Isle of Man 7th-11th Oct

We arrived on Thursday after a short hour and a bit flight. Couldn’t even attempt to do much because as soon as we took off we landed!! I like that. Our mate Boris picked us up from the airport and took us to get settled into his house with our own room and beds!! Bliss. After getting our bearings Pete and I went for a walk into the township of Castletown, where I lived for about 3-4 months of my stay here. It’s a small town, that has a castle, Castle Rushen right in the middle of town!! Its a sight that took Pete a while to get used to.

Castletown harbour

We had a pint at the Gluepot, a quant, traditional pub next to the castle then we went to the Viking, the pub I used to work at and live in. I had a chat with the owner and chef while I was there and took a little trip down memory lane, remembering how we used to make our own chips and pies from scratch- they still do. While we were having our pint the chef bought out a bowl of chips on the house for me to try! Very spoilt and they were as nice as I remembered.

Pete at the Gluepot

Rochie's free Viking chips

On Friday we were given a car to go explore. Pete trying to start the car was an adventure in itself! The clutch was really stiff, so he would stall it trying to get it out of the driveway. It took 4 goes before we were off. The roads over here are really little also, so you might be going up a road with heaps of turns and another car comes the other way and you both have to give way to each other, driving almost off the road into little ditches. It was an experience and Pete did so well, I think he was happy when we got back to the house tho.

Peel Castle

We drove to Peel, and went through the olds ruins of the castle there. It was such a clear day, so blue and sunny, but the wind was insane, really choppy and all directions and made our inner ear hurt. But it was a great look around the grounds and I got some great shots. We also went to the House of Manannan, Peel’s museum, which goes through the history of the Isle of Man since before the Vikings came and took over. It was a brilliant museum, really interactive and well built.

Peel Castle

We had lunch at a cute little café on the promenade that had tea cups and saucers all over the walls. So I guess its no surprise that we had the BEST cup of tea there that we have had so far, with real sugar cubes!! I was in heaven. If my Nana was still with us I would be ringing her just to tell her bout it. I even had welsh rarebit for lunch, which is glorified melted cheese on toast, but it was great. That night we went out to dinner with our hosts Boris and Nicole to the Garrison for Tapas and wine, followed by drinks at a couple of bars before heading home. I saw some old faces out too which took me back, its been so long. Needless to say we stayed out a bit too long and even tho I wasn’t hung over on Saturday, I was extremely tired and very fuzzy.

Us with Boris and Nic

Douglas promenade

Saturday saw us starting off very slowly. We got dropped off at Port Erin, a coastal town not for from Castletown so we could catch the steam train into Douglas. It was a pretty cool ride ( that I have to admit almost made me fall asleep from the lack of it from the night before) with nice scenery, smoke form the coal going past the window and the train horn going off at the crossings. Very cute. We had a walk around Douglas at the other end, the capital city on the Isle, and had lunch at Bar George, the other place I worked at when I lived here. It took us ages to find it cause I couldn’t remember where it was! We had some tapas and free wedges- not because of me this time but just cause the chef had made to many. Sweet! So we got the bus back to Boris and Nic’s and had a quiet, early nite.

Point of Ayre Lighthouse

Tyndale Hill and church

Sunday Boris took us on a drive around the Island. We went to Tynwald Hill where they a day each year where proposals for news laws are made to parliament and proposals from the year before are either passed or rejected. We went to the top of the Isle to the Point of Ayre and its lighthouse and stopped in at the town of Ramsey for lunch.

We quickly stopped the great Laxey wheel, the largest working water wheel in the world (that’s pretty big!!!), walked through a graveyard up a hill (I can’t remember where Boris!!) that had old Celtic headstones and another lighthouse nearby and found a little street that the high tide was coming right up over and almost got us, where everybody but me saw a seal.

Old headstones

We also stopped into the Mann Cat Sanctuary, which is a bit of a safe haven for cats and some dogs, birds, donkeys, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, geese and chickens. By donating cat food you can walk through the grounds and the rooms and have as much cat love as you can handle, unless your Boris and you get swiped at! I love it there and I love what they do, they think that all the animals there have a right to life even if no-one else wants them, or they have been injured, or are getting old. A couple of rooms were a bit smelly tho-a good reminder that turning into a crazy cat lady will have its cons.

Room at Cat sanctury

When we got back Pete and I went for a bike ride around. We went to Derby haven, a small village next to Castletown, and to an old church ruin. We then went into Castletown for the last time and had one more pint at the Viking. We had our last dinner at home with Boris and Nicole and another quiet night. Its been good, relaxing. Next stop the “Hard Days Night”( to be sung in John Lennon type tones) Hotel in Liverpool. So ‘bout time we get our scouse on then hey! Till next time, take care of each other. P&R

Pete and the police station

Isle of Man 7th-11th Oct

Castletown, Isle of Man