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Isle of Man Coastal Path

Raad Ny Foillan - The Way of the Gull; The Millennium and Herring Ways

ISBN

9781852848798

Availability

Published

13 Apr 2018

Edition

Fourth

Pages

160

Size

17.20 x 11.60 x 1.20cm

Weight

180g

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Guidebook to walking the Isle of Man coastal path, the Way of the Gull (Raad ny Foillan). The spectacular 98 mile route is described in 9 stages and takes in beaches, glens, moorland and rugged sea cliffs. It can be walked in around a week. Two other paths, the Millennium Way (Bayr ny Ree) and the Herring Way (Bayr ny Skeddan), are also described.

Seasons

Year-round walking on the Isle of Man is possible, although spring and summer weather is best. April, May and June are driest; May, June and July are sunniest; July and August are warmest.

Centres

Douglas, Ramsey, Castletown, Port Erin, Peel, Kirk Michael

Difficulty

Mainly coastal walking with short ups and downs. Stages up to 15 miles long.

Must See

Point of Ayre, historic Laxey, the cliffs and secluded bays and inlets of the south and west and the remote west coast. Sea life and birds.

ISBN

9781852848798

Availability

Published

13 Apr 2018

Edition

Fourth

Pages

160

Size

17.20 x 11.60 x 1.20cm

Weight

180g

Overview

Raad ny Foillan (The Way of the Gull) is a 98 mile footpath around the Isle of Man. The route description is set out as a circuit and split into stages, with the longest walk being 15.5 miles and the shortest being 7 miles. Any fast walkers may wish to complete two stages per day, while those progressing at a more leisurely pace may decide to amble along and take in the splendid attractions along the way.

Two further walks described in this guidebook, the 23 mile Millennium Way, which follows the ancient route of the kings, from Ramsey to Castletown, and the 14 mile Herring Way, which takes a more traditional route from Peel to Castletown. Both these routes cross the hills of the island's interior and can be combined to make an interesting longer walk.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Preface

Map key

Overview map

Introduction

How to get there

The best time to walk

Accommodation

Parking

Public transport

Climate

Tides and times

Maps and compasses

Geology

Nature along the footpaths

History

1 Raad ny Foillan: The Way of the Gull

Stage 1 Douglas to Castletown

Stage 2 Castletown to Port St Mary

Stage 3 Port St Mary to Port Erin

Stage 4 Port Erin to Peel

Stage 5 Peel to Kirk Michael

Stage 6 Kirk Michael to Point of Ayre

Stage 7 Point of Ayre to Ramsey

Stage 8 Ramsey to Laxey

Stage 9 Laxey to Douglas

2 The Millennium Way

Stage 1 Ramsey to Crosby

Stage 2 Crosby to Castletown

3 Bayr ny Skeddan: The Herring Way

Bayr ny Skeddan The Herring Way

Appendix A Glossary of Manx words

Appendix B Selected bibliography

Appendix C Route summary

Appendix D IOM Coastal Footpath accommodation list

Updates

June 2024

The Marine Biological Interpretation Centre

Page 70 The Marine Biological Interpretation Centre has been demolished

Reviews

158km footpath around the coast of the Isle of Man

This guide follows the 158km footpath around the coast of the Isle of Man with a few pages at the end to include a couple of inland routes. Author Aileen Evans is particularly interested in plants and other wildlife but comes to this book with a fine pedigree of production of Cicerone guides and a background of outdoor sports. Her climbing allows her to talk about the safety of the varied cliffs. Several decades ago she was one of our top slalomists and she comments on the sea conditions in more detail than is usual in walking guides, noting overfalls, races and tidal flows with their speeds.

Unusually, the maps are arranged to give the direction of travel from left to right across the page so north can be in any direction. Travelling clockwise on the coastal path means that land is at the bottom and sea at the top, perhaps the opposite of what the paddler might prefer. Also unusual are the number of full page photographs, the sea included in a high proportion.

As usual there are details of logistics such as transport there and on the island, weather, accommodation, where to get free parking discs, tides and tidal constants, maps, geology, wildlife and history of the island, giving a brief background to this independent island in the Irish Sea.

Canoeist magazine

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Isle of Man Coastal Path - GPX File

By Aileen Evans

Aileen Evans has spent all her life enjoying climbing, walking and travel. She is author or co-author of several Cicerone guides, mainly to the Lake District, where she and her husband Brian have spent many years walking and climbing.

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