From the Tourist Trophy to Northern Lights sightings, the Isle of Man offers a host of holiday surprises. Find out more ahead of your next trip with these 10 top facts.
You have probably heard of the Manx cat – the tailless one (according to legend, two Manx cats were last to board Noah’s Ark and their tails became trapped in the closing door). And you may be familiar with the three-legged man symbol of the Isle of Man (which, essentially, represents stability). But the island hides other quirky features.
1 Never mention the word spelt R-A-T, unless you want to be doomed to a lifetime of bad luck. This goes back to the great herring fishing days when fishermen were mightily suspicious. The feral creature is called a “longtail” or is referred to by spelling out the individual letters.
2 The island has many hills but only one mountain, Snaefell, 2,036ft high. From the summit, on a clear day, it is said that you are guaranteed to see seven kingdoms: the Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland? along with the sea and Heaven.
3 The curious tower in the middle of Douglas Bay, called the Tower of Refuge, was built as a shipwrecked sailors’ refuge by William Hillary in 1832. Hillary was so appalled at the loss of sailors’ lives in the treacherous waters around the island that he went on to found the Royal National Lifeboat Institute. Later knighted, his statue stands high on Douglas Head overlooking the bay.
4 The Island has the world’s oldest continuous parliament, known as Tynwald, which was setup by the Vikings in 979 AD. Although today’s parliament has modern offices in the capital, Douglas, each July it meets at Tynwald Hill, an ancient Viking site near St John’s, to declare each law that has been passed in the past year. Any Manx citizen can also make a petition which, providing it meets certain criteria, will then have to be considered.
5 Low levels of light pollution give the island dazzling night skies. It has 26 officially recognised Dark Sky Discovery Sites, the largest cluster in the British Isles and possibly Europe. The Milky Way, the Great Andromeda galaxy and, occasionally, the Northern Lights can be seen with the naked eye.
6 Horse-drawn trams still operate on Douglas Promenade. Dating from 1876, and with many original cars still in use, this makes the service the world’s oldest-surviving of its kind. The cars originally carried 20 people inside with a further 24 on the open top deck, which you can sometimes enjoy in the summer.
7 The island has its own stamps, its own currency (the same denominations as the UK) and its own language, a Celtic Gaelic. Manx Gaelic can still be heard and sometimes seen on road signs and road names. “Traa dy liooar” is the Manx version of “manyana” and roughly translates as “time enough” or “it’ll happen”.
8 Manannan Mac Lir (Son of the Sea) is the ancient sea god who ruled the Island. Manannan protected the Islanders with his cloak of mist and had the power to make one man appear to be one hundred. Today, he’s said to cloak the Island to protect it from invaders.
9 The TT Races – the initials stand for Tourist Trophy – are held over a course 37 ¾ miles long, which the fastest competitors can complete in just 18 minutes reaching speeds of up to 200mph. Along the course are more than 500 race marshals, every one a volunteer.
10 Hop tu Naa on the Isle of Man is a unique Halloween experience. This traditional Celtic festival is the celebration of the original New Year's Eve (Oie Houney) and, instead of pumpkins, children carry lanterns carved from turnips and sing traditional Hop tu Naa songs.
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As featured in The Telegraph
