At the southwest corner of the Isle of Man, a small
peninsula extends into the Irish Sea. On the northwest side of the peninsula
lies Port Erin. On the southeast side of the peninsula lies Port St. Mary. The
two towns are a little more than a mile apart, so narrow is the peninsula. Yet,
walking from one town to the other along the coastal path involves a journey of
almost eight miles, numerous ascents and descents to gain each successive
headland, and a time commitment of nearly 4 hours to talk to people on the
trail.
Port Erin Harbour
Port Erin from footpath
I took the 9:00 am bus from Douglas to Port Erin, arriving
around 10:15. After familiarizing myself with the town’s harbor area, I started
walking about 10:30. For most of the morning, I saw not another soul and made
fairly good time, except for frequent pauses for pictures. The coastal path
occasionally ventured only inches from a precipitous drop into the sea, but
mostly stayed 10 to 30 feet from the edge. To be honest, I made better time
when the path was far from the edge, and resisted the temptation to hurry when
near.
Rounding the tip of the peninsula, I caught my first glimpse of Calf of Man, a smaller island just off the coast of the larger island on which I stood. A channel separates the two islands, and an impressive current was running with the changing tides. I’m told that basking sharks and porpoise frequent the area, but I didn’t see any. Hey, at my age, I’m happy just to see the trail.
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| Calf of Man |
At the tip of the peninsula, a substantial road runs from
Port St. Mary, and ends at a parking lot with a visitor center. I resisted the
temptation to stop for lunch, but not the temptation to speak with the first
people I met today: Janet, John, Christine and Stewart. Two are from Yorkshire
and two are from Kent. I have a 50/50 chance of remembering which couple is
from which location. I also have a 50/50 chance of matching the couples
correctly. I’m not a wiz at math, but even I know that means I have a 75%
chance of getting it wrong. So rather than insult anyone, I’ll stop here.
Continuing on around the headlands, I met Terry, Di and
John. Word must have gotten out about an American who has nothing better to do
than walk and blog, and Terry and John were falling all over themselves trying
to get their picture into today’s posting. Fortunately for all, Di maintained
decorum and managed to get Terry and John lined up (queued??) quietly on the
trail so I could take a respectable picture.
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| John, Terry and Di |
The trail then descended into Port St. Mary. Having
successfully turned a one mile walk into an eight mile adventure, I caught the
first bus back to Douglas.
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| Port St. Mary |
