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| Glen Maye |
I'd intended my post on October 7th to be the last about my holiday on the Isle of Man. But as I wrote, I realized that there was one more story to tell.
That, in a way, reflects the whole holiday, which was conceived as a once-in-a-lifetime visit. A friend declared that she had seen all there was to see on the island in four days. I can almost hear shouts of horror from islanders reading that last sentence but it did seem to suggest that a week would be more than adequate. Moreover, in 2019 I shall clock up my three score years and ten on this planet and with so many other places to visit, a return seemed unlikely.
On the last day of our holiday we decided to take the A27 road south of Peel and explore a little of the sparsely populated west coast. First stop was Glen Maye, where there is a pretty waterfall. As we admired the view we were joined by a guy who was walking his dog. I explained that we were on a 'last lap' of the island before boarding the ferry home. "Then don't miss Niarbyl," he advised. "It's just down the road from here."
Niarbyl mean 'The Tail'. I stood on the foreshore, gazed out across the bay toward that hilly tail, with the Calf of Man faintly visible in the distance, and knew that I didn't want to leave. The crowds in Douglas, the steam trains and the trams, were 14 miles away but it felt like 140, so peaceful was that spot.
A glance at the map showed that there was a rich, mountainous coastline to explore; much of it only accessible on foot... but no time in which to do it. Indeed, the whole west coast had hardly been explored, save for the lovely town of Peel - our favourite on the island.
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| Peel, from Corrins Hill |
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| Peel Castle |
"One day," I told myself, "I would love to return."
Life! You just start to get the hang of it and time starts to run out...
ReplyDeleteGo on, you might have another twenty years or more of active life in which to return and take in the places you missed this time. Seventy is nothing. Eighty may well be nothing too. If you feel like putting your walking boots on and tackling a few hills or cliffs at ninety you'll have my admiration, but given your current level of fitness it oughtn't to be just a dream.
ReplyDeleteI was pondering the consequences of ageing only this afternoon. To be sure, one needs to save one's energies for the things that really matter. But then it must be true that everything one can still do when much older must seem especially sweet to savour. So a sense of peace, or a magnificent view, would hit you (or me) with even more force than now, and seem even more precious.
Or at least I hope that's true. Perhaps it all depends on one's attitude to getting older.
Lucy
Verily and forsooth you must live deeply and remember that in every older person there is a younger mind wondering what the heck went wrong. It is not over till the last breath is drawn
ReplyDeleteThank you Dee. "There's a younger mind wondering what the heck went wrong..." That made me laugh. How true!
DeleteAngie
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed your Isle of Man series , if you have any more please post I also liked Lucy's comment and there mas me not walking into Croydon Yesterday because it was cold.
Julliette
Julliette: Frustratingly, I've lost access to my Flickr site. If ever I find the way back then I'll post some more Isle of Man photos and let you know when I've done so.
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