- This topic is empty.
Fairhead – Down the Grey Man’s Path
-
I was up at Fairhead yesterday for a walk along these magnificent cliffs.
I took this photograph of the Grey Man’s Path before scrambling down it. The name refers to the ghost of a grey man who apparently can be seen striding up and down this gully when the sea mist rolls in. Thankfully yesterday was a clear day !!
Compare my photograph below to the old photo. It does appear that the column has been eroded by the wind over time. I have seen another photo with R.J.Welch sitting on top of the column back in 1900. I was not tempted to do similar as it looks thinner and more unstable than it did in his day and there is a 450 foot frop underneath it.
The scramble down took me into some of the strangest terrain I have ever walked.
Massive boulders (some the the size of houses) litter the base of the cliffs and it is most disconcering to find huge heather concealed holes between the blocks. Some of the holes are more like crevaces with no bottom visible to them. I have heard old stories that some people walking down here have never come back. Just a few weeks ago a group of 6 hikers had to be airlifted out.
http://ballycastle.thechronicle.uk.com/articles/news/8051/plucked-to-safety/
And two more from the day,
This one from the west of Fairhead near the coal workings.
And this one of Lough Dubh. The grey man is said to live under its waters.
Some lovely shots there Andy….Great scenery around that part of the world.
Sean.
Great shots Andy, and very interesting as its a spot i havent been to yet. Dont like the sound of the heather concealed holes though.
Gary
Nice set Andy and a great story behind them as usual
I saw this place on a tv show one night and meant to get up there a runCathal
Fair Head is a lovely place, I went fishing in some of the lakes there years ago. saw the biggest hatch of Caenis ever (tiny tiny flies impossible to imitate) and caught absolutely nothing! There used to be a great panoramic shot of this view on the stairs of a camping shop near Cornmarket in Belfast, I think it’s called Tizo. I used to do rock climbing and abseiling in the 60s and would have tackled anything, but nowadays when I look at pics like this one with the fella sitting on that rock my blood freezes! I wouldn’t get on there for a fortune.
Nice shots Andy.
I particularly like the one where the heather concealed drops are.
The thought of sitting on that slab gives me the shivers
Very nice shots Andy and great narrative
Not been up this way before but plan to now, but not sure about the holes :-)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
