Glen Auldyn & the Fairy King
Lezayre, near Ramsey · Isle of Man
A quiet pool in the upper glen is the setting for one of the island’s stranger fairy encounters. Its king, it turns out, had a very ordinary name.
Photo: Above Glen Auldyn, Jon Wornham / Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped and darkened for display; the image adaptation uses the same licence.
Follow the glen into the story.
In the upper valley, the river runs through a landscape of bracken, pools and open hillsides. One pool, the Black Dub, gives the story of Daniel Dixon an actual setting. The walk is part of the appeal: the farther you go up the glen, the easier it is to imagine why stories settled here.
Your visit at a glance
Public paths and greenlanes.
No admission listed for the public route.
Allow 2-3 hours from Milntown as a planning estimate.
Milntown Estate is the nearest public car park listed by the reserve.
Unsurfaced track; step-free suitability unverified.
Public paths and greenlanes only. Lead up to 3 metres.
None listed at the reserve. Plan a separate stop.
Daylight, with enough time to walk back.
Access checked 9 November 2026 against Manx Wildlife Trust’s reserve guide.
The Fairy King had a name.
A young man working in the hills stopped to rest beside the Black Dub. He shut his eyes, only to feel something settle on his chest. Looking up, he found a small, strange old man perched on top of him.
When the young man asked who he was, the stranger gave both a title and a name: he was the Fairy King, Daniel Dixon. The young man reached out to seize him and found himself tumbling backwards. By the time he looked again, Dixon had vanished. A group of tiny figures lingered for a moment before disappearing too.
That oddly ordinary name is the detail that sticks. In a valley with stories of giant hares and a ghost who carries a frying pan, even the Fairy King introduces himself like someone you might meet down the road.
Folklore retold from Culture Vannin’s Folklore Sites around the Isle of Man. The encounter is a collected tale; the pool and glen are real places.
The Black Dub
The river pool gives the walk a clear point of interest. Look for the landscape that shaped the tale from the public route.
Fairies in print
A Second Manx Scrapbook records a separate fairy story from the glen, showing how strongly the valley features in Manx fairy lore.
A landscape in recovery
Manx Wildlife Trust took on the upper glen in 2025. The reserve is part of a long-term plan to restore native woodland, peatland and other habitats.
Why 3★?
The Black Dub ties the folklore to a tangible feature, and the valley gives you a good reason to linger. The trade-off is an unsurfaced approach, no valley parking and a visit that mainly consists of a walk. We found an independent visitor account describing a quiet, atmospheric glen, but too few detailed reports to call that a consensus. How we rate places →
Start at Milntown and go on foot.
Use the public car park at Milntown Estate (SC438942). Check its access arrangements before setting out and use an up-to-date map for the approach to Glen Auldyn hamlet. The unsurfaced U14 greenlane runs about 2 km from the hamlet towards the Black Dub. The greenlane is a dead end, so plan to retrace your route.
Manx Wildlife Trust says the U14 closes to all traffic during the TT. Check current closure notices before setting out. Please avoid parking in the valley and keep dogs on a short lead of no more than 3 metres on public paths and greenlanes.
Make more of the north of the island.
Milntown Estate
Pair the walk with the gardens or a café stop. Check the estate’s seasonal opening before counting on either.
Official Milntown guide ↗Cashtal yn Ard
A Neolithic burial monument and another way to explore the island’s landscape through its stories.
Discover Cashtal yn Ard →