The Island at war

Each year we happen to arrive when the island holds events to remember its participation in WW2.  Parts of the island were used as internment camps and the airport in Jurby was used to land fighter jets for the allies.

Port Erin was buzzing with all sorts of activities.

Lovely old tunes being belted out!

Once we settled in to our cottage for our stay, we walked down to the beach in Port St. Mary.  It was a very windy day, so the surf was up and waves crashed over the stones!

Our cottage is on this promenade

Time for dinner....Just around the bay at Gansey, there is lovely hotel,  The Shore, which has a wonderful dining room.

Warm goat cheese salad

Lamb Shanks

Creme brule

 This is the view of Gansey from my earlier walk

A visit with the cats tomorrow.

Good Bye Isle of Man

Two weeks fly by really quickly.

With the races, nature walks and museum visits behind us, all that was left to do was take a stroll on Port St. Mary's beach....

......and have our farewell dinner with our IOM friends, 

Barbara and Eric, owners of  West Lodge BnB.

We met up at The Station Pub in Port Erin

  After lots of laughter and hugs goodbye, 

we left the Isle of Man in rainy weather....

....and arrived in Manchester to an equally rainy day!

 The only thing that consoled me that my holiday was over, was a perfectly delicious lamb shank....

...and a warm brownie with cream sauce.

Good Bye Isle of Man....see you next year!

Junior Manx Grand Prix

This 4 lap race featured bikes from 550cc to 750cc.

We watched from Bradden Church, 

 a lovely spot as the view is great and 

the church ladies put on quite a spread of sandwiches, cakes and tea!

The riders come down a steep hill and have to make a high speed right hand sweep, giving a perfect vantage point to take some photos

Andrew Dudgeon, race winner and IOM lad!

 We spent all day at the church, 

so thought it would be fun to go out to dinner at

The Shore Hotel in Gansey

 Christine opted for seafood pasta

 I had to have fish and chips with the traditional mushy peas (don't you think....?)

 ...but it took 5 forks to finish off the crumble

While walking Shirley to her hotel, Port St. Mary was fading into dusk

With a final glow of night

Ramsey Sprints up tomorrow

Charming Port St. Mary

We love the south end of The Isle of Man.  For many years we stayed in Port Erin, but for the last 2 years, we changed our location to just around the corner in Port St. Mary.

 In its past life, it was a very important base for fisherman, as well as its beach being a draw for tourists.

Many stately Victorian row houses lined the promenade.

They are just as grand today, with a few currently being used as BnB's.

 At low tide, you can stroll on a sea wall walkway 

from one end of the bay to the other

We walked around it at low tide....

 which gave way to picturesque smooth rocky landscapes

 Who do you think we bumped into, but a few 'tailless' residents

It is such a quaint, lovely village.....it is well worth a visit

Isle of Man, Here we come!

It is that time of year again, for our annual pilgrimage to  

The Isle of Man to enjoy the island and spectate at 

the Classic TT and Festival of Motorcycling!

First stop, dinner at the airport before embarking on our 24 hour journey

We had to get in our last Canadian fix....poutine

 ...and a cheeseburger

We arrived to a rainy, cloudy day!

and were greeted by "Barbie' having a bath.....

....at our favourite B and B: West Lodge in Port Erin for the night.

We had a fabulous view of Bradda Head

We headed to our favourite Restaurant, The Station for dinner.  Ken had his favourite, 'The Station Stack'; chicken, bacon and pineapple all topped off with cheese

I opted for the special; linguine with seafood and garlic bread

Port Erin was a favourite holiday spot at the turn of the century

The next day we headed to the cottage we rented, in Port St. Mary.

The Bay was lively with the waves crashing up on the promenade.

We are looking forward to exploring more of the island......