were not running that day. It was clearly displayed on the timetable but I hadn’t noticed, so I changed my plans and caught a bus heading north getting off at Dhoon Glen. I had decided that my primary goal while on the Isle of Man was to visit the wooded valleys that the island has in abundance and so if I couldn’t visit the ones to the south then I would look north and soon I was walking through gorgeous woodland underneath a vibrant fresh growth of leaves, but then I was stopped by a closed footpath. I had come across this problem on my walk the day before in Molly Quirk’s Glen and so, not wanting to cross the barrier, I turned right climbing up onto a path that skirts around the edge of the glen, slowly heading towards the coast with views across the trees to my left before finally I descended steeply to the coast at Dhoon Bay where I now had views of the craggy hillsides that fall precipitously down to the sea either side of the beach. I fully expected to have to come back the way I’d come, but the path that follows the stream back up the glen seemed to be open, no barrier was blocking my way, so I headed back along the bottom of the valley.
At the start of another day of good weather on the Isle of Man I made my way through the streets of Douglas to the railway station where I hoped to catch the steam train south, however when I got there I was informed that the trains were not running that day. It was clearly displayed on the timetable but I hadn’t noticed, so I changed my plans and caught a bus heading north getting off at Dhoon Glen. I had decided that my primary goal while on the Isle of Man was to visit the wooded valleys that the island has in abundance and so if I couldn’t visit the ones to the south then I would look north and soon I was walking through gorgeous woodland underneath a vibrant fresh growth of leaves, but then I was stopped by a closed footpath. I had come across this problem on my walk the day before in Molly Quirk’s Glen and so, not wanting to cross the barrier, I turned right climbing up onto a path that skirts around the edge of the glen, slowly heading towards the coast with views across the trees to my left before finally I descended steeply to the coast at Dhoon Bay where I now had views of the craggy hillsides that fall precipitously down to the sea either side of the beach. I fully expected to have to come back the way I’d come, but the path that follows the stream back up the glen seemed to be open, no barrier was blocking my way, so I headed back along the bottom of the valley.
A dramatic path took me up the glen, crossing the stream many times, while wood anemones and celandines decorated the floor and I had to duck underneath the occasional fallen tree. Eventually I reached a tall waterfall that was sadly greatly depleted in water due to the lack of rain this spring, though the moss lining the back of the falls was appealing. A large tree lay fallen at the base of the waterfall and storm damage could be seen in many places, though nothing so far to warrant the path closure. From the base of the falls I made my way along a path that climbs steeply up the hillside and soon I came across a tree stump that had fallen across the path, completing blocking it and was definitely the main reason why the path that had been closed. Carefully, I made my way precipitously around the blockage and continued along the path passing the stone housing for a giant waterwheel and another fallen tree stump, though nowhere near as difficult to go around and finally returned to the barrier that had blocked my way earlier, but now I was on the other side. I don’t know when this storm damage was done but it was frustrating that nothing had seemingly been done to clear it.
On emerging from the glen I joined the route of the Raad ny Foillan coastal footpath on a minor road and soon came across a closed road due to tree work, so I turned around and headed to the Glen Mona Hotel where a footpath took me down to the road on the other side of the closure and through Glen Mona. The road was too heavily enclosed with trees to provide me with a view of the valley so I just continued along the peaceful lane until I reached the car park at the end, at Port Cornaa, where I found a beautiful, tranquil spot, free of worries or people that provided me with a place to unwind, basking in the sunshine while having my lunch. I was reluctant to leave this beautiful valley where many wild flowers decorated the floor, but eventually I followed a track that gradually climbed the side of the valley until I reached the village of Cornaa where I left the coastal path and entered Ballaglass Glen, which was an utter delight. Rocks dominated the valley while excellent footpaths lined both sides of the stream providing ease of access to enjoy the whole place and leaving me in a daze as to which path to take and whether to run around on all of them like a little child. I was enthralled by the sight of it all, loving every moment, but all too soon I reached the top where a halt on the tramway is situated with a tram scheduled to soon arrive.
I had nothing else planned for this day so I made a quick decision to get off the tram at South Cape, near Laxey, and follow the coastal footpath south, which soon brought me onto Laxey Beach. It was lovely to walk across the sand, but all too soon I had to climb back off and, although there is a path, it is difficult to find and I couldn’t find it until after I had climbed up the rocks. This brought me onto the busy main road where a hair-raising walk eventually brought me to the outskirts of Bladrine and a path that led me down to Garwick Bay. The subsequent walk back up Garwick Glen was too short to compensate and from then the Raad ny Foillan took a tedious course inland until it eventually reached Groudle Glen, which I had visited the day before, and where I caught a final tram to take me back to Douglas and the waiting horse-driven tramway that I couldn’t resist riding. This was a great day that showed the Isle of Man, in my opinion, at its best from gorgeous wooded glens to tranquil, secluded bays. Sadly, it also showed some of the problems I had been encountering on the Isle of Man with closed paths and a coastal footpath that fails to keep to the coast. The highlight was the many wild flowers that I kept finding with so many bluebells that I was becoming blasé to them all and hardly noticing when even more cropped up. It was a shame I only had a week on the Isle of Man to enjoy it all.
