The end of the Isle of Man Visit

All good things must come to an end and we are just about ready to head to Somerset, UK for the last leg of our holiday.

Before we go, here are a few more memories of what we enjoyed.

For the last race, we went back to our favourite spot, Cronk y Voddy, where the view of the racers was the best.  This 'nail biter' was won by a local man, Michael Evans......

In order to satisfy my 'nature need', we stopped for a few more snaps at Glen Wyllin, on the west coast.

After visiting the island for so many years, we have come to know that Islander hospitality is so welcoming.  We had a fabulous evening with Gill and Neil (and a few of their friends) who treated us to a sumptuous meal.

We went back to one of my favourite places, Glen Maye, which boasts a gorgeous waterfall (arrived at by walking down many, many steps)

Back at the 'farm', I was totally amused by this silly goat, who managed to get himself into a bit of a jam.

Don't worry, he did manage to get out of there

For our last night, we went to The Hawthorn, for one of the best pub meals we have ever had on the island

My lamb shank fix!

 A final look up the hill behind our cottage....

So long, IOM.....until next year!

The Ramsey Sprints

The last Thursday of the Classic TT race week, you can find crowds in Ramsey to see another antique motorcycle show.  It takes place in Mooragh Lake Park.

A beautiful view

 Some of the bikes and cars were pretty old! 

  

One of the main reasons for a visit to Ramsey today,

 is to watch the Sprints, 

which is basically a drag race.

The riders burn rubber to warm their tires, then turn up the crank on the throttle to get maximum speed down the straight!

Check out the wheelie!

 Ramsey harbour at low tide

We headed out for an Italian meal at Andreas Restaurant, Port St. Mary to top off the day!

Mussels

Baked Goat cheese with figs

Fettuccine Carbonara

Seafood linguine

Lasagne

Prosciutto pizza

Just a few more days to share of my IOM adventure..

...then headed to the UK

Cregneash

Time has a way of erasing some of the past 'Ways Of Life' and traditions, and the Isle of Man is not immune to it, but 'life the way it used to be' is alive and well in the village of Cregneash.

Here, the last stronghold of the Manx language and customs, continue on with recreations and quaint crofters cottages.

Their way of life was very simple; farming and fishing to stay alive.
The inside of this farmhouse was filled with smoke from the fire, their only source of heat to cook and stay warm

The Loghtan sheep was their main livestock (as is today as well), and they are unique with 4 horns

The barn was home to a 4 month old baby.

He only has 2 horns now, but the other 2 will grow in

A unique type of patchwork quilting kept their beds warm at night.

Wool from the sheep was also spun into wool for clothing

Some households were a little more prosperous than others,
with separate rooms for living and laundry

The dairy room

 
It was one of the sunny days on the island
and the view out to The Sound was fantastic

Good bye Cregneash

Off to the Ramsay Sprints tomorrow!

Back to the races

Racing this year has been quite lively, with some great riders on super fast bikes.  To give you a feel of what we saw, here are some random racing pictures for you to enjoy!

Waving to the crowds

Hard to see there are 2 of them on this sidecar...what athletics

Knee almost scrapping the road

Follow the leader!

I think his knee IS touching!

To celebrate being here watching the racing,

 I had to have a Manx cupcake!

Yummy!

No good motorcycle blog is complete without a kitty picture!

A visitor to our garden

Up next, a visit to Cregneash