what it is, what it was, what it will be

At least it's a water related blog.... just not sailing.
Having seen people on telly going to remote places and swimming I have long thought it a good idea, well at least something to try. I can't remember which TV presenter I saw going into Uldale Force but the image stuck with me and on the 12th of July 2017 I set off to find the the site and take a dip.
I parked up at Rawthey Bridge and took the bridleway to the south of the river.
The views where very nice.

This track takes you quite some way south of the river and is quite boggy. After a while you pass a collapsed lime kiln:

Apart from being a pleasant walk there are lots of interesting things to explore. Like the cave at the old Rawthey Gill Quarry. Up in the rock face there is an opening, marked by this cairn.

And the inside looks like this. It appears to be a carved 'bed' so perhaps someone lived here once over?

So after exploring the cave it is onward on the sheep track to get to the force. There are two sheep tracks into Uldale Force both suitable for sheep, but just OK for humans. When you get there it looks like this.

And when you get in you can look like this, yes cool but in the temperature sense :)

Anyway once you have had your dip in the icy waters you can return taking the footpaths to the north side of the river. Passing a pretty collection of buildings at Uldale House and seeing the odd bird.

There is nothing 'odd' about this bird. Just a bird on a post. Further on at Needle House you may see squirrels or they may see you.

And alas this poor chap has seen better days.

Route Name - Raad ny Foillan The Way of the Gull

Distance - 95m

Overnights - 3 Tent 2 Boat

This is a small adventure I did in 2013. It occurred to me that I should just get on and do some of the things I had thought for a long time would be fun to do. So I with a view to walking Hadrian’s Wall I practised on the Wolds Way (in part) and the Ripon Rowel (in full). Then I parked my car at Bowness and walked via the Roman wall to Newcastle; catching the train and bus back to collect my car. That was an excellent experience and so as I had practised long distance walking and wild camping; I devised a plan to walk around the Isle of Man. I faffed about trying to make it difficult but it’s not. Park at Heysham take the over night ferry to Douglas. Get off the ferry turn right and keep going till you get back to the ferry.

Tip: On the ferry people get their sleeping bags out find a flat space and go to sleep, sort of a shipboard microadventure.

My family on my fathers side are from the Isle of Man hence my wish to return and revisit some of my childhood memories. For me they begin immediately: The Tower of Refuge –

Tower of Refuge

Dad rowed us out to it when we were children recounting tales of shipwrecks that led to its construction (it’s not so isolated when the tide is out...).

Raad Ny Foillan

The way is sign posted but somewhat sporadically and lots of paths are pleasingly overgrown

Day one was a hot long tramp out past Onchan to Ramsay and round the Point of Aire. The north of the island is sky, sea and sand. It’s pretty much all yours to enjoy. My night stop was somewhere between Rue Point and Blue Point. My pack stopped a little bit before me,~I think it was tired

My Pack

The destination for day two was ‘Cronk Ny Arrey Laa’, I wanted to wake up on the ‘Hill of the Break of Day’. It turns out that a Manx speaker might question my translation but having woken up on the said hill that’s what it should be called. Also note that studying a map of the Isle of Man is a joy in itself just for the place names.

Peel Castle

Tramping down the west coast you pass through Peel and by its castle, home of the Moddey Dooh ; A ghost dog, a bit like Scooby Doo but black and more spaniely (spanielee, spanielish? Does’t mater it was probably not from Spain anyway).

And on to ‘Cronk Ny Arrey Laa’ which is everything I expected. Remote, atmospheric and all mine.

Flanks of 'The Hill of the Break of Day'

I found the stone cairn in the mist. Mist condenses on the stone blade then runs down and drips off the bottom. You can catch and drink these drips which tastes like water that has just run down the side of a rock on Cronk Ny Arrey Laa – so surely has magical powers…

The third day went right through my ancestral homelands, Port Erin being my fathers birth place.

Looking down Bradda Head

Port Erin

A Chasm

Calf of Man

There are a lot more rocks, hills, inlets and harbours. Consequently quite a bit of up down is required to arrive at Bradda Head, once over it there is a lovely stroll down into Port Erin. Port Erin has very nice public toilets where it is only polite to freshen up as you are back amongst people now. Not too many people and they will look at you like you’re an alien but there is no need to be smelly too

It’s not very far from Port Erin to Port St Mary unless you want to see the Calf of Man close up and stare down in to the ‘Chasms’ and as this is a walk around the island the only real option is the long way. The ‘Chasms’ are aptly named and the sign on the insubstantial entrance gate points out that if you are daft enough to enter and then fall into one of the chasms you only have yourself to blame.

After the exhilaration of viewing the chasms we carry on through Port St Mary stopping for Tea and Cake (lots of Cake) at the Golf Club (the only place open). A few trips down memory lane here for me one of which was to have a look at an inscription my father used to take us to see. It reads ‘Judge not your fellow mans condition till you be in his position’

Back gate of Kentraugh House

My final night camp was going to be somewhere between Port St Mary and Castletown. I found a good spot called 'Close ny Chollagh' (GR242671) where the ancient ‘Fort’ can be seen covered in grass cropped close by sheep. It was a sublime evening yachts out in the bay on a sparkling sea and after 3 days hard walking sleep came easily. At about 5 in the morning the local sheep decided to wake me up, I was not overly impressed. The day was overcast and a bit drizzly. The sun was just above the horizon and about to be obscured by the low grey cloud. Before it lost out to the cloud and mist it created a rainbow very close to me. So close that I reached out and it seemed that the rainbow landed in my hand. I put both hands out and the rainbow spanned both hands. Quite something special, so I took back some of the mean things I had said to the sheep who woke me. Then I remembered that I had seen this depicted before when on holiday in Spain. It is the image of the Indalo Man. You can read about that if you want, then as I was writing this blog I went out for a walk and as serendipity would have it I found this lost earring dangler on the pavement..

A fair representation of me as Indalo Man

Indalo Man Wild Camp

Now for all sorts of reasons you will just have to take my word for it that this happened, not least because there was only me and sheep and they can’t take pictures. But it did make me me wonder if I wasn’t the first person to experience this phenomena perhaps the ancients who built the ‘Fort’ knew that here people can hold rainbows.

Anyway, a great start to the day which then settled down to be mostly grey and wet.

Castletown

It was this type of grey and wet to be precise

On arriving at Douglas I found a cafe ordered a sandwich and a pot of tea and discovered that I had lost my wallet. The cafe owner let me have the meal for free. At the police station they gave me coffee and biscuits and a telephone to use to sort myself out – damn fine people the Manx.

Then back on the ferry to Heysham.