Two short walks in wooded glens with waterfalls
The National Glens of the Isle of Man
Visiting the glens by train
Ballaglass Glen
Dhoon Glen
More historical information about Dhoon Glen
Other Glens we visited
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The National Glens of the Isle of Man
There are 17 national glens listed in the tourist brochure we picked up when taking the ferry across to Douglas. These are mostly round the fringes of the island, where streams coming off the hills cut into the lower slopes to make short gorges, although there are a number of mountain glens as well. There are waterfalls and cascades in several of them, and steep wooded slopes. It reminded me of some of the wooded glens (or dens) you find in many parts of Scotland. Although these were less wild, in the rolling countryside of the Isle of Man they add drama and variety. They seem to have been managed as tourist attractions since the early days of the railways in the 19th century. Some are natural, others have been planted with more exotic trees. Today they are maintained by the Forestry Department, and admission to all of them is free.
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Visiting the glens by train
We wanted to take the electric railway up the east coast from Douglas to Ramsay, and on the way back we stopped off at two of the glens. Both of them were easily reached, direct from railway halts. It was a fine afternoon, warm with some sunshine, just right for some easy walking.
Ballaglass Glen is just over 4 miles (about 7 km) along the railway line south of Ramsay, so it didn’t take too long, although the train has to climb quite steeply up from the little town. As the line bends round through Ballaskeig above the glen, the view from the train opens up towards Snaefell about 5 miles (8 km) to the west.
The train stopped next to a little wooden shelter and an old gateway marking the entrance to the glen. Steps led down into the woodland, and there was a choice of paths on either side of the stream. We crossed the little bridge to the other side, and walked along an easy path that meandered along for barely half a mile – about a kilometre. In this short distance there were some delightful views of the stream rushing down over rocks, especially looking back upstream from a little bridge halfway down. Below that, the water seemed to skid across slabs of rock lying flat in the stream bed (see photos).
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Soon we reached a little road crossing a stone bridge over the stream, next to a cottage at a place called Cornaa. Across the road was a lane leading on along the glen, and we followed this for a few minutes, but it was less interesting and seemed to be moving away from the stream. We had gone beyond the formal Glen, anyway. The map showed the track was part of the Heritage Trail along the coast, leading down to Port Cornaa a mile or so further on, and there would have been the option of turning up a narrow road to rejoin the railway line at the next halt at Glen Mona. This would have given a total distance of about 3 miles, or 5 km.
However, we decided to cut short this particular walk and return through the Glen to the Ballaglass halt, for the next train. We walked back to Cornaa and then to the footbridge, crossing over to the path on the left side of the glen as a variation. It took us back to the foot of the steps leading up through the entrance gate.
We had a few minutes until the next train, and this was enough time to see that there were other paths leading through this spot – one on the other side of the track leading up to the main road at Cardle, another following the edge of the trees above the glen then running close to the railway line itself.
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Dhoon Glen
The next train took us the three miles (5 km) along to the head of Dhoon Glen. On a plaque inside the train it said "This car was built in 1893 and has been in continuous service since that date as a passenger car."
The halt at Dhoon Glen had the road on one side, and a little café next to the halt on the other side. A husband and wife were dispensing teas and hot snacks. We only had limited time to get back to Douglas and then the hotel, for a swim before our evening meal. The others weren’t too bothered to rush down to see the glen, and preferred to relax in the sunshine at a café table with a mug of tea and a toasted sandwich.
There was about 40 minutes before the next train, and I thought I could get down to the sea and back in time. It looked rather less than a mile. After a quick look at the notice/map board fixed to a wall, I went down the steps next to it, past a cottage, and ended up in a garden with fenced off areas where a path was being rebuilt. I found my way through to the road on the other side, but would have been better just walking a few yards beyond the noticeboard to the road end and walking down there. I hadn’t realised that I had to walk along a stretch of road before heading down into the glen and had thought the entrance to the glen was at the railway halt, as with Ballaglass.
There wasn’t much tarmac involved – a short way along, I found the access to the gorge on the right, just before a bridge. There was a higher level path and one leading quite steeply at first down through the trees. I followed this down towards the stream, and then along through the woods. There was an old wall from what turned out to have been a lead mine, and the route was apparently an old cart track. It made a good enough path running above the gorge and then leading down towards it. The woodland was made up mainly of ash, wych elm and alder, together with sycamore, birch and mountain ash (according to the leaflet I picked up afterwards).
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There were some steps zig-zagging down (not sure if this was part of the cart track!), and then in the middle of the thickly wooded valley I could see the waterfall that is the highlight of this particular glen. Unfortunately there was hardly any water in it, so it was just a trickle, but I was sure it would be impressive after heavy rain! It’s known as the “Inneen Vooar” or “Big Girl”, and with its two drops adding up to 40 metres (130 ft) is one of the highest on the island.
The steps went down steeply with more views of the waterfall, then turned alongside the stream for the last stretch down to the beach. It was further than I expected, with a last narrow section before emerging through rocks onto the beach. A family was there, enjoying the seclusion, with a view out into a little bay with rocky cliffs on either side.
I didn’t have long to enjoy it, and after a couple of photos I went straight back up to the pathway I had just emerged from. From there I had to hurry back along the path, up the long flights of steps past the falls, through the woods, up to the road, and along to the railway halt. Ideally you’d want to allow at least an hour and a half just to get to the beach and back, with extra time if you want a dip in the sea.
I arrived back at the railway halt, hot and sticky, but in time for the train back. There were even a few minutes to spare for me to change into a clean shirt, and we had a chat with the operators of the café: Martin and Sue Keighley. They had only taken over the lease a couple of weeks earlier and were keen to build up the business. So make sure you call in for a breakfast bap or cold sandwiches, with your cup of tea or coffee!
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More historical information about Dhoon Glen
The leaflet which they gave us provided some of the information about, and also revealed that “during the 1880s and 1890s a small passenger ship called the “Manx Fairy” used to run daily between Douglas and Ramsey calling at Dhoon Bay to unload passengers, who spent the day on the beach or in the glen, before being picked up for the return journey. The arrival of the Isle of Man Electric Railway in 1897 was another boost to visitor numbers. The decline in visitor numbers post 1945 saw a gradual change in the character of the glen. It is now recognised for its rugged beauty and is popular with those energetic enough to tackle its 190 steps”. No wonder I felt exhausted when I got back!
The leaflet also quotes a writer called Jenkinson from 1874, who said: “If the tourist have time he ought to take this opportunity of visiting the Dhoon Waterfalls. They are undoubtedly the largest and most beautiful cascades on the island, but hitherto they have been very little known, and not noticed in any guide-book; in fact, hardly a dozen people seem to be aware of their existence. They are deeply recessed in a romantic and well-wooded glen, and are not more than 1 mile for the Ramsey road and the same distance from the sea. The tourist may visit them from Laxey either by carriage or boat. During the excursion by sea there are passed some imposing cliffs presenting rugged rocks and sea-worn caves”.
There are links in the leaflet to photos on the web:
This one from 1895 in Beecham’s Isle of Man: http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/tourism/bcham/photos.htm
And one of Dhoon Glen and Waterfall in Philip’s c. 1875: http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/views/ph185x/views.htm
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Other glens we visited
We had a look at a few other glens during our stay:
Glen Helen – lying inland, about 5 miles (8 km) due east of Peel. This is apparently one of the best-known on the island, but we only got as far as the hotel for an excellent meal on our last evening on the island. Apparently it was named after Helen Marsden, daughter of the founder. He began to plant it in 1850 with a variety of trees including sequoia, thuya, spruce, douglas fir, oak, sycamore and beech, and there’s a spectacular waterfall three-quarters of a mile along the paths. And there’s a children’s play area and toilets!
Port Soderick Glen – just along the coast 4 miles (6 km) SW of Douglas. I ran down there on a circuit from the hotel, following the Isle of Man Steam Railway for some of the route, but it wasn’t very impressive. It’s more like a small park, with a path leading through it and up through woodland to rejoin the public road. Port Soderick itself looked pretty sad, the remains of an old tourist spot, no longer attracting many visitors. I’d hoped to take the track over the coastal hill to Balnahow, but it was very obviously closed to the public.
Glenmaye, 3 miles (4 km) south of Peel, also had a pub where we went for an enjoyable meal one evening. The glen led down about a mile to the shore, but we just went down a short distance to get sight of an impressive little waterfall.
Contributed by: Andrew Llanwarne - April 2006
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