North Barrule

Not for the faint-hearted!

 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

    I am beginning to wonder whether some malevolent weather god lives on the top of North Barrule and wreaks revenge on any stupid hikers that invade his territory.  The forecast Monday morning wasn't great but it wasn't too bad either so we really weren't prepared for the conditions on the mountain.  I shouldn't really call North Barrule a mountain as it is only 1860 feet high and we are told that a hill has to be 2000 feet high before it is entitled to be called a mountain.

 

    We drove to the parking area near Ballure Reservoir intending to walk up to the minor road between the Gooseneck and the Hibernian.  At the end of that road, a farm track continues all the way around the back of North Barrule and up the Corony Valley.  We could see patches of fog on the mountain and there were also patches of drizzle.   During a drier patch I stopped to take this photo of the lane.  It looks very peaceful but I realised that the wind was getting stronger when  I dropped the plastic bag that I had used to protect my camera and had to chase it back down the lane.  

We were heading for Park Lewellyn, a ruined farmhouse in the Corony Valley.  The name sounds rather posh but "park" is a variation on "pairk" which means "pasture" in Manx.  So it really just means Lewellyn's pasture.  On the map the name is spelt with a single L at the beginning, but the book of Maughold and Ramsey Place-names uses the usual double L spelling.  It appears that the original owner had pretentions of poshness because he chose the name Mount Atholl for this property.  The book says "The original encloser, John Llewellyn, evidently wished to honour the Duke of Atholl, Lord of the Isle, with this name but in more recent times the name Pairk Llewellyn is always used."

 

The wind was getting stronger as we approached Park Lewellyn.   I was amused when we were passed by a chunk of gorse which came rolling down the track towards us - giving an Oscar-worthy imitation of tumbleweed.

There is a route through the fields behind the old farm up to the top of the North Barrule ridge.  This route meets the path along the ridge near a stile in the stone wall which crosses the mountain just before the final climb to the peak.  Putting off the steep climb as long as possible, we stopped to look at the old farmhouse and take a few photos.

 

Inside the main building, there were two rooms at ground level, behind a small entrance porch.  This old oven was built into a chimney between the two rooms.  Judging by the heaps of slate, the upper part of the chimney appeared to have collapsed into the other room but this room was almost clear apart from the fallen roof timbers.

 

Reluctantly continuing on our way!  No more photos for a while because of the difficulty of holding the camera steady in the wind and then persistent drizzle.

Our original intention was to climb to the top of the highest peak on the North Barrule ridge and then descend the north east side of Barrule and return to the cars.  We had expected to be sheltered from the wind during most of the climb up the east side because the forecast was for north-westerlies - but part of the way up the hill we kept being buffeted by strong gusts of wind.  The valley seemed to be acting like a wind tunnel and concentrating the gusts.  We were all staggering at times. battling to keep upright.  Then an even stronger gust blew me off balance.  I tried to grab a rock to steady myself but ended up toppling over in a sort of swallow dive with half twist.  Luckily I landed on soft grass, rolled over, and didn't even get a bruise - or damage my camera which was in my pocket.  But I was worried about conditions up on top of the mountain where the wind might be even stronger.  If one of us fell on a steep, rocky part of the path we might be seriously injured.  After a consultation when we reached the stile, we decided to be sensible and aborted the walk up to the peak.

 

We headed straight down the other side, following the wall through the thick fog until we finally caught a glimpse of Ramsey as we emerged from the cloud just above the mountain road. 

 

Then we crossed the mountain road near Guthrie's Memorial and walked down to Glen Auldyn through the shelter of the trees in Brookdale Plantation.  After dropping in on our neighbours for some very welcome warmth, coffee and chat, we collected our other car and drove back to retrieve the cars which we had left at Ballure.

Cronk Sumark

Winter sunshine and frozen puddles

 

Tuesday 7th February, 2012

Our route started from Sulby Claddagh, took the road towards Ramsey, then first on the right to the farm gate at the end of the tarred road.  Then the stony track, through Ohio Plantation, and then farm tracks and footpaths through the fields to the top of the Narradale Road.  Walked down the Narradale Road to the Ginger Hall pub and then returned along the road back to the Claddagh with a detour up Cronk Sumark.

 

The temperature was down to 2 1/2º C when we drove to Sulby.  The ground was frozen underfoot but it was pleasant in the warm sun.  The only complaints about the temperature were early on when we were climbing up the track through Ohio Plantation.  We were sheltered from the wind and all felt too hot because we were wearing so many layers of clothes.  It was a relief to emerge from the trees into the cool breeze.

 

The first photo shows Cronk Sumark - one of the "high points" of our walk - bathed in sunlight behind Ballamanaugh mansion.

 

Ballamanaugh is not really a stately home - the foundations for the house were only dug in 1936 - but it looks as though it would like to be one.  The house was extended a few years ago.  I remember sitting on the hill, watching a whole new wing materialising, and wondering how they could possibly need even more rooms.  

After a long uphill stretch, mainly though the plantation, the track levels off on the Lezayre Tops.  We were grateful for the traditional Manx sod wall at the side of the track which enabled us to skirt this huge frozen puddle.

Very few people live up in the hills now. There is very little money to be made from hill farming, access is difficult and it is colder than the low-lying areas.  Most of the farm houses and cottages have been deserted - like this one in the valley between the Narradale Road and the Kerrowmooar West track - although the fields are still used, mainly for grazing sheep.

 

Walking down the Narradale Road we passed this slate gate post.  In the past there was a shortage of timber on the Island and holes were drilled in pieces of slate in order to hang gates. 

The Narradale Road is a very old route.  It was used by the men from Sulby who worked on the mines in the Laxey Valley.  It is too far for a daily commute on foot, so they must have boarded in Laxey during the week and returned to their families in Sulby at the weekend.

Tim and the dogs on the footpath approaching Cronk Sumark from the north.  It really annoys me that the camera always lies about hills!  It flattens them for some reason and they never look as steep in a photo as they do in real life.  You get a much better impression of the height from photos taken from the top of hills. 

A quote from my Illustrated Encyclopaedia of the Isle of Man . . . ."Cronk Sumark.  The name means "Primrose Hill".  It is a rocky outcrop 250 feet high, at the mouth of Sulby Glen, on the summit of which are remains of a vitrified hill fort of Celtic and Viking periods.  The hill is badly scarred by former quarrying operations." 

I wondered about the name because I have never seen a primrose growing there - but I found an explanation.  In the 1703 Roll it was listed as  "Knock Shemerick, derived from "Scand. Skammhryggr, 'short ridge.' With Gaelic knock or cronk added. Popular etymology is responsible for its present form 'Cronk Sumark,' meaning Primrose Hill."   While I was thinking about place names, I looked up Narradale and was surprised at the number of variations in spelling over the years.  Between  1703 and 1760 it was listed on various documents as Nerindale, Arridall, Aridale, Airydale, Airy-dale and Nardale!  Apparently the name is derived from Scand. Arg or Ergdalr, 'shieling dale.' With Manx article yn.

There are two knolls on top of the hill - some descriptions refer to them as "twin peaks" but that sounds a bit pretentious.  The other walkers were admiring the view from the western peak or knoll which can be seen above the quarry in the first photo (of Ballamanaugh).

The eastern peak is flatter and slightly saucer-shaped.  This must be the area where the early Manxmen camped while they were keeping a watch on the northern plain and surrounding seas - in  case they needed to defend the Island from invaders.  The black dog-shaped silhouette is Leo.

Leo examining a sign warning him not to injure the ancient monument.  A fairly recent housing development near Sulby Bridge can be seen beyond the farms at the bottom of the hill.

 

Heading home, the view from the top - looking west.