The Chasms

The sixth leg of the Raad ny Foillan - the walk of the beautiful bays.

Monday, 27th July, 2009

 

Unusually, the slowest section of Monday's expedition was part of the drive to the starting point  We met at Scarlett, left our car there, and drove back to the Chasms with Trevor and Dorothy.  As we drove up The Road to the Sound, past the road to Glen Chass, we were held up by a large herd of cows ambling up the hill.  I had no idea that cows walked so slowly.  The sheepdog, which was supposed to be helping to keep the herd moving, got so bored that he kept stopping to mark his territory.  Eventually, they turned off the road into a field and we drove on at a reasonable speed to the Chasms - where we were welcomed back by the choughs who were showing off in the air currents above the cliffs.

 

I stopped by the stone wall to take a few snaps of the heather growing around the chasms.

 

The others walked ahead and took the most direct footpath down towards Glen Chass instead of following the scenic route - so we missed the last spectacular views from the top of the cliffs east of the Chasms and the sight of the seabirds roosting on the Sugarloaf. 

 

But our route had its own charms and we were soon able to enjoy the view down into Perwick Bay, with Kallow Point and Port St Mary beyond - and beyond Port St Mary we could see the Bay ny Carrickey with the distant outline of Scarlett on the far side of the bay.

We continued our way downhill, along the back roads through Glen Chass.  I will never be able to walk through this part of the Island without remembering a cat that we encountered some years ago, when we were doing a circular walk from Port Erin, through Glen Chass and back along the coast.  I foolishly stopped to talk to this friendly ginger cat.  The cat must have been bored because it followed us.  I kept assuming that it would turn back soon - but it just kept going.  We didn't want to abort the walk and return to Glen Chass.  It was a really hot day and, by the time we reached the view of the Sugarloaf, the cat looked exhausted.  But it kept following us.  I ended up carrying it to the tearoom at the Sound - hoping that they would keep it for us while we walked to Port Erin and drove back to collect it.  They refused - but luckily one of the customers overheard the conversation and offered to take the cat back to Glen Chass in her car.  The cat would never have been allowed to join us if one of the Schippies had been in the hiking party.  They don't approve of strange cats.

 

As we approached the path above Perwick Bay, we were held up for a few minutes when we met a large group of elderly hikers coming from Port St Mary.  We had to wait while they passed though a gate.  Tim said that most of them were speaking French - so it must have been a group of tourists.  It occurred to me (very unkindly) that they were walking at a similar speed to the herd of cows that we encountered earlier.

 

We walked through the town and down to a cul-de-sac called The Under Way.   The tide was out and the boats moored in Port St Mary harbour didn't look as though they would be going anywhere for a while.

The Under Way led to a walkway which led to the promenade around Chapel Beach.

While we were walking along the promenade, I noticed a heron standing in the shallows.  While I was watching it, a herring gull swooped down in an aggressive way.  The gull came back three times.  Each time, the heron ducked and the gull circled back.  Finally, it got tired of bullying the heron and flew away.   This is the view back towards Port St Mary across Chapel Bay. 

From Chapel Bay, the route followed a road and path round Gansey Point to the largest of the beautiful bays - Bay ny Carrickey.   We walked across the vast expanse of flat wet sand.  Just us . . . and the sand and the sea and the sky, dappled with cloud. 

It isn't always such a peaceful scene.  When the tide is in and the onshore gales are blowing, the waves crash over the sea wall and flood the road above.  Huge boulders have been piled at the top of the beach to protect the sea wall.  I wanted Leo to pose next to them but he wouldn't oblige.

 

We turned off the beach before we reached the Black Rocks and walked along the pavement next to the main coast road past Kentraugh.  Many years ago we saw some llamas in a paddock at Kentraugh but there was nothing to see as we walked past on Monday - apart from a life-sized fibre-glass cow.

 

Leo did not enjoy the walk along the pavement.  He kept looking over the low wall - staring longingly at the shore.  Eventually we got to Strandhall, left the noisy traffic behind us, and turned off along a narrow road which passes some expensive properties and a farm and ends up at the Poyllvaaish Quarry.  There was a flock of goldfinches feeding on the weed seeds at the side of the road.  Then Dorothy noticed a couple of convenient benches and we stopped for a late tea break.  It was very pleasant, to relax for a few minutes in the sun and enjoy the view back across the bay.

 

The final stretch of the walk was along the footpath from Poyllvaaish to the parking area near the Visitor Centre at Scarlett.  We met two women who were walking along the path, killing time until the Visitor Centre opened at 2 p.m.  They asked about footpaths in the area.  One of the women was keen to continue and do a circular walk back to the Centre.  The second woman said "I think I will go back to the car" and then corrected herself, "No . . . I know I will go back to the car!"  She then told us a story about a boat trip to the Calf - many years before.  The sea was so rough that she was convinced they would all perish - so she offered to refund all the other passengers . . . as long as they agreed to return to harbour immediately.  They agreed.  I doubt whether she was a descendent of one of those intrepid nineteenth century ladies who travelled the world and wrote about their adventures.

 

    The last photo shows the path approaching the old coast guard tower near Scarlett Point.  A few years ago, while granddaughters were visiting the castle and I was killing time here, I saw some clouded yellow butterflies on the wild flowers growing in the shelter of the limestone wall.  I hoped I would see some more on Monday but I was out of luck.  But, we had seen three small tortoiseshells earlier in the day, and there were some common blues by the path past the fields as well as the ubiquitous whites and meadow browns that we see on most walks.

 

 

 

I was musing about the number four towards the end of the walk.  Four climbs last week and four bays this week - and then we rounded the point and there was a fifth bay - Castletown Bay!

 

We have passed the half way point in our journey round the Island . . . and next week we will be heading north.