Glen Wyllin

High tides and more weather!

Monday 4^th November 2013 

The Sunday email from Dorothy read:

 “ Tomorrow looks like a good day weather-wise for the walk.        Trevor suggests a walk from Glen Wyllin.

         

I'm hoping I haven't picked up a disruptive cold.”

The updated forecast on Monday morning was more ominous  . . . suggesting “Sunny intervals. Localized showers, possibly giving some heavy rain or hail.”   The early morning view through our living room window didn’t look threatening though - just one pretty pink cloud floating over North Barrule.

Luckily the forecast turned out to be wrong on all counts – at least for the little patch of west coast where we were walking.  I suppose there were “sunny intervals”, although they only lasted for a few seconds, but  there was no heavy rain, and the “hail” was no more than a light sleety shower.

Unfortunately Dorothy’s cold was worse, so she didn’t join us.  We met Trevor near the shore just over two hours before high tide.   I was surprised that the waves were already breaking almost at the bottom of the cliffs north of the glen. 

There was one brave person and a dog on the wider beach to the south.  It would have been possible for us to reach Glen Mooar along the shore but there was a strong, cold on-shore wind and we decided to walk inland towards Cooildarry.

Trevor said that he had seen photos of a water wheel in the little village across the main road from the camping ground.  We couldn’t see any sign of it near the river but then we glimpsed the top above an overgrown hedge next to the road.

We were surprised at the location of the wheel because it seemed to be well above the level of the river and there were no signs of an old mill race.  I checked on the internet and found out that planning permission had been requested in 2006 to convert the old mill into two dwellings.  The Manx Heritage Foundation website has some photos of the exterior and interior of the mill dating from that time.  But there was no explanation of the route of the missing mill race.

We continued up the track towards Cooildarry and then climbed up the hill towards the junction with the road (from Barregarrow down towards the coast).  There is a picnic area near the top of the track and, while we paused briefly to admire the view, a little patch of sun peeped through the clouds above Sartfell.  By the time I took a second photo it had already disappeared.

The air was wonderfully clear.  It often is in autumn.  Using the zoom I felt that I could almost touch the Mull of Galloway although it was over twenty miles north of us.   The west of the Island was under cloud but at least the sun was shining on Scotland.

We continued past the expensive new mansion on the hill.  Nobody appears to be living there yet but the gardens have been immaculately landscaped.  The only signs of life were fumes from a central heating vent and a garden service van outside one of the locked gates.

The last house I would want to own is a vast and ostentatious place with three garages, plus a separate wing with an indoor pool - but I wouldn’t mind having their view.  To the north they can see the Scottish coast . . .

. . . and to the east the row of Michael hills – Sartfell, Freoaghane and Slieau Curn.

We walked down the hill and turned off the road when we reached the Spooyt Vane chapel/Mission Hall.

I found out a bit about this small building which is now privately owned.   It is said to have been built about 150 years ago with funds provided by Miss Gore Currie, a niece of Bishop Powys.  It was used as a Mission Room and Sunday School.  The building was enlarged in 1901 and the old roof was replaced after it fell in in 1999.   There is a pre-1999 photo on this site  http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/parishes/ml/michael.htm

The next stop was at the waterfall that gives this area its name – Spooyt Vane.

There was a very brief shower of minute hail stones as we climbed back up the steps from the waterfall.  I wondered whether it was going to continue a tradition, started last year, when we had to shelter from a hail shower during our first walk in November – but it was all over in a few minutes.   We walked down through Glen Mooar, looking for something to photograph.  We passed the site of Keeill Pheric but I took a photograph of the keeill when we last passed this way in August.  I am always amazed at the amount that archeologists can read into a weathered bank and random stones.  This is part of the boundary wall of the graveyard surrounding the keeill – half buried by wet leaves.  I think it might be the bit where “Traces of priest’s cell remain against south-west boundary” . . . but it all looks the same to me.

I walked on looking for interesting leaves.   This year’s warm, and very wet, autumn weather hasn’t encouraged bright colours.    This was the best of a bad lot!  The smaller yellow one is an elm leaf.  The larger leaf must be some type of maple.  It is too “pointy” to be a sycamore.

A little further on we found some interesting fungi.

We passed the huge pillars that used to support the railway viaduct over the glen.  We were impressed by the size of some of the stones used in the construction. 

The pillar on the other side of the river was completely covered with ivy.  A wonderful safe shelter for birds’ nests and also a source of valuable food for them.  Ivy is unusual because it flowers in autumn and the berries ripen in the spring.

Then we walked on down to the shore, passing a reasonably colourful young horse chestnut tree by the road.

We wanted to see whether it would be possible to walk along the beach back to Glen Wyllin but we retraced our steps back to the old railway line after we saw the state of the tide.

I walked up the rough steps from the bridge across the river ahead of the men and was so busy watching where I was putting my feet that I didn’t notice a low branch.  I knocked my head against the branch, lost my balance, and nearly slid down a steep bank into the river.  Luckily Tim was just behind me and grabbed my hand.  At the top of the steps I regained my composure sufficiently to take this zoom photo of the Ballacarnane stones on top of the small hill on the far side of the glen.

Then we found these rather nice mushrooms under the hedge at the side of the path.

After crossing the road we came across some rather contradictory signposts one either side of the railway path.   One showed a footpath sign and said No Horses and No motorcycles and the other showed a greenway road sign allowing horses and with a speed limit of 20 mph for motorbikes.  I was totally confused but Tim suggested that there might be two paths and he was right.  The entrance to the greenway road was obscured by a parked car.  Behind the car was a sign “Tramman Tree Road”.  Trevor said that he thought it led to the coast road and that we could get onto the railway path at the other end.  So we walked along it.  I didn’t notice any Tramman trees (Elder trees) and it was just a narrow path, not really a road.   But it was a better choice than the railway path as it was higher and well drained.  It is always interesting to find a “new” bit of footpath.

The last stretch along the railway path was boggy in places but it was much drier than the beach.  This last photo shows the waves breaking against the sea defences when we got back to the cars.