The Isle of Man, which lies halfway between the coast of Ireland and Northwest England, is a legendary island. According to a popular legend, the Celtic Isle of Man was formed when Irish giant Finn McCooil hurled a handful of earth at a rival in Scotland - and missed. Today the 33-mile-long island has some of the finest features of its Celtic neighbours, overlain with its own very distinctive character. The island is quite beautiful in parts, and medieval fortresses guarding picturesque harbours jostle for the visitor’s attention alongside attractive moorland and some awesome mountain scenery.
The island has some 26 beaches around its 100-odd miles of coastline, and offers a nice, peaceful, escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, which goes some way to explaining its popularity with visitors from the urban areas of Northern England. The Isle of Man is justly world-famous for its TT motorcycle race, which saw the rise to fame of such great riders as Geoff Duke, John Surtees and Mike Hailwood. Other popular recreational activities on the Island include walking, angling, golf and cycling. There are also vintage steam and electric railways which provide a transport link between picturesque towns and villages. The Isle of Man was used as the location for the production of the very popular 1999 comedy film ’’Waking Ned’’. The village used as the main location was Cregneash. ’’Waking Ned’’ (aka ’’Waking Ned Devine’’) was a whimsical comedy about an Irish lottery winner who unfortunately passes away when he gets news of his lottery win. His fellow townsfolk gather round to try and work out how to still claim the money. The movie was directed by Kirk Jones and Ian Bannen. Fionnula Flanagan, James Nesbitt, and David Kelly were the main stars in the film. Good information about the Island can be obtained from the Isle of Man, Department of Tourism and Leisure in Douglas (Tel:44 (o) 1624 686868), and they have a web site (https://gov.im/tourism).
The Isle of Man is accessible by daily ferry crossings from Liverpool, England, and Belfast and Dublin, and there are direct flights from no less than 16 airports across the UK and Ireland, including London, Liverpool, Belfast, and Dublin.