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Isle Of Man Coastal Path

a travel blog by martin_b

A circular trip around the Isle of Man, completely by foot...well, except a ferry across the Irish Sea. And back. Oh, and a lift to the pub. And back from the pub.
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Point of Ayre to Ramsey

Ramsey, Isle of Man

Well, the way up to Point of Ayre this morning had been hell, but the afternoon was wonderful. No wind at all, so much sunshine I could walk in a tshirt, a great beach stretching all down the coast to Ramsey.

In Manx terms the beach North of Ramsey was very popular, ie there were 5 or 6 people walking dogs. I even found one that was scared of hats, which may be unique. There is a known phobia of clothing (Vestiphobia), but not hats.

I just timed the trip right, because as I hit Ramsey the weather changed, and just as I sat down in a pub overlooking the harbour, the blizzard started. It was a grim pub (Ramsey is the industrial bit of the island, such as it is), but is was still heartening looking out at what I'd just missed!

(Ramsey was also home to the most unwelcoming Indian Restaurant in the world. They really really really didn't want me to eat there.)




permalink written by  martin_b on March 18, 2007 from Ramsey, Isle of Man
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Ramsey to Maughold

Maughold, Isle of Man

A sunny day, but blowing a gale...but worrying as the direction meant it would be trying to blow me off the cliffs, rather than keeping me on, but never mind.

Here's the view from the first hill, with Ramsey in the far distance. See the huge wave? Thats where I tried to walk along the beach...I gave that bit up pretty quickly. In fairness there were loads of signs saying that bit of the path was closed, but I went for it anyway, in a sort of indignant I-know-best way, until luckily I saw the waves crashing in in time.

Looking inland, you can see how bad the weather had been the day before.

This is a fabulous bit of coastline: everyone on the island raves about Maughold, and I can see why now. These views don't do it justice.

It also has one of the oldest churches on the island, with a huge collection of wonderful old crosses, and the second oldest 3 Legs of Man symbol (sorry, wonky!)



The church was founded by monks from Ireland, 1500 years or so ago, and you can still see the foundations of small monastic churches, including this one with it's round tower (very Irish, trust me).

permalink written by  martin_b on March 19, 2007 from Maughold, Isle of Man
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Maughold to Laxey

Laxey, Isle of Man

More stunning coastline round to Laxey, which is a nice little very small town/village. It's in two halfs- I was staying at the lower half, with the harbour, while the upper half is where the shops are, and where the famous Laxey Wheel is.

This isn't the famous Laxey wheel, this is their spare one (honestly).

Laxey is really nice, but don't visit on a Monday if you expect to get food, because you will struggle.

Breakfast the next morning was a bit surreal as I discovered that my landlord at the B&B had been an art teacher at my old school while I was there. So we had a long chat about what he'd been up to, Oldham, Breeze Hill, and so forth.

permalink written by  martin_b on March 19, 2007 from Laxey, Isle of Man
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The last day of walking! Laxey to Onchan

Onchan, Isle of Man

Almost there...nice weather and only a days walking to go. By this point, I was hardly noticing the weight on my back, I could just sprint along with it. A lot of today was road walking, not the nicest, but there were some good bits, especially Garwick Bay.

This was only a little bay, but I could have sat on that beach all day quite happily. And if you accidentally go up the glen afterwards, past the Private sign (well, I thought there was a footpath), you get to an abandoned wonderland. It has to be one of the most beautiful glens on the island, with a nice footpath running through, but otherwise looking so wild and fresh. After a while, I had to turn back, because the footpaths were blocked by fallen trees: it was clear this place used to be some sort of park or attraction, but had been abandoned not too many years ago.

I don't know how many gems are hidden, but I found an overgrown maze, and also this very curious cave (which was a bit wet: whether it really was a smugglers cave I couldn't say, and the sign was less than helpful!)

The next point of note was Lonan Church. Quite pretty but nothing special, except that when I went inside the ruined bit on the right, there was a party of walkers there. As I hadn't seen a single walker on the entire trip, that was quite exciting. I had a banana to celebrate. They had only come from Douglas, but walkers nonetheless.

And as I reached Onchan, Douglas appeared for the first time (since I left) in the distance. Nearly there...




permalink written by  martin_b on March 20, 2007 from Onchan, Isle of Man
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Finally back at Dougls

Douglas, Isle of Man

It seemed to take an age to get to Douglas...plodding on and on...

That's what they call action photography!

But eventually, I reached the cinema, feeling pretty elated (but not too tired after 96 miles really.) Time for a cup of tea...



permalink written by  martin_b on March 20, 2007 from Douglas, Isle of Man
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Back to the UK

Heysham, United Kingdom

The Irish sea was like a duckpond as I went home the next day. Douglas and the island gradually disappeared into the distance...

...and then I got the most fabulous views of the entire Lake District, all standing out covered in snow. (Yeah, my camera didn't quite bring them out well!) Even Snowdonia was in view, if a bit small for photos.

And that was about it...

permalink written by  martin_b on March 21, 2007 from Heysham, United Kingdom
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