Wednesday 8th April 2026
The forecast for this day was for a significant easing of the strong, cold winds that had afflicted me so far, this Easter, on the Isle of Man, so I was keen to take advantage by staying up high in the hills for as long as possible. Therefore, I decided to follow part of the Millennium Way, which was created to celebrate the one thousandth anniversary of the Isle of Man parliament in 1979. On the previous day I had walked along the first couple of miles of the trail through Silverdale Glen, before leaving it to its tedious course along the minor B35 road. I now picked it up again in the small village of Crosby as it began to climb towards the hills in the northern half of the Manx island. However, when the Millennium Way began to descend into the valley of West Baldwin I kept climbing following a track that took me into the hills across the eastern slopes of Slieau Ruy. There hadn’t been a cloud in the sky when I got up in the city of Douglas but tragically it had now clouded over, though the winds were gentle, as promised. I still enjoyed the walk, despite the poor views, rejoicing in the light winds, and relished the climb even when I missed a turning and had to cross the heather-covered, pathless slopes to get back on the clear path. I walked briskly, devouring the miles, passing the slight rise of Lhargee Ruy on the northern ridge of Slieau Ruy, past two cairns and across the western slopes of Colden.
At the col with Slieau Maggle I came onto a clear track that helped me up my pace even more until I reached a minor road where a rocky path climbed beside a plantation before the gradient eased and I finally branched off the track to reach the summit of Slieau Freoghane, which is the highest point in this range of hills, but the most surprising feature of this hill is that the summit is adorned with a trig point, a cairn and a bell, erected on a short pole. I gave this a gentle ring and took a few pictures before setting off along the ridge to rejoin the track where I actually turned right to head back the way I’d come, before turning sharp right to turn north again and continue along the eastern side of the ridge passing Slieau Dhoo. The grey, overcast skies now began to clear revealing blue skies and the sun, which was most unexpected, but welcome, while a dark cloud lingered over Snaefell with Sulby Reservoir in the valley between. In the sunshine, this was fabulous walking, so I was enjoying myself immensely until eventually I reached a road where I soon turned right onto a track with views ahead of me towards Snaefell while I descended, increasingly steeply, into a conifer plantation, which was painful, not just in my knees, but also in the knowledge that I would have to climb back up again.
When I reached the bottom of Sulby Glen I discovered that the path I wanted to take up Tholt-y-Will Glen was closed, which was really frustrating as I had deliberately come all this way instead of sticking to the Millennium Way just so I could take this walk through the wooded valley. I considered climbing over the locked gate, but prudently turned around and walked up the road past Sulby Reservoir. It was distressing for me to see dozens of discarded cans and bottles beside the road, as I can’t imagine how anyone could be so thoughtless as to toss these things from their cars. The sunshine had proved to be short-lived with Snaefell, ahead of me, now hiding within the clouds as I slowly climbed up the road until I reached the Millennium Way, which, while I had been elsewhere, had climbed out of West Baldwin and crossed between the hills of Carraghan and Beinn-y-Phott. Looking south I could not see any sign of the path but a clear track headed north, though it wasn’t long before it branched off to cross the slopes of Snaefell, as the skies brightened again, on a vague, often muddy path. I was disappointed by the lack of investment in maintaining the footpath of the Millennium Way, which indicates that it doesn’t get many people walking on it, and at least then it would be clearer.
The ground became increasingly wet with the path difficult to follow as I descended into a valley and was even more so as I climbed back out. When I reached the top of a broad saddle I lost all trace of a path and I realised that I had strayed from the correct route, so I had to cross the boggy col to reach the clear path. Soon after that the path joined a green lane, becoming a gravel track which helped me pick up my pace again as the sun came out and the temperatures rose. This was an enjoyable, relaxing descent, the path later becoming lined with gorse and then, while passing through Sky Hill Plantation, it was lined with the gorgeous white flowers of wood sorrel, and pre-flowering bluebells. Eventually I came down to the bottom of the path where I was confronted with the harsh reality of the main road which I had to walk along to take me into the town of Ramsey where I was able to catch a tram back to Douglas. This was a very enjoyable walk with some great moments striding across the hills with little or no wind to impede my progress, while the negatives were the closed footpath and a painful knee which got worse as the walk progressed.
