Ballaglass

It could have been wetter?

Tuesday 4th February, 2014

When we woke this morning it was pouring with rain but it eased off before we left the house. 

It felt odd . . . leaving an empty house.  It has been months since the old dogs retired from hiking but they were always at the door to say good bye and again to welcome us when we returned home.  But I must stop thinking about dogs.  For the past fourteen years (almost), I have been "that mad old woman with a house full of dreadful little black dogs".   Now I shall have to find a new identity.
  
We started our walk through the glen as far as the top bridge and then crossed the river, returning along the opposite bank to the lower bridge.  It wasn't raining but there were still drips falling from the branches overhead.  The river was running fast after all the rain.
  

Rivers in the north of the Island rise quickly after heavy rain but the water level drops equally quickly after the rain stops.  I think this is caused by the steep glacial glens and the fact that the soil is not very deep on the slopes.  The water drains off fast.  Anyway, whatever the cause, the flow was impressive and the earth even seemed to vibrate near the series of small waterfalls.

Some trees and branches had fallen into the river and in one place they had created a small dam.  I would have suspected beavers if we had any on the Island - but we don't so it must have just been an accidental blockage.

We left the glen and passed the Cornaa Mill which was converted into a private house in about 1951. A plaque on the wall claims that it dates from AD 1503 - which seems unlikely.  Perhaps there has been a mill on this site from that date.  I tried, without success, to find out whether the present building incorporates part of the original mill.

Dates on buildings can be misleading.  I was amused when I saw a sign on Felton's Ironmongers in Parliament Street which claimed that it was established 1859.  I queried this because I remembered when the shop opened in Ramsey and I am not that old.  The reply was that the Ramsey branch might be new but their Peel shop had opened in 1859.

I couldn't find any old photographs of the mill but I did find a painting with the title "Ballaglass and Cornaa Mill, Maughold" which was painted in 1895.  It is hard to recognise the area from the painting.  Either it is a painting of another old mill up near the main road - or the artist has "enhanced" the view.  I did find a photo of the ford near the Cornaa mill which is pre-1899 and only one building is faintly visible through the trees on the far side of the river.

Just above the road bridge the two small rivers that flow through the glen join together and the water is even more turbulent.

Below the bridge a group of Mallard ducks were sitting patiently on the bank waiting for the river to calm down.

We crossed the bridge over the river and started up the steep Rhenab Road.  On the left hand side there is a mysterious little house which has been empty and quietly decaying for many years.  We discussed the name, which was partly obscured by ivy, and when we got home I resorted to Google. I confirmed the name as "Thie Dhorlish" and found this amusing discussion 
 http://www.manxforums.com/forums/index.php?/topic/10930-cornaa/

I was rather pleased that I managed to walk the rest of the way up the Rhenab Road without stopping for a rest.  I wanted to take a photo of the tholtan near Cashtal yn Ard with North Barrule in the background and hoped to find a gap in the hedge.  The only suitable gap had been blocked with some dead gorse branches so I nipped though the gate which had been left open and got my photo.

On the way down the hill we were passed by a rider on a rather fine horse and a little further on we saw two horses in a field.  They were looking over the fence, obviously interested in the horse which had just gone up the road past their field, but finally got bored and followed us for a while before getting bored again.

We walked down to the shore at Cornaa.  I wanted to take some photos of the beach - which had been pounded by the tidal surges and onshore gales recently - but we got caught in a shower of rain.

A few minutes later, when we reached this cottage which had been completely surrounded by water during the high tides, the rain stopped briefly.  Most of the picket fence in front of the cottage had been knocked down and washed away.

Tim took this photo of the piles of debris which had been deposited by the sea in the field behind the cottage.  

Soon after leaving the cottage, we were caught in another shower - hail this time, but luckily the hailstones were small.

There were more horses in a field on the way back to Ballaglass.  I had photographed them on a previous walk in September and was intrigued by the way the smaller one stood.  They were in their field again this morning and their posture hadn't changed!  Dorothy knows everything about horses and said that if the horse had sore feet it would stand with its front legs sloping forewards.  So it must just be due to keeping its balance in a steeply sloping field.

September 2013

February 2014

We were lucky that we didn't get wetter this morning because the rain came belting down as soon as we got home.  It wasn't exactly a dry walk but the sun shone at times and it could have been wetter.