Raad ny Foillan - part 1

Raad Ny Foillan

Day 0 – Travel to and arrival on the Isle of Man

“Aberystwyth! Or Llandudno” My first thoughts on my first glimpse of Douglas Promenade from the boat were that it could be either of these Welsh resorts. Indeed, having now seen rather more of Douglas, I still think it's a cross between the two. Either way, it certainly made me feel at home, as did other parts of the island, but more of that in due course.

I was met off the boat by John, with whom I have been in contact for some time about walking the Isle of Man coastal path. After what must be about a year of planning, it seems as if the day is finally here. From the ferry, he drove me home where I met his son, and had a chance to chat over a cuppa, and then a meal.

Afterwards, the Raad ny Foillan started – but only very gently, a walk around Port St Mary from the end of the promenade to the harbour. Nothing too strenuous there! En route, I did see a Manx cat – usually taken as being a sign of luck, so I was rather pleased with that.

More chatting fairly late into the night (this was to become something of a pattern!) was followed by bed, ready for starting the walk properly the next day

Day 1 – Port St Mary to Niarbyl

Leaving Port St Mary via the harbour, along the sea-front and up into the hills. After the initial ascent, there was a shelter. It wasn't raining, I didn't need shelter, but I decided to use it to do a map check, have a sip of water and generally get my bearings. What I haven't admitted to anyone before now is that at this point, I thought that disaster had struck before I had really gone anywhere. There was one thing I had forgotten – the map! To be honest, I don't really know how I completed day 1 without getting ridiculously lost. Fortunately, I also had a guide book, and by paying even more careful to detail than usual to that, I was able to work out where I was and what was coming. Not to be recommended, especially in the light of what the afternoon had in store! That said, a useful guide is always “Keep the sea on your left”, and as the path was pretty clearly at t his stage, I decided to press on and see where I got. Perhaps not recommended, but what other option was there? Remember, quitting is not an option!

It was here where I realised what people had said about the path being right next to the cliff and a vertical drop. I'm not afraid of heights, but I do respect them. There were some places on the walk where path and cliff-top were just a bit too close for comfort.

Following the path a bit more, I reached the Sands cafe at the South-western corner of the island. Hat's a lovely place – I didn't have time for a cuppa – it would be lovely if I could make use of every cafe I pass, but whilst there will be an occasional cuppa here and there, this is a walking holiday, not a cafe crawl, so, one again, on we go!

Next stop was Port Erin, and this was a cafe stop for coffee and pastry. I knew I would need the energy – there are some steep hills to come this afternoon!

When I left the cafe, it was raining, and I couldn't see the top of the first hill, Bradda. To be fair, the worst of the weather did clear, but it was still a bit wet and misty up the tops. The first ascent took me to the Milner Tower, which I took to be the top of Bradda Hill. I was wrong. There was more to come. Basically, that set the pattern for the afternoon – when I thought I'd got to the top, there was a bit more to come. I'm sure that the views from the top are spectacular on a clear day. Port Erin in the mist from the Milner Tower was as good as it got for me!

The descent from Bradda Hill was rather steep. Unfortunately, the height lost has to be regained on the other side of a minor road at Fleshwick Bay for the ascent of Lhiattee ny Beinee. This is tough. It is steep, and I like to think that I'm reasonably fit, but when I had to stop for breath every few steps, I decided that it was time for a rest, a sandwich break and see if I could get some energy to get to the top. Well, yes, it did the trick, but once again, the hill had a trick of its own in store. The cairn I had set my eyes on, did not mark the top, and when I thought, “Oh no, that's higher” it was rather discouraging! However, I got there eventually.

What goes up must come down, and the descent from here seemed to be vertical at times. This was not nice – but when I met a couple of people trying to go up the path, perhaps I did have the easy option after all.

Like the descent from Bradda Hill, this descent finishes at a road, and, once again, the height that's lost has to be regained. It's not a drop quite down to sea level, and perhaps the next bit isn't quite as steep as the ascent to Lhiatee ny Beinee, but all the same, Cronk ny Arrey Laa stands before you, beckoning you on, perhaps in a bit of a menacing way – or was that just the mist which hadn't totally lifted?

Fair play, this ascent wasn't the worst of the day, but it is the highest. Indeed, it's the highest point of the entire Raad ny Foillan. Sitting by the cairn at the top was very comforting – it meant that whatever happened on the rest of the walk, no amount of hill-walking would take me to even half this height over the coming days.

Now this is where I'm not quite sure what happened. I think I got a bit lost. Not horrendously, but I just had to trust instinct more than anything else. I knew not to take the path that descended to the nearest road, so I didn't. I must have been right to that point. It was as the path descended and came to a minor road that I couldn't quite work out where the path went next. The guidebook was saying that I had to be broadly in the right direction – certainly the rather boggy, squelchy bracken-covered terrain which the guide book was talking about looked and felt to be a fair reflection of where I was, but if there was a path marking, I couldn't make it out, or missed it or something. The long and short of it is that I did make it to Niarbyl, but perhaps by not quite the recommended route. Anyway, that was quite enough for one day. I had made good progress, covered about 20 miles and done the worst of the hills. That's where I texted John and asked to be picked up from the nearest cafe! Well, it would be rude not to have 2 coffees and a scone after all that wouldn't it?