Port Erin

A walk in the south

Part 1 - Port Erin to the Sound

 

Tuesday, 20th August 2013

 

The usual group of four hikers met at Port Erin on Tuesday morning . . . but there was someone else present in our thoughts.   A faithful companion who retired from hiking in May 2012.  The top dog in our little pack.  He may only have been a small dog, but his name was appropriate.  He had the heart of a lion and we miss him.

 

                                                    Leo . . . 20th April, 2000 - 17th August, 2013.  

Winter 2013

Summer 2000.

Spring 2000.

It is a long drive to Port Erin from the glen - judging by Island standards - almost as far as we can go without ending up in the sea between the Island and the Calf.  We had driven down through a dense patch of fog up by Cronk ny Arrey Laa but it lifted fast.  The sun hadn't broken through the high cloud yet when we set out to walk the last couple of miles to the Sound but it promised to be a lovely day.

 

We walked across the beach and around the south side of the bay, stopping briefly while I took a photo of some funny little dogs on the beach . . . 

. . . and Tim took this shot of some boats moored near the jetty.

Then we climbed up the steep steps to the path above the old Marine Biological Station.  The buildings have been empty since 2006 but an application was made in April to convert the derelict buildings into "a marine interpretation centre" and the council has since granted "approval in principle".  I hope the conversion doesn't disturb the herring gulls and jackdaws who frequent the cliffs behind the old buildings.

 

This herring gull was relaxing and preening itself on a rock below our path . . .

 

. . . but this adult gull wasn't having such a peaceful time.  It was being constantly pestered for food by this season's baby, which looks big enough to fend for itself. 

 

 A little further on I noticed a pretty little Devil's-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis) growing in the grass by the path.  It was the first time I had seen a Devil's-bit flower this year but not the last as there were more plants further along the path.

The heather was feature of this walk and made a beautiful frame for the view back to Port Erin - looking over the peaceful bay to the misty hills beyond.

We continued climbing the cliff path until it finally descended through the area which always reminds me of that tongue twister about the rugged rock.  It is the roughest part of the path and we had to pick our way carefully around a series of rugged rocks.

After that it was easy walking to the Sound.

 

The small Island between the Isle of Man and the Calf is called Kitterland and is a haven for birds and seals, but the dangerous rocks and the strong currents which flow through the Sound have been the cause of many wrecks in the past.  The small white beacon marks the Thousla Rock. 

 

There is a large white cross on the grassy area overlooking the Sound called "The Thousla Cross".  The inscription reads "To commemorate an act of heroism by men of this parish in their rescue of the crew of the French schooner "Jeane St Charles" in 1858."   The cross was originally placed on Thousla Rock.  It was was moved to the mainland and replaced with the beacon in 1981. 

 

Not all wrecks had  a happy ending.  Five years earlier the wreck of The Lily ended in tragedy.  There is a contemporary newspaper report on this link  http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/iln/n080153.htm

 

Before we left on the next leg of the hike, a couple of inquisitive seals swam across from Kitterland.  This one was watching Trevor who had climbed down on the rocks to take photos of them.

To be continued . . .