Slieau Curn

The annual snowdrop walk

Tuesday 8^th February, 2011

We started off along a footpath from Ballaugh which passes a farm where there is a huge patch of snowdrops under some old trees.  Trevor was taking some expert photos of the snowdrops.

After we left the footpath, we walked along the disused railway line to Kirk Michael.  I took a photograph of the huge puddles in the fields near Orrisdale.  There is no shortage of water here!  I really needed a tape recorder rather than a camera for this part of the walk because the bird song was wonderful.  There were a variety of birds singing in the hedgerows and trees alongside the path.  We saw robins, tits, chaffinches, green finches, thrushes and blackbirds and they all seemed to be celebrating the approach of spring.

We left the railway line at the bridge over the Balleira Road in Kirk Michael.  I was interested in the stonework supporting the bridge, but Dorothy was taking artistic shots of some graffiti.

From Kirk Michael we followed the Baltic Road up into the hills.  After it passes the boarding kennels (the Rover Ritz and Cosy Cattery!), the road deteriorates into a rough track up into heather moorland.  This photograph shows the view back down to Kirk Michael.

  

As we approached our goal - the summit of Slieau Curn - we were surprised to see another hiker had beaten us to the top.  We are usually the only mad hikers up in the hills.  We passed a small dub (dew pond) on the top of the hill and Leo had a quick paddle.  He didn't need to "cool off" because there was a cold breeze up in the hills.

We joined the footpath above Glen Dhoo.

Leo amused me on the walk.  He really is the clumsiest of Alice's sons.  First, he fell out of the back of the Golf while we were getting our backpacks out.  Luckily I managed to catch him and break his fall.  Then he had problems with the cattle grid that we were approaching in the next photo.  He crossed it successfully with Tim but then decided to come back to me and his feet slipped between the bars.  I had to retrieve him and carry him across.

  

The end is in sight - descending to Ballaugh - the third leg of our triangular walk.  The ruts in the track are caused by off-road motorbikes.  This section is not as bad as it used to be because the bikes have been prohibited during winter, the wettest part of the year - but come April they will be churning up the hillside again.