Scotland The Brave and his Guardians flew from London toThe Isle of Man. They explored Douglas and admired fine Victorian era buildings on the Promenade from the horse trams.
We then went on a wonderful guided tour of Isle of Man or, as he often calls it, ‘Manxland’, with Nigel of Albany Tours. And goodness me, he did us proud. A full day of great scenery and amazing historical sites.
South from Douglas: We left Douglas, and headed to Castletown where we saw the most astonishing castle. Unlike many castles, Rushen Castle has not been prettied up. It was built by the first Viking kings of Man and you can still imagine yourself holding off assailants from its grim walls. But that will be in another post.
Along the way we passed by scenery that may look normal to people of the UK and Europe, but to visitors from a wide, dry land these undulating fields in various hues all marked by stone walls and hedge rows are a feast for the eyes. The road in the photo is a main road- it boasts two whole lanes! The signs show the 40mph limit. As mentioned before, the two limits in Isle of Man are 40mph and Whatever Doesn’t Kill You.
From there we headed off again, through smaller roads until the thatched roofs and stone walls of Cregneash hove in sight.
It’s the classic Ye Olde Village, isn’t it. And it fact the movie Waking Ned Devine was filmed here for that very reason.
There are meadow flowers and lush green fields all around. Even some of the rooftops support greenery.
Our guide , Nigel of Albany Tours, actually used to live here years ago. It’s one of the last, if not the very last, unchanged crofter villages. Just look at those hedges and borders.
You can see here some of the the Isle of Man’s very own sheep breed, the Loaghtan,
The weather was perfect for our visit. There was only a strong wind blowing off the sea to remind us that weather can turn quickly here.
Dry stone walls, sheep, white washed cottages, thatched roofs.
All very quiet and peaceful too.
The buildings are well maintained now so that tourists like us can enjoy visiting them.
Take a look at the thatching. A real skill, still alive here on the Isle of Man
These are views within the last of the crofter cottages to be inhabited. The gentleman who lived here was also the last of the Manx speakers. With his help a lexicon was put together that means the language still survives.
Just a couple more views of this pretty village.
Next Episodes: We will tour moreof Ellen Vannin and see the Calf of Man and Peel and the spectacular Rushen Castle.
BOOKS with Scotland in them (our Scotty, that is)
You can also see Scotty in all the books by Mawson. One is called It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In (in that one he delivers the post) and another is She Ran Away From Love (he delivers the post again.) In Dreamy Days and Random Naps you can see him being a king and also a superb guitarist. Don’t miss that one! You can find Mawson’s books on this Link here, and on his Writer-Bear Page on Amazon.This is what the books look like:
You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is the Writer-Bear of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In and Dreamy Days and Random Naps and She Ran Away From Love. Mawson’s Guardian is co-creator of When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer, by Carola Schmidt
Mawson Bear 