The Isle of Man's national glens — all 18, and the ones worth the drive

The glens are the best free thing on the island. They’re steep wooded valleys with a stream, some ferns and usually a waterfall, and most are ten minutes from a road. Eighteen are “national glens”, looked after by the government and free to walk in all year. This page lists all of them, picks the best few, and covers dogs, closures and the fairies. It’s for families and dog owners especially, because that’s who gets the most out of them.

How many national glens are there?

Eighteen. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) manages them and keeps them in what it calls a “semi-natural state”. The official list is on gov.im (opens in a new tab). You’ll still see “17” in older guidebooks. Bradda Glen and Headland, in Port Erin, was added as the eighteenth in 2009.

Some are big Victorian pleasure grounds with cafés and play areas. Others are a streamside path you’ll finish in fifteen minutes. The table below is here so you know which is which before you park.

All 18 national glens

Glen	Where	What it’s like	Best for
Ballaglass	Maughold, near Ramsey	Wooded river gorge, old mill ruins, boardwalks	A quiet hour; the tram
Ballure Walk	South edge of Ramsey	Tiny; views over Ramsey and the Queen’s Pier	Locals and dog walks
Bishopscourt	A3 north of Kirk Michael	The bishop’s old garden: ponds, a mound, a “meditation cave”	A short leg-stretch
Bradda Glen & Headland	Port Erin	Short glen onto the headland and Milner’s Tower	Sunset and the Calf view
Colby	Colby, in the south	Five acres of streamside paths, bluebells in spring	A gentle stroll off the steam railway
Dhoon	A2, 5 miles south of Ramsey	Steep, 190 steps, big waterfall, beach at the bottom	Waterfalls and legs
Elfin Glen & Claughbane Woods	Ramsey Hairpin	Woodland with views to the Point of Ayre	Views and birdsong
Glen Helen	North of Ballacraine, A3	Victorian glen, tall conifers, Rhenass waterfall	A longer walk; facilities
Glen Maye	South of Peel	Waterfall by the path, mine ruins, pebble beach	The all-rounder
Glen Mooar	1 mile south of Kirk Michael	Spooyt Vane waterfall, old keeill (chapel), viaduct pillars	History and a waterfall
Glen Wyllin	Kirk Michael	Road through the glen to a beach, campsite, playground	Buggies; beach day
Groudle	2 miles north of Douglas	Victorian glen, waterwheel, miniature railway, old sea lion pool	Families on a Sunday
Laxey Glen	Laxey	Victorian gardens, play area, café	Buggies; after the wheel
Lhergy Frissel	Next to Elfin Glen	Steep path up to the Albert Tower	A short, sharp climb
Molly Quirk’s & Bibaloe Walk	Onchan	Narrow wooded glen, links towards Groudle	A walk from Onchan
Port Soderick	3 miles south of Douglas	Sheltered glen with a wildflower meadow	Bluebells; the steam railway
Silverdale	Near Ballasalla	Café, boating lake, water-powered carousel, Monks’ Bridge	Small children
Tholt-y-Will	Upper Sulby Glen	Steep mountain stream below Snaefell	When it reopens

Descriptions are based on DEFA’s own glen pages. Facilities change, so if a café matters to your day, check it’s open.

The ones worth driving to

Glen Maye: the best all-rounder

Just south of Peel on the west coast. It has a proper waterfall right beside the path, a wooded gorge running down to a pebble beach, and the ruined wheelcase of an old mine along the way. The coastal path passes the bottom, so you can extend the visit into a clifftop walk.

A landslide in November 2023 shut the lower main path. At the time, DEFA’s advice was to loop round from the top entrance instead. Check the current state before you plan to walk down to the sea. Combine it with an afternoon in Peel.

Dhoon Glen: the best waterfall, if your knees agree

On the coast road between Laxey and Ramsey. DEFA calls it one of the steepest glens on the island. It runs for over half a mile and has 190 steps. The Inneen Vooar falls drop more than 40 metres in two stages. Carry on down and you reach a rocky beach.

It’s a real walk: going down is the easy half. There’s a Manx Electric Railway stop at the top and a small seasonal coffee stop next to it (hours vary). Not for pushchairs, and not ideal for small dogs who don’t like steps.

Silverdale Glen: the one for small children

Near Ballasalla, in the south. Silverdale is the glen with extras: a boating lake, a play area, a grass paddock, a café and a Victorian roundabout that runs on water power. The river walk goes past old mill sites to the 14th-century Monks’ Bridge by Rushen Abbey. DEFA says most of it is wheelchair-accessible. You can walk in from Ballasalla station on the steam railway.

Café hours vary by season. Check the café’s own page before you promise anyone a boat and an ice cream.

Groudle Glen: best on a Sunday

Just north of Douglas, on the Manx Electric Railway. Groudle opened in 1893 as a Victorian pleasure glen, with a waterwheel and a pool on the rocks where sea lions were once kept. The draw is the Groudle Glen Railway (opens in a new tab), a miniature volunteer-run line out to the headland. In 2026 it runs on Sundays from 3 May to 18 October, 11am to 4.30pm, plus Wednesday evenings in July and August, for £7 return for adults and £3.50 for children, with dogs 60p. Hop tu Naa trains run on 31 October and 1 November and need booking.

Outside railway days it’s a pleasant glen walk rather than an event.

Ballaglass Glen: the quiet one

In Maughold, south of Ramsey, with its own tram stop. The Cornaa river cuts through slate under oak and beech, with the remains of a corn mill and some 1850s mine workings. There are boardwalks, bluebells in spring and usually nobody else about. It’s the glen to pick if the famous ones feel busy.

Glen Helen: the classic, with caveats

On the TT course north of Ballacraine, and the grandest of the Victorian glens. It was laid out in the 1860s and planted with sequoia and Douglas fir. The walk to the Rhenass waterfall is about three-quarters of a mile. DEFA lists toilets, including accessible ones, a play area and ample parking.

The storms hit it hard, and sections of path have closed at different times since. The Swiss Chalet at the entrance was due to reopen at Easter 2026 as a Manx produce shop and deli, according to local press. Check that the path to the waterfall is open before you go. It’s the whole point.

Also worth knowing

• Laxey Glen has easy paths, a play area and a café. It’s the easy option after the Laxey Wheel.
• Glen Wyllin, at Kirk Michael, has a road the full length of the glen, which makes it easy with a wheelchair or buggy. It ends at a beach and a seasonal campsite.
• Glen Mooar has the Spooyt Vane waterfall and the remains of an early chapel. When parts of the glen were closed after the storms, the waterfall could still be reached from the top entrance on Ballaleigh Road.
• Bradda Glen is really a way onto Bradda Head. Walk up to Milner’s Tower for the view over Port Erin and across to the Calf of Man.

Getting there without a car

The Manx Electric Railway has stops at Groudle, Dhoon and Ballaglass. The steam railway serves Port Soderick, Colby and Ballasalla (for Silverdale). Buses reach most of the rest. Tholt-y-Will is the exception: it’s hard to reach without a car. Details in our getting around guide and the Isle of Man without a car, and a Go Explore card covers the trams and buses.

Dogs

Dogs are welcome in most DEFA glens and plantations. The government’s dog walking code (opens in a new tab) boils down to:

• keep to the existing tracks
• use a lead if your dog won’t stay at heel
• pick up after it, especially near paths and car parks
• take real care near livestock. Several glens open onto farmland and hillside grazed by sheep.

Dhoon’s steps and Lhergy Frissel’s climb are hard going for small or elderly dogs. Silverdale and Glen Wyllin are the easy options. The Groudle Glen Railway takes dogs for 60p.

Glen etiquette

• Stay on the paths. They’re there for your safety as well as the plants. Glen sides are steep and the rock is slippery when wet.
• Take your rubbish home. These are semi-wild places, not parks.
• Wear shoes with grip. Even the short glens have wet steps and roots.
• Don’t paddle above a waterfall, however inviting the pool looks.

And the fairies

The island takes its fairies, the “little people” (mooinjer veggey), half-seriously, and the glens are where they’re supposed to live. On the Douglas to Castletown road there’s the famous Fairy Bridge, where you’re meant to say “hello, fairies” as you cross. It’s bad luck not to, apparently, and it costs nothing to be polite. Whether the glens count as the fairies’ home is between you and them.