| PART 2 OF CANON STENNINGS COURSE GUIDE FROM THE 1958 TT PROGRAMME Beside the road at the Greeba bend also on the right, stands GREEBA CASTLE, the home of Sir Hall Caine, the Victorian writer of Manx novels. At 7.5 miles from the Start is BALLACRAINE corner (Ballacraine is the Farm of the Craine family). Here is a third recommended sight-seeing spot where also commentary can be heard, It older days its was a menace, a nasty right-angled bend with a wall and path on the right, and a deep ditch on the left, with the only alternative through the "pub" door !! Today it is merely a fast corner governed only by the speed of the rider and his judgment as to far he can go without hitting the wall, well round the corner.The parish is that of Germain (an Irish saint said to be nephew to St Patrick). The ecclesiastical parish is that of St. John and about 600 yards through Ballacraine towards Peel stands the church of St.John in which the House of Keys and Council (Tynwald) meet before the reading of the Law on July 5th (Old Midsummers Day and Old St.Johns Day) on Tynwald Hill, a custom dating from time unknown and introduced by the Scandinavians. The course now enters a long deep valley known as "Glen Helen", but really Glen Rhenass (Rhenass in Celt is "the divided waterfall", from the waterfall above the hotel). The Rhenass flows into Peel Harbour. "Helen" was the name of a well-known lady of mid-Victorian times, the wife of the owner of the hotel and a local "toast". Hence the perpetuation of the name, except to the old-fashioned Manx who prefer "Glen Rhenass". A few hundred yards beyond Ballacraine there is a bridge... BALLIG (little) BRIDGE was in the "good old days", hump-backed and machines "took to the air" for a matter of anything up to forty feet, a fearsome yet very popular sight for the hundreds who used to sit upon the bluebell bank and watch this kangeroo-like performance. The bridge has been flattened since those days and it is merely a matter of minor steering ability. The road now becomes sinuous, especially past LAUREL BANK, but still fast to the hotel, and the ascent of Creg Willys (possibly Quilliams hill), the steepest part of the course at this stage. At the top there is a wonderful "straight" . This straight ends at the little church of Cronk-y-Voddy (Celt: Hill of the Dog). For the first time since Bray Hill, the riders travel four miles downhill to Kirk Michael and phenomenal speeds are attained. There is only one snag known as "HANDLEYS", where for possibly the only occasion in his life, that redoubtable rider left the course to toboggan over the steep bank to the left.... The road here runs along the side of the mountain massif. High up to the right and not easily seen is Sartfell (dark mountain; pronounced sartell) rising to 1480 feet. Here the course crosses the branch of the mountain road that starts at the Mountain Gate a most valuable cross road for enabling visitors to see both sides of the race. The little hamlet here is known as BARREGARROW (pron: Bu-garrow Celt:the rough road). From here there is a deep descent of about a quarter of a mile with a left-hand sweep at its foot where speeds are unthinkable. Just past the thirteenth milestone on the right is a shaggy mound, CRONK URLEIGH (Celt: the eagles hill) one of the Islands ancient Tynwald hills on which a famous Tynwald was held in 1422 just after the Island came into the posession of the Stanley family. The course here is a rather difficult downhill S-bend before it enters onto the straight road into KIRK MICHAEL. On the right now may be seen the steep slope of Slieu Freoghane (pron: For-ane Celt: the hill of the whortleberries), 1602 feet, with one of the steepest faces in the insular mountains. |