A lifetime of Islands: Island 470 - The Niarbyl, Isle of Man

Wednesday 21 August 2019

Island 470 - The Niarbyl, Isle of Man

The Niarbyl is a tidal island located off the west coast of the Isle of Man to the south west of the village of Dalby. Niarbyl means "tail" in Manx and the way the island and the rocks beyond it jut out into the Irish Sea does look a bit like a tail. The Niarbyl can be reached by picking your way carefully round the rockpools and across the seaweed covered rocks from the beach by the cottages at Niarbyl Bay. The island lies about 200 metres offshore. I didn't think I was going to be able to climb to the top of it but on close inspection I discovered that there was one easy way up to the top, which required only a minor bit of scrambling. The top of the island is covered in grass and thrift.

The Niarbyl is composed of sandstones belonging to the Dalby Group of rocks. At Niarbyl Bay the Dalby Group meets the rocks of the Manx Group of mudstones in a dramatic fault line, which can clearly be seen at the bottom of the cliffs on the mainland. The Dalby Group came from the ancient continent of Laurentia, of which Scotland and North America are parts. The Manx Group came from the ancient continent of Gondwana, of which southern England and Africa are parts, so what is exposed at Niarbyl Bay is the meeting of two continents. The fault is the only remnant of the Iapetus Ocean, which once separated the two continents.