Not tales - but Fairy Glens

We left Chris to his motorcycling today and headed up the N E of the island to explore a couple of Glens neither of us had walked before.

If you haven't been to the Isle of Man there are many glens to walk. The are wooded valleys or ravines following streams and rivers often down to the sea. ( For UK locals a bit like Goit Stock or Hardcastle Crags)

We drove up to Laxey, avoiding the worst of the bikers on the main roads, and parked at the top of the village to walk along Laxey Glen. Lovely and wooded with dappled sun but without much signage. ( Here in the IOM they have lots of Manx signs saying Public Footpath without telling you where it goes or how far). Not wanting to retrace our steps we climbed up through the woods to a road above Laxey with views down to the sea and lots of Gorse and Bluebells on the roadside.

We were not far below Creg Ny Baa on the Mountain course of the TT and we could hear the whine of motor bike engines.

Back in Laxey we had lunch at the Weaver's cafe where, in the mill below, they weave Manx tartan as well as selling other local crafts.

We then went further north, following the route of the Manx Electric Tram to a small ravine above the Dhoon valley. Here we found Ballaglass Glen. Our circular walk took us past the rail track and back down to the hamlet of Cornaa. As we turned back into the woods to return to the car we found this statue carved out of a tree trunk. Rather apt I felt for these fairy tale glens.

Before returning home we stopped to take a look at Cashtal yn Ard a New Stone Age burial chamber dating from 1800BC. Lots of gorse up here and a great view of the coast.


A lovely day and much better weather than expected!