Groudle Glen

Groudle Glen runs down to the sea just north of Douglas, wooded and steep, and in the 1890s it was developed as a pleasure ground with a two-foot gauge railway built to carry visitors out to a headland where sea lions and polar bears were kept in a pool cut into the rock. The animals are long gone; the railway was restored by volunteers and runs to the same headland on summer Sundays. The pool is still visible below.

What you actually see

• The narrow gauge railway - the 1896 line restored and running to the headland.
• The sea lion pool - the rock enclosure cut for the Victorian zoo, still visible.
• The wooded glen - the steep valley running down to the shore.
• The headland terminus - the point the line was built to reach.

When to go

The railway runs on summer Sundays and some holidays. The glen walk works year round. April and May bring bluebells through the woods.

Honest expectations

The railway operates on a very limited timetable, mostly summer Sundays. The glen paths are steep and can be muddy. The Victorian zoo remains are ruins with no interpretation.

Nearby

Douglas is south, and Laxey is north along the electric railway.