Dalby

 Fourth leg of the Raad ny Foillan - The tough one.

 

13th July, 2009

 

The weather didn't look very promising on Monday morning.  There was a blustery wind, occasional showers had been forecast, and it was raining in the Glen when we left home.  Then we drove though dense fog on the road between Round Table and the Sloc.

 

Our hike started in intermittent sunshine, along the coast road through Dalby and then down the second road to the right.  The first right would have taken us down to the beach at Niarbyl, but our route went along a narrow road, which our neighbour in Ballure Grove used to call "bedstead lane" - because the fence at the top of the bank above the road was patched with the remains of old iron bedsteads.  The "bedsteads" are still there, I picked out two, but they were almost hidden by the brambles.  There are some expensive-looking properties down the lane but one drawback of living there was illustrated by the group of wheelie bins near the junction with the main road.  The lane is obviously too narrow for the rubbish lorries, so all the inhabitants have to tote their garbage up the lane to their bins at the top of the hill.

 

After crossing a stream in the valley we walked up towards Eary Cushlin, along an old bridle path which has been eroded down to rock and rubble.  The others are toiling up the hill but Danny is looking back, wondering why I have stopped.  Schippies are very clever but they don't understand photography. 

 

About half the way up the hill we climbed over a stile and followed a footpath towards the sea, and then around the bracken-covered slopes above the shore.  In the photo you can see the western side of the Carnanes and Bradda Head with the entrance to Fleshwick Bay - our destination - between them.  In the far distance you may be able to make out the faint outline of the Calf.  The cloud obscuring the top of the Carnanes was a bit ominous because we had to climb Cronk ny Arrey Laa (Hill of the Day Watch) before we reached the Carnanes and that is considerably higher.  We had hoped that the fog might burn off towards midday but it seemed to be taking its time.

Our path took us across a narrow ravine below Eary Cushlin, not far above sea level, and then we had a long slog uphill.  First up towards the old farmhouse and then up into the clouds.  The summit of Cronk ny Arrey Laa is 1434 feet above sea level and this bit of the walk is uphill all the way - which is why Linda still remembers this section as being the toughest leg of the coastal footpath . . . and it is quite a few years since we last did the whole Raad ny Foillan.  Linda hoped to join us on the hikes after her visitors left but hasn't been able to as she has been suffering from back problems.  Tim and Trevor are disappearing into the mist on the path through the heather on the north side of Cronk ny Arrey Laa.  Danny is still checking up on me.

We stopped for a tea-break - trying to shelter from the cold wind behind the cairn on the top of the hill.  It is hard to believe that this photograph was taken in the middle of summer.  Instead of a wonderful view, we could only see a few yards which was quite disorientating. 

It wasn't easy to decide which direction to head in after the break.  There are four paths leading from the cairn and only one had a rather ambiguous footpath sign, so we had to take an educated guess.  On the way down we met two hikers who were visiting the Island and doing the Raad ny Foillan in the opposite direction.  We asked whether they had come up from the Sloc but they had never heard of the Sloc - however, they had heard of Fleshwick and confirmed that we were on the right path which was good news.  The visiting hikers were walking all the way from Port Erin to Peel on Monday which made our short  "tough" fourth leg seem rather paltry in comparison.

 

The next climb was up the steep slope of Lhiattee ny Bienee from the Sloc to the fairly level path along the top of the Carnanes.  You can see the southern side of Cronk ny Arrey Laa behind with its "tablecloth" still obscuring the summit.  The furthest headland is Niarbyl - the tail of rocks - below the road where we started this section of the walk.

    And finally, we reached our destination . . . Fleshwick Bay with next week's first climb (up the back of Bradda) ahead.   Although the big fire on Bradda was some years ago, the bracken hasn't grown back yet and it is easy to see the extent of the burn.  The green patches are mainly bracken which escaped the flames.  The sun was shining, we were sheltered from the wind - and suddenly it really felt like summer again. 

 

 

 

As we drove back to Dalby the cloud finally dispersed and we were able to see the top of Cronk ny Arrey Laa.

 

    Next week - Fleshwick Bay to the Chasms.