Few walkers outside the Isle of Man have ever heard of Raad ny Foillan, yet it is one of the most complete and impressive coastal walks in the British Isles, a single unbroken loop around the edge of this small island in the Irish Sea.
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The name means “the Way of the Gull” in Manx, and the path is marked along its whole length by small blue signs showing a gull in flight. It was created in 1986 to mark the island’s Heritage Year, and follows the coastline for around 100 miles, starting and finishing at the Millennium Bridge in the capital, Douglas.
Because it forms a closed loop, walkers can start anywhere and go in either direction. Most people split the route into sections, since walking the whole thing takes around a week for a fit hiker, and considerably longer for anyone taking it slowly. Along the way the landscape changes constantly, from shingle beaches in the low, flat north of the island to cliffs and hills rising several hundred metres above the sea in the south.
The path passes some of the island’s best-known landmarks, including Spanish Head, the spot where local legend says a shipwrecked Spanish Armada vessel once left the island’s first tailless cats swimming ashore, the Calf of Man just offshore, and the Point of Ayre, where the island’s most northerly lighthouse stands. Walkers regularly spot seals resting on the rocks below the cliffs, along with seabirds nesting in the crags, and in spring the clifftops turn bright with wildflowers.
Unlike many long-distance trails, Raad ny Foillan rarely strays far from towns and villages, so walkers can usually find a pub, a café or a bed for the night without leaving the route for long. That mix of dramatic scenery and easy access has made it increasingly popular with hikers, even though it remains largely unknown beyond the island itself, overshadowed by better-known coastal paths in Wales, Cornwall and Scotland.