06-May-2023
Day 77. The last day of the 11th week of our journey.
Something else was happening today... What was it again..?
The weather was very unpromising when we set out in the car this morning. Low cloud again. Really low. Threatening rain. This is going to be a waste of time, I thought. We're going to walk, but not see anything.
But by the time we'd gone past Laxey, and almost reached the edges of Onchan, and parked up at the old Liverpool Arms (long disused), we had reasonable visibility (although the cloud hung around on the hills all day).
And this turned out to be another stupendously lovely walk:
Down through the green and pleasant countryside...
... to the sea
Garwick Beach
Nice little des res on the beach
Climbing up again
Ballannette Nature Reserve
Who knew coots had dinky red chicks like this?
And finally, to St Adamnan's, or Lonan Old Church, which once stood on the old packhorse route between Douglas and Laxey, and now is splendidly, ethereally isolated
The absolutely awe-inspiring Lonan wheel cross. It dates from the fifth century, displays intricate Celtic knot and plait work, and is the only Manx cross still standing in its original position
Eight more crosses are exhibited in the little shelter. These are all Celtic-era artefacts, with none of the Viking elements we've seen in so many of the other crosses
This one shows the early development of the wheel-headed cross
The ruined west end of the church
The restored east end is delightfully dinky
And, finally, back down towards the old Arms
Magical. Really magical.