This weekend Emily and I have been back in the Isle of Man visiting my folks and catching up with some old friends. I like visiting the Island at this time of year because the climate is usually much milder due to the
Gulf Stream. However, it seems the weather is doing crazy things recently as yesterday was almost like a spring/summer day and very mild, but this morning we woke to 3 inches of fresh snow that had fallen overnight - crazy...
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| Setting off from Port St. Mary towards the coast |
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| Looking back towards Port St. Mary |
I wanted to make the most of the great day yesterday so I suggested that we all take a walk from Port St. Mary to Port Erin around the coast. My folks only live in Ballasalla so we only had a short drive to leave the car. The main reason for me choosing this route was because I wanted to check out the infamous
Chasms along the coast. I had never been here before, despite living and growing up here until I was 18, and I had read about some of the climbs there so I wanted to take a closer look.
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| The Chasms, Isle of Man |
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| Looking out into the Irish Sea from The Chasms, Isle of Man |
It turned out to be a fantastic day out and it was a great way to catch up with my folks. The weather was absolutely stunning and the Chasms are certainly a sight to behold. Apparently they were a big tourist attraction back in the day and there was even a cafe - no sign of any of this now but definitely worth a visit, I'd say. In terms of the climbing, I could certainly spot plenty of lines up the cliffs, but I'm not sure how hard any of them looked - it would certainly be an amazing setting.
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| Looking down into The Chasms, Isle of Man |
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| Above The Chasms, Isle of Man |
The path around the coast is excellent and well signposted. The guidebooks show the coastal path continuing for 90 miles all the way around the Island so this is merely a small section of it, but probably the best of it. We also had a nice lunch in the cafe at Cregneash before heading onto Port Erin and taking the bus back to Port St. Mary to get the car. My Dad is quite keen to get into the walking a bit more after I took him up
Clisham back in July last year so I think this has shown him the way and given him more confidence to get out and do more by himself on the Island.
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| Herbie and I at The Chasms, Isle of Man |
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| Emily and I in front of the Calf of Man, Isle of Man |
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| Port Erin from the coastal path, Isle of Man |
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| Like father, like son |
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| Heading down towards Port Erin, Isle of Man |
