In Douglas - Blogabond

Well, Douglas was a bit drizzly at first, but soon dried off, and as that was the only rain I saw for almost a week, I can't complain. A slightly fuzzy pic, sorry! Only a short walk from the boat to my B and B, which was run by a sort of matriarchy of Ex-Preston women, who were very proud of Preston and very disparaging of Douglas Fish and Chips. Douglas is good for cheap B&B's, and I was very happy with this. Despite their comments I did pop to the chip shop in the evening, and went through my usual rigmarole of ordering the fish they haven't got. Try it some time, just order the second type of fish on the menu and see what happens. I went on the the cinema, which I only mention because I decided that as it was on the coastal path, I'd count that as the start of my walk! So technically, the first (very challenging) leg of the walk was a couple of hundred yards along Douglas seafront...after which a well deserved sleep.

I made breakfast the next day, and then set off in sunshine, walking clokwise around the island. First stop, Douglas harbour, which is probably the most scenic bit of Douglas apart from the bay itself. The town centre is otherwise pretty drab. Just as I reached the other side of it, I saw...

The first Coastal Path sign!!! Ok, it might not look much, but I do have a habit of setting off on walks in the wrong direction, so psychologically, this mattered. It was a shame it pointed up a steep set of steps going all the way up the hill, but you can't have everything. And when you reach the top of the hill, this is what Douglas looks like;

If you cross your eyes a bit it probably looks like I've done a nifty panorama there...
There was a Camera Obscura on the hill, but it was closed. There are both ups and downs to walking in the Isle of Man in March. First, nothing opens until April (which doesn't matter, because the scenery is still there). Second, everyone thinks you are mad. Third, accomodation is plentiful and cheap. Fourth, there are no seals- I was looking forward to seeing the seals too. But last, you get the fabulous scenery completely to yourself. I mean, completely.

A nice level walk on an abandoned road all the way to Port Soderick. Apparently the Manx were going to build another tramway here (you can never have too many, can you? And if you've put them all the way up your highest mountain, why let a bit of coastline stand in the way?) Hence the ornamental gateway in the middle of nowhere.

All the way down, there's lots of stunning scenery. On this first leg, it's mainly tiny little bays, with some very impressive crashing waves. At least until Port Soderick...

written by

martin_b on March 11, 2007 from Douglas, Isle of Man

from the travel blog: Isle Of Man Coastal Path

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