The Isle of Man is a financial Haven, a tourist destination for the British or over 100 years and it shows. The infrastructure is very good, the promenade in the main town of Douglas is several kilometers long with giant buildings ( England resort style) and some interesting landmarks including the old theater which they still use. In a way it’s kept a lot of of its 1920s charms with the old Steam and electric trains supplemented on the promenade with a horse drawn tram. You can buy a ticket for a few days unlimited rides on those old forms of transport which I really recommend. It’s so much fun going on a steam train or an old electric on the old tracks.
Douglas to Snaefell
from Douglas you can start your trip to the summit with a horse drawn tram, Clydesdales included. You can continue on the Douglas electric train to Ramsey or you can get off halfway at Laxey and go up to the summit, snaefell.
The horse-drawn tram now only goes halfway along the promenade in Douglas to connect to the electric train. The other half of the Promenade which leads to the Steam train on the other end of the promenade is for walking and cars.
Get off the horse drawn tram at the north of Douglas and get on the electric train to Ramsey The Isle of Man logo Everything is very well maintained on these trains, Clean and seem to be original A view going out of DouglasThe summit trainHalfway to Ramsey you can get off at Laxey and take the electric train to the Summit which I highly recommend recommendedThis is the old water wheel which I think is the largest one in the world Beautiful farm land Going up to the summit you see some old mining areas The TT rally is held here every year and is purported to be the oldest rally race in the world for motorcyclesAlmost at the top of the summit You can see a river which at one time was large enough to create the valley contourA man-made lake on the way to the Summit
I had an interesting conversation with the Filipino fellow at the very delicious gelato shop in LaxeyAn interesting building at the edge of DouglasA car with a self commentary
Laxey to Ramsey
One small station on the way On the way to Ramsey trains going each way will stop and hand this baton to the other train engineer as a safety measure to confirm each train so they don’t meet head on somewhere There are at least 28 stations between Douglas and Ramsey but they only stop when somebody is waiting at the station or if somebody indicates they want to get off. This is very handy for those who want to walk around since there are so many walking trails on the island The trains have to share a track at some points and this is just one reason. They are taking out the old wooden ties and changing them with concrete ties for stability and longevity
Coming into LaxeyThe coins from the island are exactly the same dimensions as those in England but they have a different logo and are not legal tender in England. You can just dump your coins in here at the ferry terminal or you can take them to England, change them at a bank or you can use them in England and hope that people don’t notice they are from the Isle of Man.
the first thing you will see below is the money which is created for the Isle of Man. This money has the three legs of man on the front and the denomination. These pounds are equivalent to the pounds of England. You can use the England money in the Isle of Man but you cannot use the Isle of Man money in England so make sure you change it somewhere before you leave or use it all up. I have been told that you can take these notes to a bank in England and exchange them for England pounds. Scotland has their own notes as well and that is why I say “England“ pounds. This Scotland pound also is not usable in England. You will also notice some coins which have the emblem of the Isle of Man and people on the island have explained legally these are not usable in England but they are the exact same dimensions as the England coins so there’s a very good chance people in England will not notice if you use them.
again, traveling around it’s a good day deal if you get the pass that gives you unlimited travel on transport on the island if you’re going to be there for three or four days or if you plan to make three or more train trips.
something else to note is the north of Douglas is the departure of the electric train which goes to the junction for the Summit train and then ends up in Ramsey. That train is on the north of Douglas quite a distance from the Steam train which starts on the south end of Douglas going to the port of Erin. There used to be a horse drawn tram going from the north to the south of Douglas so along the promenade, connecting the two train systems. However, they redid the road to make it easier for pedestrians so the horse-drawn tram only goes halfway from the north, the electric train terminal to the south along the promenade. That promenade is a few kilometers long so get out your walking shoes.
Douglas to Peel
to get to peel from Douglas you take a bus
Noticed the Isle of Man three legs symbol on the face of the pound notes on the back of the 5 pound notes you see the castle at PeelBeautiful old house One of the churches in PeelI could make up a story about this shed but I don’t know what it’s used for so I’ll leave it to your imagination Peel castle from the beachThis is just a small cove where the shells of dead clams collect. They are not only here in the millions but also all over the beach so you have to be careful if you’re walking barefootThis is the beach area right by the clamshell collectionThe basic history of this island and its people goes back as far as the original inhabitants of Scotland and Ireland. Some of the names on the island are still the old Viking namesIt’s a rugged shore on which the castle was built Though the castle is very much a skeleton the preservation authority has done a lot of work in fixing up the castle and creating explanations of the different parts You have to watch for rabbit holes in the grassy areas. It’s nice that it was a beautiful day when I visited. In fact, the whole visit was filled with beautiful weather From the castle you can see the show beach in the foreground and the long beach in the background The water is really beautiful
The world renowned mascot that brought fame and notoriety to the Isle of Man is this cat, the one with no tailThese are small scallops called “Queenies” on the Isle of Man and maybe also in England. There is a little stand near the entrance to the castle and you have to try these because they are absolutely delicious and extremely well cooked. The nice thing for the lady who owns the stand, the dishes are shells which as I mentioned before are available in the millions. She could just rinse them off and use them again or she could throw them into the ocean and let them come back up nice and clean in a year or two.
I think this is a fantastic idea. If you offer free beer to come and learn about the voting system and maybe even about your own government I think you will have a lot of takersRelics of the Vikings who built the first castle which was built on top of some other building erected several thousand years before
Peel to Ramsey
take another bus from Peel to Ramsey, relax and take the sites
The newborns were everywhereA little village on the way
Ramsey
An old building right in front of the Ramsey train stationThis is a beautiful old building, now a hotel, or baby it was always a hotel This is very interesting history of the old ship in San Diego CaliforniaCORNELL COLLEGE colors with the Isle of Man emblem Information aboard the ferry from the north of Ireland to the Isle of ManThere are a lot of rabbits running around The blossoms at this time of year were really beautiful
there are many ways to get around the Isle of man. You have a steam train, some electric trains and bus. I recommend a three day stay so that you can use all of them to see all the sites. You can buy a single ticket which will take you on all of the transports so find that pass and use it. It will be much cheaper if you take three or four train rides
This is the Steam train which leaves from one end of Douglas, the south End. The electric trains leave from the other end of Douglas. The Steam train goes to the port of ErinThis steam train goes to a slightly different location but it’s a nice traditional looking Steam engineThis is the train which goes to the port of erinThe opening and closing of the windows is controlled by this leather strap, a very old method of opening the window Each of the doors opens up to a small four or six person seating areaThis map shows the three different trains. In the south the red train is powered by Steam and in the north the main line is electric. Halfway up the electric line you can get off and take another train to the Summit,Snowfell, the tallest place on the islandThere are a lot of sheep and cows on this island. It’s a very beautiful train ride If you look closely you will see a lot of pheasant in the fields This is a cute looking Steam engine
Port Erin train station. This is a very walkable city or town and you can also catch a bus to go to other places on the islandThis is the port Milner’s Tower
One of the old hotels at the port A beautiful place to walk around I didn’t research this but it certainly looks like something fell off the top A bird sculpture From the port you can get on a bus to go all the way to Ramsey You can see the emblem of the Isle of Man on the license plate plates, the three legs of man
coming back from Ireland I wanted to spend more time in Wales and then I saw the Isle of Man which I knew from my childhood study of stamps and coins and so I decided to go there. This is an independently governed tax Haven among the British Isles and it’s a very beautiful island with interesting small cities and fascinating modes of transport which will keep you entertained for at least three days.
Arriving on the ferry from Larne just north of BelfastThis theater is still in use several times out of the month The Empress Hotel The local brew was pretty good The famous Manx cat with no tailBut this is the cat you see walking around At the HQ restaurant I had very delicious salmon tacos and a crab croquetteThe promenade is about 3 km long reaching from the ferry terminal to the electric train terminal which takes you to the northern part of the island I did not check why the Bee Gees are statued here Two photos below this you will read why this safety tower was built. This might be a complicated harbor to sail into The tower is beautifully lit up at night The history of the construction of the rescue tower Of course you need to have a memorial for World War I and World War IIDouglas is on the southeast coast. You can take a electric train to the north, a steam train from Douglas to the southern port on the other side and there is another train which goes from the middle of the electric train line up to the highest point on the island. In addition there is bus service. You don’t need to rent a car here The ancient Irish deer some of which were alive with humans. They call it the Irish giant deer because there were so many fossils found in IrelandOne of the famous stones left from the neolithic period with the old writing system of scratches on the cornerThis is the writing system transferred to sounds which then can be translatedAnother carving on the stone as a translation Nobody knows the origin of the three legs of man The three leg symbol is used for everything related to this island An old drink price list I learned what TT means. It’s the famous race set up at the turn-of-the-century to compete with races on the continent This race is held on this island every year One of the first motorcycles used The island Council building Another old hotel This war memorial gives birds a good view of what’s going on at the promenade
