' ( en, The Way of the Gull) is a coastal
long distance footpath in the
Isle of Man
)
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, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
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in Europe ...
. Because it is a closed loop around the coast, it can be walked in either a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction.
Route and history
The ' starts and finishes at the Millennium Bridge over
Douglas Harbour
Douglas Harbour ( gv, Purt Varrey Ghoolish) is located near Douglas Head at the southern end of Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man. It is the island's main commercial shipping port. The Port of Douglas was the first in the world to be equ ...
. The path, which is in length, forms a complete loop around the Manx coast, waymarked with signs showing a gull on a blue background.
The walk was created to mark the Island's "Heritage Year" celebrations in 1986 and generally follows the coast, passing through terrain varying from shingle beaches at the
Ayres to over hills and cliffs.
The route comprises the following sections:
*
Douglas to Castletown, including the Langness peninsula
*
Castletown to Port St Mary,
*
Port St Mary to Port Erin,
*
Port Erin
Port Erin ( gv, Purt Çhiarn, meaning ''lord's port'') is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it ...
to Peel, (this section can be shortened by leaving out Bradda Head and the Niarbyl)
*
Peel to Kirk Michael,
*
Kirk Michael
Michael ( gv, Maayl) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the three historic parishes of Ballaugh, Jurby and Michael.
H ...
to Jurby,
*
Jurby to Point of Ayre,
*
Point of Ayre
The Point of Ayre ( gv, Kione ny Hayrey)''Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie Volume Three. Sheading of Ayre: (Kirk Andreas, Kirk Bride and Kirk Christ Lezayre)'' page 258 ''Kirk Bride'' by George Broderick – Turbingen ...
to Ramsey,
*
Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:
Geography British Isles
* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England
* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England
** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey"
* Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
to Maughold,
*
Maughold
Maughold (also known as Macaille, Maccaldus, Machalus, Machaoi, Machella, Maghor, Mawgan, Maccul, Macc Cuill; died c. 488 AD) is venerated as the patron saint of the Isle of Man. Tradition states that he was an Irish prince and captain of a ban ...
to Laxey,
*
Laxey to Douglas,
The Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the Raad ny Foillan is 21 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds, set by Orran Smith(self-supported) in October 2020.
Flora and fauna
The coastal sections may provide sightings of
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s such as
kittiwake
The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red-l ...
s,
Manx shearwaters,
puffins,
guillemots and
sea gulls together with
grey seal
The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...
s, and at points inland the rare
Manx Loaghtan
The Manx Loaghtan ( ) is a rare breed of sheep (''Ovis aries'') native to the Isle of Man. It is sometimes spelled as ''Loaghtyn'' or ''Loghtan''. The sheep have dark brown wool and usually four or occasionally six horns.
The Manx Loaghtan is ...
sheep on areas protected by
Manx National Heritage.
See also
*The ''
Millennium Way
The Millennium Way is a long distance footpath on the Isle of Man. The path is approximately in length, stretching between Castletown and Ramsey.
The footpath was opened in 1979 to mark the thousandth year of the parliament of the Island, Tynwa ...
'' - a walk between
Castletown and
Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:
Geography British Isles
* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England
* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England
** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey"
* Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
.
*The ''
Bayr ny Skeddan'' ( en, Herring Road) - a walk between Castletown and Peel based on the route once used by Manx fishermen.
*The
IOM Heritage Trail - a walk along disused
Isle of Man Railway lines from
Douglas to Peel.
References
{{reflist
External links
IOM.co.ukManx government websiteVisitIsleOfMan website
Footpaths of the Isle of Man