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Heading out of Heysham, across the Irish Sea to "The Island!". This is on
board the Ben-My-Chree. Note the lorry containers on the deck below. This
outward journey takes about 3 hours.
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Important Preamble!
Fairy Bridge - where every trip to the Island should start. Do this before
you make camp, go to Tescos or anything else. Make your peace with the fairies
and ask for them to guard over your presence and make them an offering
accordingly. Its only fair. So what if you don't believe in fairies? Do it
anyway, just in case!
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Fairy Bridge - examining the offerings (and I don't mean the wife!)
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The actual bridge
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Just one of many ribbons and trinkets
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Only after you've been to Fairy Bridge should you go to your campsite or hotel.
We recommend this one very highly.
And so to the walk...
From hereon, photographs actually on the coastal path route will be on the
left. Photographs on the right, however, will be of other places of interest
arond the island. Some within easy reach of the walk - some not so near - as
you will see.
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For example, stuck incongruously by a farm gate at Ballafreer - near Glenlough
- is 'The White Lady of Ballafreer'. Nobody seems to know the origin of this
curious figure.
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The walk begins at Douglas Harbour. These are not the best photographs I have
but are the only ones I have to hand at the moment...
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...apart from this one...
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...and this one! However, the steps, just out of shot here, really are
the start of the walk!
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At the upper end of the harbour is the station for the steam railway in
Douglas. Our paths shall cross several times during the course of the walk.
Even when we don't, the sound of a distant steam whistle will give us our
bearings - and a time check!
Although the remaining line bends to the left towards Port Erin, the former
line to Peel, and once also Ramsey, continued straight ahead - sharing the same
station.
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Along the marine Drive, near a place called 'Fiddlers Green' on leaving
Douglas, there are some interesting
geological formations - but these are not a patch on what is to come!
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Along the Marine Drive - the view ahead. By this point the route is closed to
vehicles and is pedestrians only. After the initial climb out of Douglas, this
part of the route is nearly all slowly downhill and very easy walking.
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"All around the blooming heather..." a particularly fine July spectacle near
Purt ny Coan.
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Aproaching the end of the Marine Drive, you start to see the magnificence of
the coast to the south around Santon Head.
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Jan sniffs a flower as we get our first look at Port Soderick.
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Looking back the way we have come along the Marine Drive. Douglas, our starting
point, is just beyond the furthest headland.
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The descent to Port Soderick. This interesting path was once spanned by a
funicular railway which conveyed tourists down to the port.
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Port Soderick. Obviously once a place of bustle and activity. In 2009 though
everything was boarded up and disused. We found this very sad and, although it
is obviously right that Douglas, as the island's capital, should be the most
prominent. It does seem wrong that more and more is becoming centred on Douglas
which is both to its detriment, through over-development, and to the detriment
of nearly every other town on the Island.
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Descending the 'secret' path and step to Port Soderick
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The closed off cliff-base path at Port Soderick
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What remains of the bottom end of the funicular railway that once descended to
Port Soderick
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Port Soderic bay
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The boarded up buildings at Port Soderick in 2009. A wasted asset. Unfortunately
the Isle of Man has many such places.
On the far left can be seen the cliffs where the next two photos were taken...
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Through the cleft in the cliffs at Port Soderick. Follow the path all the way
round the cliff and on to the beach before doubling back...
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...through the cliff and back towards the port.
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Port Soderick Glen - the coastal path ascends this glen for a detour around a
private estate.
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Out the top of the glen, we head inland under the steam railway at Port
Soderick Station.
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Heading uphill, this is a last look back at the railway for now.
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In this mirror, on the main road, can be seen The Big House - and the
photographer!
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Crossing the steam railway - looking south - towards Balaquiggin...
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...and north. Just missed including a train.
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Reaching the top of the hill, and the end of the road section. The footpath sign
can just be seen ahead on the right.
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From the same point, looking the other way - westwards to the hills along the
western edge of the island.
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Starting down the path again we get a new view of the sea.
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A little further on, St Michael's Island near Castletown comes into view.
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Continuing to the end of the formal path you cross a high stile into a field on
the way to Santon Head to rejoin the
coast. The next marker is just visible at the top of the hill ahead.
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The cliff-top path at Santon Head - more of a cliff-edge path actually - the
next few miles are definitely not for those with nervousness at height.
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In fact, anyone but the most sure-footed should go back to the main road and
detour around to the next access point at Purt Veg, on foot, or Port Grenaugh,
by road. However, if you can
cope with it, the views are outstanding.
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Looing south towards the airport, Castletown and the hills beyond.
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Another view down to the rocks. There are plenty of opportunities!
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One of the fast catamarans approaching Douglas from the south. Probably from
Liverpool.
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A srange rocky outcrop - reminiscent of a crouching toad. This part of the
coast is known as Baltic Rock.
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Down on the rocks at Baltic Rock appears to be the remains of a ship's
(scotch?) boiler.
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What vessel, or whatever, was this the remains of?
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The twin flues of the boiler can clearly be seen as the walk continues.
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The sea view from the bottom of Purt Veg.
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The steps down to Purt Veg.
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That boiler again! - from the other side of Purt Veg.
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A final boiler close up.
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Continuing southwards, there was some unexpected shipping activity offshore
near Traie ny Sloat...
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...which we later found out was part of the operation to extend Ronaldsway
Airport. Inexplicably, the rock for the sea wall was being brought from
Scandinavia.
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As we reached the entrance to Port Grenaugh we found these unusual rock
formations.
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From a similar vantage point, St Michael's Island to the south gets very
slightly nearer :-)
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This is the view of the airport - from St Michael's Island. This is not part of
the coastal path - but makes a nice trip out.
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At the northern end of St Michael's Island, past the golf course, is Derby
Fort.
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One of Henry VIII's fortifications?
It even has a number of gun barrels in place!
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Approaching Port Grenaugh the slight hill in the foreground is one of many
promontory forts found along the coastal path.
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The promontory fort Cronk ny Merriu. The sign in the next photo explains all...
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The sign text reads "Promontory Fort with defensive ditch and ramparts.
Defences probably iron age first few centuries AD. Foundations of Norse house
(10th-11th century) within fort.".
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The potentially magnificent, but completely abandoned, Port Grenaugh. The
substantial wall, and other foundations, are evidence of what must once have
been a thriving place.
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Port Soldrick - another empty harbour. This is looking back at the bay from the
southern headland and you can clearly see the diagonal path we had previously
descended.
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A little to the right of the previous photo can be seen an old smugglers cave
which at one time had a shaft through the roof to the cliff top for the
conveyance of contraband.
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At Port Soldrick can also be found these unusual rock formations.
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At Santon Gorge, you can either walk all around the top of the cliff, and take
in a burial ground and a church site, or, as we did on this occasion, descend
to the shingle beach...
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...at low tide, cross the stream...
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...and the ascend to the cliff top once again by a rather tricky ascent! Above
here is another promontory fort - Cass-ny-Hawin.
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So near yet so far! Our route around the airport was blocked by new
construction works and so...
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...in a fairly typical Isle of Man way, the footpath made an abrupt halt at a
closure sign! So we found our way past some cows, across a field to the A12
(ie a single track lane) at Turkeyland Quarry, and thence to the pub in
Ballasalla to round off an exhausting first day. We should have finished in
Castletown - but we had to come back and finish that another time.
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