The Isle Of Man

Straight Talker

This place is just between us and the UK mainland, but i always seem to forget about the place. I've never thought about taking a holiday there either tbh. Would people recommend i visit the place? What are the people like there? Do they see themselves as different to English people? What has the place got going for it, in terms of landmarks and attractions? I'd just love to hear peoples stories and opinions about the Isle Of Man.

policarp

Isle of Man.

Lovely place, very friendly,

not cheap, would go again.

Dont go during motorbike racing week.

Straight Talker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119383163#Comment_119383163

What places there do you recommend to visit? I know Douglas is the main urban centre, but i'm sure there's more to the place than that!

It’s a quirky kind of place, definitely worth a visit. Retro type public transport, steam train, electric hill train, horse drawn tram. Largest waterwheel in world. A revival of the most peculiar form of Gaelic there is with anglicised spelling. An array of little glens to explore on foot. People definitely see themselves as different from the English. I was there many decades back, in the 70s, and there was a local kind of underground movement “keep Man for the Manx” and English trying to buy up retirement property (& putting up prices on locals) would find a little fire had gutted the home before they moved in. A chef in my hotel from Northern Ireland was accused of working on behalf of this movement & (non fatal) poisoning the husband of an English lady sitting next to me; they had been just about to close the purchase of a house! Other than that it was always extremely law abiding, and known to have been rather severe on even mild indiscretions.

ittakestwo

The Ise of Man is not part of England or even the UK. They have their own language (Manx) there own Patron Saint, ( St Malacky who was from Offaly) They have thier own flag too. Calling them English is like Calling a welsh person English... it will annoy them.

I was there as a kid. Use to be a ferry there from Dublin. It is very small. The main town Douglas is about the size of Bray. There is a few other towns on the island but it is very small. Douglas is a bit of a dive tbh. I think its economy is tourism off shore banking and gambling companies like Paddypower are registered there and

Two other claims to fame is that they have the oldest parliament in the world and the Bee Gees were born there.

Idle Passerby

It's an interesting place. I got chatting to a woman on Thingwald day (their national day dating from Viking times) once. She was telling me how she moved to Northern Ireland in the 70s and went into the "wrong" bakery one day. They refused to serve her because she was British. That made her quite angry and she told them "I'm not British, I'm Manx!"

It's a tiny island but feels bigger than it is with lots of gorgeous scenery and quaint villages.

Not the most exciting place I've ever been, would not go back. Tends to get bad weather.

Might be nice if you're after a quiet break. Good bus network. Peel and Ramsey are the other main towns on the island.

fryup

its a principality of the UK..i don't know if they have their own passports or UK passports?

..during the commonwealth games they have their own team

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119383169#Comment_119383169

Douglas and Onchan are nice spots. I went for a drive with a friend around it and it's a gorgeous wee island.

Grayson

I went looking at property online there a few years ago. It was cheaper than Dublin. I was wondering if it'd be possible to work remotely and still visit Dublin regularly.

I've never been. i tried to get friends interested in heading there for a long weekend but no-one was interested.

(Edit: just checked and the rental situation seems to be as bad there as Ireland. And property prices aren't that much better)

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119384023#Comment_119384023

It's not a Principality, it's a Crown Dependency. It's not part of the UK at all. The relationship is directly though the Crown, not any of the constituent countries of the UK.

They are issued with British Passports specific to the Isle of Man.

Quitelife

Quite Spot- used be a tourist mecca in the 1950s and 60s for people from the Liverpool/Manchester part of England but long since ceased due to Spain etc. Places like Douglas Promenade and Ramsey still have old world Hotels-B&Bs dated but nice and peaceful.

Tram to top of Snafell Mountain & walk around Mooragh Lake in Ramsey and a trip to Peel castle the highlight of a visit there 3/4 years ago. Its like going back in time a bit which suits me .

skaface

Lovely Island, pity u can only get there from Dublin by boat and air.. Im sure more would visit if u could fly from Cork or Shannon etc.

j2

I went for the TT once, definitely don't go around then if you're not specifically looking for some incredible racing as it's very crowded. If you're into bikes at all I'd recommend it 100%. Absolutely mad spectacle and very tense at times when news of crashes comes rolling in. Met Guy Martin, didn't understand a word but an experience I'd also recommend.

Fabio

Castletown is a beautiful spot as well.

You can get a ferry from Dublin. It's got an interesting history and plenty of little folk tales and superstitions which, when not on the island, sound absolutely silly, but when you're on the island itself you kinda go along with.

Nice people there, and it does feel a lot bigger than you would think. Very quaint. Manx GP is on the end of Aug, start of Sept but wouldn't be anywhere near as busy as the TT so you could go and still get a good feel for the place. I keep meaning to go back.

Atlantic Dawn

Looks like they will accept any form of Sterling notes but the Manx money you get back is pretty much as good as Monopoly money in the UK.

xxxxxxl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119385835#Comment_119385835

Kinda like Scottish notes.. Mate that's legal Tender. Think the former is forged more though. No issue it seems in the Uk with NI notes though ever. Bit of an odd one. 🤔

mazdamiatamx5

It’s a boring s.hithole with a lot of inbreeding.

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119387594#Comment_119387594

Yes it's crazy, should only be a single Bank Of England note across their entire areas. Lots of non mainstream retailers won't accept NIRL notes either.

chosen1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119387594#Comment_119387594

Most places in England won't take NI notes. I've had to take them to the bank to exchange them for Bank of England notes on a few occasions, but free of charge.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119387594#Comment_119387594

Not only have I had NI notes refused all over GB, but a bank in Wales refused to give me BoE notes in exchange for NI, told me I'd have to go to the foreign exchange and pay the punt conversion rate, ha !

sonofenoch

Went years ago with my football team, met a bird named 'Cromwell'....don't get more English than that 🤣

fryup

Olivia Cromwell?😉

cj maxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119387929#Comment_119387929

Exactly. I worked in an ( of all places an (Irish) themed pub ) and regularly were asked to only accept BoE notes. I did accept them did the banking but most places wouldn't accept them.

delboy85

I did a long weekend in The Isle of Man about 10/12 years ago. Had always been interested in visiting. I think it was over the August bank holiday weekend.

I found it a strange experience. Douglas seemed to be stuck in a time warp. It was like going back 20 years. As someone mentioned previously, it reminded me of Bray, but less salubrious! The whole place seemed dead (in what should've been peak tourist season). It just seemed like a place whose glory days were long, long gone.

Having said that, we did visit many other places on the island which were nice/interesting.

Would I go back or recommend it? Probably not.

Alonzo Mosley

Great memories of the IOM. During the 70s it was the place to go. There were no foreign holidays so the IOM was a real treat, your friends would look on in envy if you were going there. The IOM steampacket from North Wall would be packed with Irish people travelling, That's one of the reasons why is dead now.

There was a great theme park in Onchan and I think it's still there. There was a boating area and a small go kart speedway.

During the 70s they did take punts. I remember my father fuming the year the stopped accepting punts and only deal in sterling.

Badly Drunk Boy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119392581#Comment_119392581

The Irish Punt kept parity with Pound Sterling until March 1979. After that, because of the original Exchange Rate Mechanism, they fluctuated and that was the end of your 70s. 😉

AySeeDoubleYeh

In a lot of ways, the 70s ended that day - December 31st, 1979

Alonzo Mosley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119392663#Comment_119392663

That was the end of cheap marathon bars and fanta 😀

dxhound2005

Manx Radio is easy to hear on medium wave 1368 kHz in parts of Ireland. They have some bilingual programmes in Manx and English. Manx spelling is strange to me, but anyone with Irish or Scots Gaelic could follow most of the spoken language. I detect a sort of Scouse and Lancashire twang in Manx speech in English. Listening to the local radio is a good way to gain an impression of what life is like, without having to visit.

https://www.manxradio.com/on-air/bob-carswell/

fryup

watch the Movie Mindhorn set in the IOM it's a hoot!😝

Alun

Waking Ned, a film set in Ireland was filmed entirely on the Isle of Man too.

cbreeze

Isle of Man is great for a weekend. You can bring your bike on the ferry. Apart from Douglas, Castletown is great - visit the Castle and get there by the steam railway. There are little individual compartments and the train goes at a slow gentle pace. The end of the line is Port Saint Mary (nothing much to see there). Peel is definitely worth a visit for the Isle of Man Museum and Peel Castle. There is a lovely beach near the Castle. Manx kippers are made in the smokery in Peel, and there is a terrific ice cream shop on the sea front. Port Erin is actually named after our own Saint Ciaran. Nice beach and little pastel beach huts along the shore. Try the Isle of Man Bushey's beer, bit like Hop House 13.

Another poster has mentioned the electric railway, and you can get to Laxey for the water wheel park and Snaefell mountain. Note: the water wheel is currently being restored.

There is good coverage of the island through a network of webcams, so you can see what its like before you go.

loyatemu

this tells you all you need to know about the IoM

https://youtu.be/12EeoRTWuXA

(more seriously it strikes me as a cross between the west of Ireland and somewhere like Cumbria, but less interesting that either. No real interest in visiting it).

masterboy123

Thinking to do a ferry trip over this long weekend. Any suggestions to find cheap ferry tickets please?

BrenMar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119396057#Comment_119396057

Have a look at the Isle of Man Steam Packet website for sailings from Dublin and Belfast, foot passenger tickets are reasonable. There's no daily sailing unfortunately and no other ferry companies that service the routes.

BrenMar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119393391#Comment_119393391

Best post yet! I live in the Isle of Man and I couldn't have put it better myself.

chooseusername

Just head to The Douglas Head and ask for Whacker.

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119383215#Comment_119383215

The Ise of Man is not part of England or even the UK.

They didn't have EU rights , but now have the same EU rights as the UK. They do have EU "data adequacy" meaning they can host EU citizens data. The UK took until June last year to get that status but are already throwing it out of the pram. So the IoM could start hosting data.

BaywatchHQ

"The mainland" the unionists have you trained well. I bet you say you are going up to the UK when you go to Belfast. What a messed up island.

fryup

they must be cruel to animals over there - cats have no tails

Spanish Eyes

Used to be full of dodgy bank account holders from Ireland back in the day. A tax haven you know.

I was there about 15 years ago, drove over on the ferry. Was a nice place, friendly people and plenty to see in the few days we were there. Can't remember much apart from Snaefell and the Laxey wheel. The rest was pleasant countryside and beaches. Glad I went, another box ticked. Ferry was a long enough trip across I thought.

Straight Talker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119422777#Comment_119422777

The UK mainland of England Wales and Scotland, i see no issues with the term at all. It's a term i have always used, and it's a term that i shall continue to use.

Dufflecoat Fanny

ya great spot for 3 day break. toughen ya up with the wind and walking. avoid the biking season you'll be stuck. I was there when a young lad was killed on mad sunday. heart breaking.

Zebra3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119426393#Comment_119426393

A bizarre phrase when you could just say Britain.