Raad ny Foillan · Stage 1
Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.
From the Millennium Bridge in Douglas south along the coast to the Ronaldsway Flying Club above Derbyhaven: 20.5 km (12.5 miles), moderate, highest point 110 m, the guide says; 20.7 km on our line. Coastal and cliff paths and roads, undulating, with steep rock slopes, thick undergrowth in places and one stretch on a main road. We found no beds at Derbyhaven: the stage panel lists buses 1, 1H, 2, 2A, 11, 12 and 12A and the steam railway at Ballasalla and Castletown.
Best season: May to October. Visit Isle of Man gives no season for the path: it can be walked in any order and either direction, in 4 to 12 days. The Isle of Man Government calls it a walk for experienced walkers only. The Sunday buses between Port Erin and Niarbyl (4R and 8R) run only from May to October, and the steam and electric railways run in season. Our weather figures give May to October as the best months. Time stages 7 to 9, on the northern beaches, to the tide. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
The loop starts and ends at the Millennium Bridge over Douglas harbour, Visit Isle of Man's start. The steam railway to Port Erin and the Manx Electric Railway to Laxey and Ramsey both start in Douglas.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage end
Town
Stage 1 ends at the Ronaldsway Flying Club, on the edge of the airport above Derbyhaven. We found no place to stay listed here. The stage panels list buses 1, 1H, 2, 2A, 11, 12 and 12A and the steam railway at Ballasalla and Castletown: take a bus to a town with beds and back in the morning.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
No walking time is published for this leg. Measured on the mapped line, the stage takes about 5 h 15 of walking.
Make it your trip
There is no central booking for the path: book each night with the host, through its Visit Isle of Man listing or directly. All places to stay on the island must be registered and graded, the guide says, and many join the Walkers Welcome scheme. Beds are scarce on the north and west coasts between Peel and Ramsey, and we found none at six of the twelve stage ends, so plan the buses and railways for those nights.
Visit Isle of Man's twelve stages, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe south and the cliffs of the west coast in five stages.
Plan this journeyThe northern beaches, Ramsey and the east coast back to Douglas in seven stages.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for on the trail (52 m)…
Typical weather on this stage, around 3–100 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Day / night | 8°/3° | 8°/3° | 9°/4° | 11°/5° | 14°/7° | 17°/10° | 18°/12° | 18°/11° | 16°/10° | 13°/8° | 10°/5° | 8°/4° |
| Rain, mm | 84 | 69 | 64 | 60 | 58 | 63 | 65 | 81 | 78 | 106 | 111 | 99 |
| Snow at high point | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight | 7 h 54 | 9 h 44 | 11 h 44 | 13 h 59 | 15 h 57 | 17 h 08 | 16 h 41 | 14 h 58 | 12 h 49 | 10 h 40 | 8 h 36 | 7 h 24 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
Two sections of the coastal path within Port Erin have been closed since landslips in late 2023 and early 2024, and our line still crosses them. The Port Erin Commissioners' last notice, of 8 October 2024, says clearing them was too costly for now and funding would be considered; it gives no reopening date, no detour and no exact place. We found no later statement on 13 October 2026. Read the government's notice before you walk stages 3 and 4, follow any signs on the ground, and if a section is closed take the bus or the steam railway round it.
Port Erin Commissioners: the landslip noticeStages 7 to 9, from Kirk Michael by Jurby and the Point of Ayre to Ramsey, run on sand and shingle. Visit Isle of Man says to check the tide timetable before you set off on each; on stage 8 a heathland path round the Ayres is an option. There are no beds and few buses on this coast: Ramsey is the base.
Visit Isle of Man: the Raad ny Foillan guide (PDF)Stage 4 is graded strenuous: hard cliff and coastal walking through rough moorland, with many steep slopes and the path's highest point, 437 m. Poles help, and in bad weather the guide offers an inland route past Eary Cushlin. Dogs are not allowed between the Sound and Port Erin, on stage 3.
Visit Isle of Man: the Raad ny Foillan guide (PDF)Visit Isle of Man sends walkers to the Department of Infrastructure's closures map before they set off, and asks them to report problems on reportaproblem.im. The Isle of Man Government calls the path a walk for experienced walkers only.
Visit Isle of Man: Raad ny FoillanBus Vannin posts its changes on its travel updates page. On 13 October 2026: until 30 January 2027 buses do not serve the Peel Promenade or the House of Manannin stops (services 5, 5C and 6 stop at Peel Town Hall), and on Saturdays service 8 between Port Erin and Peel runs to the Friday timetable.
Bus Vannin: travel updatesGetting there
Travel around Douglas to Derbyhaven.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
The island is reached from the UK and Ireland by ferry or plane, Visit Isle of Man says; the ferries come in at Douglas and the airport is at Ronaldsway, where stage 1 ends. The loop starts at the Millennium Bridge over Douglas harbour.
Visit Isle of ManBus Vannin runs buses round the island; each stage panel in the guide names its routes. The steam railway runs from Douglas by Castletown and Port St Mary to Port Erin, and the Manx Electric Railway from Douglas by Laxey to Ramsey, both in season. The Point of Ayre has no bus: the nearest is in Bride, with few services.
Bus Vannin: timetablesThe loop ends where it began, at the Millennium Bridge in Douglas.
Isle of Man Government: the Raad ny Foillan coastal walkTake your trip with you
Prepare each stage while you still have a connection: on the cliffs of the south-west and the northern beaches the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
Visit Isle of Man publishes the Raad ny Foillan as twelve stages, clockwise from the Millennium Bridge in Douglas and back: 157.5 km added up ("almost 160 km" in its introduction), each with its distance, grade and highest point. It publishes no stage times, so the times here are measured on our line. The Isle of Man Government gives about 95 miles (153 km) in four areas. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 231798, from the planet of 11 October 2026): a 157.4 km loop, cut at the twelve stage ends at the guide's own grid references, except Port Erin, where the reference is 0.5 km west of the bay and our cut is on the bay itself. Every stage is within 1.2 km of the guide's figure but one: stage 9, Point of Ayre to Ramsey, is 11.4 km on our line against the guide's 9 km. The guide's 9 km is shorter than the straight line between its own two grid references (about 10.4 km), so we give our figure. Two sections of the path within Port Erin have been closed by landslips since 2023 and 2024, and our line still crosses them: see stages 3 and 4. Our climb is measured on terrain heights, so the short steep steps on the cliffs are smoothed out.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Visit Isle of Man: Raad ny FoillanMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation