Elfin Glen - Glion Valley Cowle

Elfin Glen (Glion Valley Cowle) in Ramsey (Manx: Rhumsaa) starts at the foot of Lhergy Frissell. It climbs from the Hairpin Bend (on the T.T. motorcycle course as you exit the Town) and climbs very steeply up to the mountain road, to the West of the Albert Tower. It covers about 14 acres and has panoramic views of Ramsey and the whole of the Northern Plain to the Point of Ayre (Manx: Kione ny h-Ayrey), and beyond to Scotland. It is well worth the short climb. The Norhern Plain is the flat area of land that forms the north of the Island. Between 70,000 and 10,000 years ago, a giant ice sheet covered the Isle of Man. The ice advanced and retreated many times. As the ice melted, all the debris locked within it came to rest on the northern plain.

Originally known as Ballacowle Glen the glen was given the name Elfin Glen in the nineteenth century to attract holiday makers.

Our Visit

We walked up through the glen on a fine Autumn day. We continued up the path through the wooded slopes that eventually take you to the Mountain Road close to a sharp corner known as the Goose Neck. The views over Ramsey, across the Manx Northern plain and on to the blue tinged hills of Scotland are magnificent from here. Scotland is the nearest other nation to the Isle of Man.