Hells 8 Mountain Bike Trail

Route name: Hells 8 route, a figure of eight loop around the hills above Ballaugh and Kirk Michael.

This route is based round a figure of eight, if you make sure you take the correct junction at the middle you will have no problems. This route is classed as hard as it has a lot of climbing and some steep rocky descents that will test your forearms and brakes.

Start, come out of the Camp site and turn left, then travel up to the junction and head left towards Kirk Michael village. After you have travelled past the shops and gone past the church on your left look out for a minor crossroads junction. You want to take the right turning of this junction just after a house called three chimneys. This will lead onto a climb that turns into a green way.

Its now just a case of keep climbing until you get to the main junction in the middle of the figure of 8. At this junction you will have the track you have just come up with one track on your left and two on your right. Of these two on your right you want to take the left one which is lower and less well defined. In the picture below it has a road closed sign on it, this is to stop motorised traffic during the winter months and will not be there in the summer.

Continue on this track which will bring you round Slieau Dhoo or Black mountain, after a fairly steep down hill section you will come to a fence and gate. Do not go through this and go left and along. You will eventually come out of a gate that is marked Black Mountain and this will then lead onto the Tholt y Will road.

Travel down this a short way and you will see a green way on your left. This will bring you into Ballaugh plantation just follow the green road down but hold on tight its rocky and steep, easy on the front brake!

When you get out of the plantation you will come to a road, keep going down this road until you get to Ballaugh Bridge, be careful this is a busy junction on the TT course. You will be going left here but if you look right there is a pub and straight ahead across the junction a shop is on the left.

Turn left and go down about 400 metres and turn up at Ballacob. This is just after a wooden bus-stop. This is the first climb on the famous end to end course so get ready for climbing.

Go up this road and it will turn into a green way. You will eventually come out at the intersection in the middle of the figure 8 again. On your right is the climb you first came up and straight ahead two junctions. You took the left of these last time so this time take the right hand one, the only one you have not used.

This will lead up and then down to Brandywell. The last bit of this is downhill but has some very big drainage ruts and bumps so be very careful. At the bottom turn right and its then road all the way down to Barregarrow crossroads.

Be careful at the crossroads. You are going across the busy TT course so check for traffic. Go straight across and then travel until you see a road marked unsuitable for motor vehicles. Go right down this. Be careful it get rocky, sandy and is steep in places.

It will lead you straight to the Glen Wyllin entrance. Well done!

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