3:32pm Friday 18th June 2010
By Emma Clayton
‘We’re not supposed to speak going around this corner,” says our friendly guide, driving us through twisting lanes off the coast road. Earlier on, she’d told us the word ‘rat’ must never be said out loud – it brings bad luck to the Isle of Man.
Another island ritual is greeting fairies, for luck, when crossing Fairy Bridge on the road from Douglas to Castletown. It’s said that taxi drivers stop if their passenger doesn’t greet the fairies, and motorcycle racers at the annual TT races take the ritual seriously to avoid crashes. It all seems fitting in this quaint, mystical island with its haunting beauty.
If you listen hard enough, you may hear the rustle of leaves as a pixie goes about his business.
I’d been to the Isle of Man once on a family camping holiday but, other than the TT and Manx cats, I didn’t know much about the place. I wasn’t the only one. “Is that a Channel Island?” someone asked when I mentioned I was going there.
The Isle of Man is, of course, in the middle of the Irish Sea, between the north west of England and Northern Ireland. The island is about 30 miles long and ten miles wide, with a population of just under 80,000.
I flew there on a Dornier 228, a small twin turboprop plane flown by a pleasant pilot who was practically sharing his cockpit with us. It set the scene for our visit to this charming island.
In 45 minutes, we’d landed and what had been an overcast morning in Bradford was now a gloriously sunny spring day.
We drove through Castletown, dominated by Castle Rushen, a beautifully-preserved medieval fortress which has working courts and prison cells in its dungeons.
Driving along the coast road, from where Jeremy Clarkson’s lighthouse home could be spotted, it felt like being back in a gentler age. The island is breathtaking, from rolling hills to spectacular coastal scenery, sandy bays, pretty seaside towns and secluded glens.
Picturesque cottages are dotted here and there, and castles and ancient monuments spanning 10,000 years are a reminder of the island’s early history, evident in its Celtic stone crosses and Viking burial sites.
Our friendly guide, Ann Hartley, is from Bradford and has lived on the Isle of Man for 17 years. As well as the clean air and unspoilt natural beauty, she loves the sense of community. Crime is low, there’s little traffic congestion – “you hear it on the news if there’s a three-car queue in Douglas,” she jokes – and there’s a good standard of living. For two weeks each year, the island’s population doubles when motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world descend for the Isle of Man TT. We spotted kerbsides being painted black and white in preparation for the dramatic road race which roars around the island. The island’s sweeping rural beauty makes it popular for film shoots. It has doubled as a Cornish fishing community, Scottish and Irish landscapes, Victorian London, even the Caribbean.
Ann regularly bumps into Hollywood A-listers – including Johnny Depp in the supermarket! “He was here filming The Libertine,” said Ann. “John Malcovich, who was also in the film, said ‘good morning,’ and I saw Renee Zelweger hiding under a baseball cap in a coffee shop. She was filming Miss Potter, set in the Lake District, but filmed here. It’s not unusual to come across a famous face here. You get used to it.”
One of the best-known films made there is Waking Ned. We had coffee at Niarbyl Cafe, a pretty bistro overlooking a cluster of thatched cottages by a beach where much of the movie was shot. Beyond the bay, where whales, seals, porpoises and basking sharks can be spotted, we could see Ireland’s Mountains of Mourne in the distance.
Niarbyl – ‘the tail’ in Manx – is the bit of island that extends into the sea on the southwest coast. A ferry trip to the Calf of Man bird reserve provides a close-up view of resident Atlantic grey seals.
We drove to nearby Peel, where quaint narrow streets and a working harbour, lined with fishing boats and pleasure cruisers, lie beneath the magnificent ruins of Peel Castle, standing on St Patrick’s Isle and dating back to the 11th century. It’s believed to be the first place Christianity was brought to the Isle of Man, and there are Neolithic burial sites. We were led into the crypt, used as an ecclesiastical prison, where Quakers were imprisoned and you could end up for playing the fiddle on a Sunday! Scratch marks visible on a roof support are an eerie reminder of the old prison days.
Legend has it that a giant lived on the isle and hurled huge stones over the wall, one of which is said to rest across the water. The giant’s grave lies by the rocks, where the castle meets the sea.
There are lovely views of the harbour from the castle. Walking around the harbour you’re greeted by the aroma from Moore’s Curers, the island’s world-famous kipper smokers.
Freshly-caught seafood are abundant in Isle of Man restaurants and we enjoyed a hearty lunch at The Waterfall, a pretty hotel and pub in Glen Maye which serves a generous portion of fish and chips. Their haddock is the size of a small boat.
A half-hour drive took us to the other side of the island and we headed for Douglas, the capital, where nearly a third of the island’s population lives. Douglas is a vibrant town, with bustling shops, restaurants, apartments, the Gaiety Theatre, standing on the seafront in its Victorian splendour, and a regenerated inner harbour comprising a yacht marina and quayside leisure complex.
At the town’s heart is the Isle of Man’s Parliament. The island isn’t part of the UK or the European Union and has its own Parliament, taxation system, currency (they accept sterling) and language, still occasionally spoken.
The Manx Parliament, Tynwald, is the world’s oldest continuous Parliament. The House of Keys – the equivalent of our House of Commons – and the Legislative Council sit in separate chambers to consider Bills. Tynwald Court, consisting of members of the Keys and Council, meets monthly.
Nine ministers, each heading a department, and the Chief Minister make up the Council of Ministers which is in effect the island’s Cabinet.
The public can view proceedings from a gallery. The chambers are well worth a visit to get a flavour of how the island is governed and has been shaped by its history.
In the House of Keys I found myself sitting in one of the Minister’s green leather chairs, and noticed two buttons under the desk. Tynwald was the first Parliament to introduce electronic voting; ministers press either a red or green button, depending on their vote, and a black button for language deemed inappropriate for Manx Radio, which broadcasts proceedings from a booth in the corner.
All too soon it was the end of my day trip and I was back in the Dornier 228, flying over the sea. Visiting the Isle of Man was literally a breath of fresh air and I felt rejuvenated, as if I’d spent the day in a spa. It’s a perfect idyll for a holiday.
You can get around the island in a day but to make the best of its attractions – including the Great Laxey Wheel, the world’s largest working water wheel; the Snaefell Mountain Railway, from where on a clear day you can see Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales; or the many outdoor activities, from golf to mountain biking – you’d need a longer stay.
It takes less than an hour to get there, so go see it for yourself. My only disappointment was that I didn’t see a single Manx cat. Maybe next time.
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