Day 6 Glen Maye to Peel

The weather forecast for today was for gale force winds and torrential rain and for once it was correct! Many people decided not to walk today but I wanted to see Peel so I opted for the C walk 5 miles. We dropped the A and B parties off somewhere in a cloud, good job they know how to use a compass! This type of cloud is common in the Isle of Man and is referred to as the Cloak of Mannaman as it casts a cloak of invisibility over the island.

We went down out of the cloud and started the walk at Glen Maye where there was a spectacular waterfall.

 The water was thundering through and it was quite exhilarating. Here's a link to a short video of the waterfall on a normal day! Not nearly so much fun.
Once we got down to the shore the wind was gusting off the sea and the rain was still pouring down. We found out later that a month's rain had fallen in one day and I think most of it went down my boots!

It made for difficult walking along the coastal path and quite scary at times. If the wind had been blowing in any other direction the walk would have been impossible. However we persevered and once Peel Tower came into sight we branched off the coastal path and made our way down to Peel. Most of the party decided to return to Douglas on the service bus as they were rather wet. Jean, Ann and I wanted to visit the castle and see what Peel had to offer....mad fools! So after a coffee and cake in the visitor centre we left a large puddle on the floor and set out for the castle.

It was very windy up at the castle but the views would have been spectacular on a good day. You can just see the coach on this last photo and that was when we decided we had had enough and sought refuge from the wind and rain. The B party had already arrived and were getting warm in the pub. They had managed to do the whole 11 miles of the walk in difficult circumstances. The A party were nowhere to be seen but I found out later they had abandoned the walk and gone back on the service bus!
Jef had kindly taken some of the others around to some interesting places to fill in the time. Sheila has provided these photos.

Jurby Books

Jurby Junk Shop

Norman Wisdom's Grave

Glenfaba Mill, Peel

 Jackie then became an agent for selling Isle of Man Alfa Travel T-shirts which were quite popular and you can see them modelled here back at the hotel.

So it was a wet day for our last day but it hadn't dampened our spirits, it takes more than a bit of rain for that to happen! An early night for most as bags had to be packed and outside the room for 6.00 am and breakfast at 7.00 am.
For more photos of Peel in the sunshine follow this link.