Friday 20 June 2014

First Trip to the Isle of Man


Like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland it's hard to know where to start.

`Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, `and go on till you come to the end: then stop". However if I do that it would be like War & Peace so I'll just give the highlights.

I couldn't take many photographs when I was working, looks like I'm on holiday. So My photos were taken in my free time, which wasn't a lot until the Sunday which was the passengers' free day & mine!

We had a great smooth crossing on a glorious warm & sunny day, from Heysham Port on the North West Coast. The crossing to Douglas was very smooth, just as well because we were on the boat for over 4 hours.

Our hotel was on the promenade in Douglas which seems to stretch for miles. It has lovely little areas of gardens with seats which were set down sheltering you from the breezes. Lots of the people on the tour used to walk the full length of the promenade in the evening after dinner.

The buildings along the promenade are lovely old terraces many of which were used to house the forces during World War 11. There were palm trees too! They don't get severe winter weather here.
                           

                           


                            

Further along the promenade from our hotel was a lovely park, shopping & cafe area called the Villa Marina. 



The Isle of Man has a wonderful transport network. There's an excellent bus service but there are also steam trains, electric trams, a mountain railway & here below is the amazing horse drawn tram service. The trammers as the horses are known pull the carriages along the full length of the promenade from the Ferry Terminal at one end to Derby Castle, the Electric Train Terminal.




I think this one was Robert. The horses are wonderful and they are well cared for unlike the ones we see in other parts of the world. They do a limited number of runs or rather trots the length of the promenade, I think it was four & then they swap the horses over. The horse sheds are at the side of the promenade.

They retire after about 15 years and they are well cared for at the rest home for old horses, ponies & donkeys. You can visit them too at Bulrhenny.

I'll stop now. There's more to come!

















8 comments:

  1. Great post , glad to see you back!

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  2. Hello friend!!! What great report and wonderful pictures. I am especially to happy to learn of the good treatment of the horses. The one in the photograph certainly looks well cared for. I was intrigued by the Villa Marina.

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  3. So glad you had a good crossing for your first visit. Enjoyed the pics not having been there. I think I old you that our next door neighbour comes from The isle of Man Winifred. Well the son of my neighbour 2 doors down is marrying a girl from The I of M. We were invited to wedding in September but felt it was a little too far to go for a wedding with the cost it would entail.

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  4. "I'm Trying, Honestly!" has been included in our Arlynda Lea's Sites to See #6. We hope this helps to call more attention to your efforts.

    http://arlyndalea.blogspot.com/2014/06/arlynda-leas-sites-to-see-6.html

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  5. I enjoyed this post Winifred. I don't know anything about the Isle of Man. I am looking forward to your next post!

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  6. Your posts never show up in my reader it's so frustrating. I love your photos they are always so sharp and detailed. I don't know what camera you use but it has a great lens, plus of course a good eye from you too. Nice to hear that the horses are treated well, I hate seeing animals like this when they are not.

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  7. Thanks Joey. I can't really take much credit for the photos it's the camera. I use a Lumix Panasonic which my husband bought me for a Christmas present. I like it as it's easy to use for someone like me who knows nothing about photography. It does take some nice photos & I just point & click & mostly I keep it on automatic!

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  8. We once went on holiday to the Isle of Man, the crossing was rough, my mum was sick, but I thought it was all great fun !
    We stayed at a B & B just up from the promenade, lovely food, and went sight-seeing everyday. Rained a lot, but we still sat in the deckchairs on the beach :)
    Thanks for sharing your visit.
    ~Jo

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