Ward & Lock's descriptive and pictorial guide to the Isle of Man ...

-128 Guide to the Isle of Man.commandiug a splendid view of the rocky scenery of this verypicturesque portion of the west coast. There are strangelyshaped caves in the rock, worn by tlie action of tlie sea.The coast line of Niarbyl Bay, extending southward, is lofty,cliffs rising out of the water to a height, in some parts of1,500 feet.The return to St. John's may be made by the road passingto the south of the romantic Glen Ruthen, and at a considerableelevation, skirting the western side of the lofty SouthBarrule mouutain. The prospect here is strikingly fine,the mountnin scenery being among the most attractive in theisland, and the air, with a mingling of the perfume of mountainheather with the bracing salt of the sea, most invigorating.The steep side of South Earrule is to the right, andon the left Glen Ruthen, through which winds the streamletwe saw tumbling over the rocks at Glen Meay.From this road the ascent of South Barrule may be made.The ascent is not difficult for a tolerably active pedestrian,who will be well repaid for the exertion by the outlook tobe obtained from the summit ; supposing, however, that theatmosphere is very clear, a circumstance not to be dependedon, for we must remember that the climate of the island israther humid, and South Barrule, hke his fellow-mountaingiants, has the habit of occasionally wrapping his venerablehead in a nightcap of mist. But on a really fine day, orwhen only a few light clouds float in the air like goldenstreaks, the view is splendid. Below, like the tracings on agigantic map, lie the wooded glens, through which flowsinuously brooks playing and glittering and leaping overrocks ;broad pastures, winding roads, woodland clumps, farms,and homesteads. Northwards the eye rests on mountainmasses with wooded summits, and to the west and east thesea, its restless waves made smooth and glassy by distance,is beyond the outline of the rocky coast ;and, like a dimlydiscernedframe to the beautiful picture, are the outlinesof English and Welsh mountains, and the coast of Ireland.Aided by a good telescope, all the more prominent points onthe coasts of the Irish Sea, and for some distance inland, maybe distinguished. Scotland, too, might be seen, did not theloftier mountain of North Barrule and Snaefell obstruct theview. The summit of South Barrule was selected as astation for the trigonometrical survey for connecting thetriangulation of Ireland with Great Britain.On the summit the geologist and archaeologist will findsubjects of interest, which they may examine while the