Trip to the Isle of Man

[OllyM]

Hi,

Myself and PeterNem went to the Isle of Man last week, and I just thought I'd post up a few photos of the trip

I thought that it was a pretty amazing place - some of the roads were fantastic, especially the Douglas to Ramsey mountain road. Seeing the NSL sign and knowing that there's actually no speed limit in force is pretty awesome, although you don't really get to do silly speeds simply because of the twistyness of the roads.

The weather last week was good during the day, until Friday when it absolutely chucked it down. On Saturday the ferry we were meant to catch was cancelled, so instead of arriving home at 9pm I ended up walking in the door at about 3:30am on Sunday morning which was annoying.

All in all, it's another place ticked off the list of places to visit. I probably would go back there again if I fancied a relaxing week (as last week was, really) but there isn't a huge amount to do over there, and you can drive every inch of road on the island quite easily.

 

[OllyM]

 

[panthro]

Looks very picturesque, good pics

 

[TripleT]

Always fancies visiting the Iale of Man, beautiful place. What sort of costs were involved if you don't mind me asking?

 

[OllyM]

Ferry is expensive, cost just under £300 per car with fuel surcharges and the premium lounge upgrade (I wouldn't fancy the standard seating having seen it, especially on the Viking fast boat from Liverpool).

We rented a nice cottage for the week which was £425 from memory (bear in mind we were going towards the end, if not right at the end of holiday season - it's closer to £700 at peak times), then food etc. on top, petrol and anything else you might want/need.

I thought most of the hotels were a bit grim, Douglas seafront in particular had some very drab places including a Hilton that looked pretty substandard. They're building a brand new hotel though.

 

[Scottland]

Seems quite an expensive trip, is there not a cheaper ferry to catch from somewhere else?

 

[OllyM]

No, the Steam Packet company have a monopoly on ferries to/from the island. You can go from Heysham or Liverpool, or from Ireland but that's it.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Whilst it looks nice I really cant help thinking its the sort of place that should be right at the bottom of your list of places to go after you've done every else. For two of you the total cost must have been well over a thousand quid - you could have done the Scottish Highlands, Southern France, perhaps Norway... all for less and all with roads just as, if not more, beautiful and challenging. The ferry charge seems particularly ridiculous.

 

[Scottland]

Whilst it looks nice I really cant help thinking its the sort of place that should be right at the bottom of your list of places to go after you've done every else. For two of you the total cost must have been well over a thousand quid - you could have done the Scottish Highlands, Southern France, perhaps Norway... all for less and all with roads just as, if not more, beautiful and challenging. The ferry charge seems particularly ridiculous.

Yeah, I wouldn't have minded doing it for a day trip - but not for £200+ for the ferry

 

[B@Th*nG]

i used to go every year as the grandparents lived there and they, and my dad, used to marshall the races. it's a nice place, in short:

Food's expensive

Steam packet is VERY expensive and uncomfortable, unless you manage to take the seacat

Rains a lot

Windy

Locals aren't always so keen on you, despite tourism being their only real "export" and keeps the place afloat.

Cold

Brilliant bloody racing!!


I wouldn't bother if you don't like (bike) racing, but if you do it's like mecca

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDjHFFGHLdA - haha, that IS my grandparents

B@Th*nG

 

[Griffo]

Is it rip-off money to go over on the bike? I'd hope not, but expect so by the sounds of it. I could just google it!

My word, just had a look, between 138 and 150 to go this thursday! I suppose it's cheaper further in advance.

 

[drdimmer]

i used to go every year as the grandparents lived there and they, and my dad, used to marshall the races. it's a nice place, in short:

Food's expensive

Steam packet is VERY expensive and uncomfortable, unless you manage to take the seacat

Rains a lot

Windy

Locals aren't always so keen on you, despite tourism being their only real "export" and keeps the place afloat.

Cold

Brilliant bloody racing!!


I wouldn't bother if you don't like (bike) racing, but if you do it's like mecca

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDjHFFGHLdA - haha, that IS my grandparents

B@Th*nG

Agree with you except the tourism part, previously that was kept it afloat but now it is the islands financial industry which is doing that with low taxation rates. And yes the steam packets charges are absolutely over the top, the boat is frustratingly slow on the crossings also to 'conserve fuel'.

 

[TripleT]

Stuff that, I'll just go to Wales or Scotland

...or fly to most European cities

 

[mattpc]

Whilst it looks nice I really cant help thinking its the sort of place that should be right at the bottom of your list of places to go after you've done every else. For two of you the total cost must have been well over a thousand quid - you could have done the Scottish Highlands, Southern France, perhaps Norway... all for less and all with roads just as, if not more, beautiful and challenging. The ferry charge seems particularly ridiculous.

Kindof agree there but everyone has different priorities. I can't see there being anything there that you couldn't get in Scotland (other than technically no speed limit which as the OP is pretty irrelevant anyway). That said- I would like to go there for a few days. The ferry charge is really putting me off tho considering you can get a crossing to France for £40 if you book far enough in advance.

I had a trip out Scotland (vageuly around Aberdeen area) and found some fantastic roads, only saw one police car on the whole trip and had a great time. Still, it's one to tick off and I'm sure it was enjoyable. The cost of the holiday cottage seems quite reasonable I think.

 

[B@Th*nG]

There used to be LOADS of NSL bits, almost the entire island was at some stage, with the exception of the populated areas. but as soon as one bloody idiot ploughs it into one of the many verge's, brick walls and/or over a cliff and falls off the mortal coil there's a speed limit set. shame really, but i think the OP missed the boat on that one by about 15/20 yrs

B@Th*nG

 

[Begbie]

Kindof agree there but everyone has different priorities. I can't see there being anything there that you couldn't get in Scotland (other than technically no speed limit which as the OP is pretty irrelevant anyway). That said- I would like to go there for a few days. The ferry charge is really putting me off tho considering you can get a crossing to France for £40 if you book far enough in advance.

I had a trip out Scotland (vageuly around Aberdeen area) and found some fantastic roads, only saw one police car on the whole trip and had a great time. Still, it's one to tick off and I'm sure it was enjoyable. The cost of the holiday cottage seems quite reasonable I think.

Yeah the police on A roads on Scotland are a bit nuts aswell. I rember being on some A road giving it some beans then the police coming up behind me so I slow down but still giving it a bit altough being more careful.

Eventually they stuck their lights on went to the side of me gave me the thumbs up, turned the lights off, and continued to do silly speeds round the rest of the road

Isle of Man does look fun though and the whole no speed limit princible is quite cool.

 

[G_D]

I went recently a did a write up on it basically saying wasn't as good as i thought i was going to be. Douglas to Ramsey is good yes, not sure about the it being to twisty to go for it on that section... Even the 523 could top a tonne in many places with ease.

Fox is right i feel about can spend your money else where for a better trip though im not sure about the Norway comment. I went there and it was ludicrously expensive and they hate speed and i think they had basically zero tolerance. That said im not sure how many police i saw the entire time and the north of the country harbors some of the best views i have seen in Europe.