It was hard to believe that we’d returned home from our “Gap Year” after travelling around the world, you might think we would have been ready to stay at home for a while, but just nine days after getting back, we were off again– this time flying from Bristol to the Isle of Man for four nights with a couple of travel companions, Craig and Yvonne. This wasn’t another holiday. It was a trip down memory lane.
Back to the Isle of Man
Craig and I spent a lot of time on the Isle of Man during the 1970s and early 1980s, For Craig especially, the island has a lot of family memories, our Uncle and Auntie used to live here and C used to go over with Tommo and Dad to watch the TT.
We based ourselves in Douglas and hired a car to get us around the island.
The first thing we did was take the electric railway from Douglas to Laxey and then change onto the Snaefell Mountain Railway for the journey to the summit. After enjoying the massive views over the island, we had a warming cuppa before taking the tram back down to Laxey and then onwards to Douglas.
Next on the agenda was to drive the TT course! The first TT races were held in1907 and the current course is 37 3/4 miles long. What makes it so unique is that it isn’t a conventional race circuit. The course uses public roads, winding through towns, villages and countryside before climbing into the mountains. We picked up the hire car and set off, first stop was the grandstand in Douglas, the starting point for the course. We asked C to drive it like a getaway drive, but we pootled around at 35mph. We passed famous TT landmarks and corners, and some of the crash barriers were already in place for the 2026 race. A great experience but very different to being on a motorcycle.
The next morning after a very satisfying “hotel breakfast” we set off for Peel – another place where history seems to be everywhere. The ruins of Peel Castle which has viking origins overlooking the harbour. C remembered when the ferries where unable to dock in Douglas due to the weather, would sail round to Peel to shelter in the harbour. From here we then drove down the coastal route to Port Erin on the South West coast. A quaint seaside village with a lovely sweeping bay, surrounded by hills. From here we drove over to Port St Mary for a quick walk along the harbour, before heading back to Douglas.
No trip to the Isle of Man is complete without taking a ride on the steam railway, that covers the length of the island – Douglas to Port Erin. As we’d already visited Port Erin, we jumped off the train at Castletown, the former capital of the Isle of Man. A lovely historic town, and at the centre is Castle Rushen, one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the British Isles. The castle dominates the town. G & C went in to the castle whilst Y & I had a mooch around the town and a bit of retail therapy. We then headed back to Douglas! Not content with going back to the hotel and taking it easy, we walked up to Douglas Head to seek out Camera Obscura and the lighthouse. Unfortunately CO wasn’t open.
On our final day, we didn’t have to be back at the airport until the afternoon, so took another leisurely drive up to Peel and stopped off in Castletown, where we had a cuppa and reflected on our time back on the Island. We all agreed it had been a fabulous few days. Back home, back to reality and back to work.
IOM Facts
The IOM is a self governing crown dependency, with it’s own parliament, government and laws
The parliament (Tynwald) is more than 1,000 years old and regarded as the worlds oldest continuous parliamentary body
The island is 33 miles long and 13 miles wide
84,000 people live on the island
Snaefell is the highest point at 2,036 – on a clear day you can see England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales