The guidebook said of today :"A mountain section over the Carnanes, with 3 summits - Bradda Hill, Lhiattee ny Beinee and Cronk ny Arrey Laa, each one higher, wilder and more remote than its predecessor. The western side of each hill plunges in sheer cliffs to the sea giving views to which I cannot do justice"
Word of the day : stru-gull - the inability to breathe and move your limbs in a cohesive fashion whilst whimpering and crawling at a snail's pace in upland geography.
We started, in a masochistic sort of a way in preparation for the day's walk by ascending the spiral staircase to get to the top of Milner Tower, on the edge of Port Erin bay - probably a mistake as it gave us a panoramic view of the mountains we had to get over today.
Open pastures, wild moorland, and then the mist started to sweep in
Sometimes I think these sculptors can get a bit too precious about cairns
But at least that's the first peak ticked off
The good thing about the mist was that you couldn't see how big the next one was - the descent was quite steep
right back down to sea level at Fleshwick Bay, then steeply back up the other side gasping to the summit of Lhiattee ny Beinee, where on a good day you can see the Lancashire hills to the east, the Irish mountains to the west and the Welsh mountains to the south. We could barely make out each other as we set off for the third peak - no energy left for cairn building amongst the remnants of the packed lunch when we got there
Geoff and Brian on the third summit - it's all downhill from now, with promise of a cafe at the bottom in Niarbyl Bay
The weather improved as we descended towards Peel, and the promised view of the Mountains of Mourne in Ireland materialised.
But best laid plans and all that - the day ended in tragedy as we took a wrong path and missed our afternoon tea stop in the Bay, but I gamely managed a smile for the camera just before the final descent into Peel. Our starting point this morning is behind the hill next to my right shoulder. It felt like a really long way today!
The very welcome sight of Peel harbour
and its castle ...and our car.......
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