This post is titled ‘at long last’ because one of my dear friends and I have been talking about visiting the Isle of Man since much before Covid, and we only finally managed to make it happen now! My friend lives in Liverpool, a short ferry ride to the Isle of Man, which is between England and Ireland, and which we tacked on after seeing Taylor Swift in Scotland (a dream!). We spent three full days there, with two travel days due to the ferry schedule, which was not as expansive as one would hope.
The ferry arrives in the capital, Douglas, but our first two nights were spent in Laxey, a 30-minute bus ride away. The island’s public transportation is quite good, with buses and steam engine trains departing at all hours, and no need for cash – ever! Laxey is a quiet village whose main draw is the gigantic Laxey Wheel, the largest original waterwheel in the world. We strolled straight through the village to get there, stopping the tourist shop and admiring the colorful houses, which can be seen all around the island. Although you can pay to enter the area where the wheel is and go up some steps to get a view of the surrounding area from the top of it, we chose not to due to it costing 15£ (almost $20!). You can still get pretty close without paying though. 😉 After the wheel, we walked to see King Orry’s Grave, the site of two prehistoric tombs and rock structures, like Stonehenge but on a much smaller scale. Finally, we made our way to the beach and took a dip in the frigid waters – 9° Celsius/48° Fahrenheit!
Our second full day was spent in Douglas, where we visited bookshops, ate delicious noodles, and went to the Manx Museum, which gave a comprehensive history of the Isle of Man, showcasing not only history exhibits, but also a whole gallery of paintings either by Manx artists or featuring the Isle of Man as the subject and an ethnographic exhibit. These types of museums run the risk of being – ahem – boring, but the Manx Museum was truly very interesting, and shouldn’t be missed. Douglas also has a lovely boardwalk around the sea, with plenty of places for sitting and admiring the view and a nice beach.
On the third and last full day we had there, we took the steam railway to Castletown, home to Castle Rushen and Rushen Abbey. The ticket seller in the castle was the nicest EVER (shout out to Lester) who pointedly asked us if we were students so we could save 10 bucks each in entrance fees. The castle featured another comprehensive exhibit focused on its history, and took ages to get through. It was very interesting though, and definitely worth it. After the castle, we walked around the grounds of the abbey, and then headed back to Douglas for the evening.
The Isle of Man may not be on most people’s radar, but it was worth the visit, and is also considered its own country, so that’s a check on my list! 😉
