Saturday saw a wildflowers and foraging walk, the first of a series of guided walks, hosted by the ’2018 Year of Our Island’ initiative.

The informative trek was led by expert guides Simon Smart and John Faragher, and followed the Silverburn river, beginning at Castletown.

Simon shared his knowledge of wildflowers, whilst John talked the group through the edibles at our feet.

Gorse flowers, Brambles and wild garlic were just a few of the fauna sampled and noted for future foraging. Many of the group, learning from Simon and John, said that this was the first time they had done anything like this and had always wanted to learn more about ’food for free’.

A spokesperson for the Year of Our Island said: ’It’s amazing how much we found within such a short distance. ’When you know what to look for, it’s literally all around us. Our Island has so much to explore.

’We may have an island that is just 13 miles by 32 miles, but we have an overwhelming amount of glens, beaches, plantations, footpaths, Areas of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) and heritage sites to explore, and so much more.’

The rest of this month sees a mixture of further guided walks organised by Year of Our Island, alongside a wildlife week hosted by Manx National Heritage.

Each of the events are aimed at encouraging people to explore more of the island during 2018.

Walks range from exploring the Great Walls of Laxey, a rare opportunity to explore the extraordinary dry stone walls in the Laxey valley with Charles Guard, to a tour of Meary Veg Sewage treatment works with Manx Utilities.

Details on the wildlife week can be found at manxnationalheritage.im

Guided walks and times may not work for everyone, so to support and encourage others a series of self-guided ’2018 Our Island Trail’ walks have been published, which includes information on public transport, how long the route is, terrain advice and what children’s activities there are to take part in along the way.

Booklets are available at the welcome centre, or individual routes and the 2018 island trail information is available online from ourisland.im

by Mike Wade

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