Concluding
my look back at the four day break I spent in the Isle of Man, almost exactly 10
years ago, we pick up on what happened on the Friday – the day
before the CAMRA Conference & AGM kicked off.
The day
dawned bright and sunny, but with the conference not due to start until the
following morning, we had another whole day in which to explore the island. So,
after another excellent breakfast of Manx Kippers, I made my way to Douglas station where I’d arranged to meet friends Iain and Carole, plus colleagues from
Maidstone & Mid-Kent CAMRA.
The
station is the and is located at the landward end of the quay in Douglas and is
an impressive red-brick building. Although it is only about half of its former
size, Douglas railway station is still an
impressive complex, because as well as being the main terminus of the Isle of Man Railway,
a narrow gauge steam-operated
railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port
Erin, it was once the hub to a number of other lines now all
closed), that connected to Peel, Ramsey and Foxdale.
Jeff,
from MMK was our guide for the day, as not only is he an expert on public
transport in the UK, he also knows a fair bit about buses and trains overseas.
In recent years he has arranged beer tours to destinations in both the Czech
Republic and Germany and is the person behind the now, sadly
cancelled visit to Pilsen, that was supposed to take place this May. He is definitely the right sort of person to have as your guide!
Jeff's plan was a tour around the south and west of the Isle of Man, traveling by
steam train as far as Port Erin, and then on to Peel, via Castletown, by bus.
It’s sometimes good to sit back and let someone knowledgeable take charge of
the travel arrangements, especially when like me you’ve a family that relies on
you to take care of that side of things, when on holiday.
So,
sit back and enjoy the ride I did, right to the end of the line at Port Erin on
the island’s south-west coast. From there it was just a short hop from the
station to the Falcon's Nest Hotel, overlooking the stunning crescent-shaped
bay. The Falcon is an impressive looking free house with two bars, and a substantial number of
rooms to let. It also served a good pint of Bushy’s Bitter from the brewery of the same name.
There’s
something relaxing about sitting and watching the sea; a fact I was reminded of
just a couple of short months ago, when Mrs PBT’s and I stopped of at the
Worm’s Head Hotel, at the far end of the Gower Peninsular. That seems like a
lifetime ago now!
Ten
years ago, we had a schedule to keep to, so it was back up the road and onto
the bus for the next stage of our journey. From memory the bus was a
double-decker, so we sat on the top deck in order to admire the view.
The route re-traced our outward route as far as Castletown, before heading north past the Isle of Man’s main airport at Ronaldsway. Because of the disruption to flights caused by the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, the airport seemed eerily quiet.
The route re-traced our outward route as far as Castletown, before heading north past the Isle of Man’s main airport at Ronaldsway. Because of the disruption to flights caused by the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, the airport seemed eerily quiet.
We’d
half expected to meet our friend Simon there, as after being unable to fly the
previous day from Manchester, he thought there might be a local flight across
from Blackpool airport. Unfortunately, there weren’t any, so Simon was unable
to make it to the AGM; a real shame as not only did we miss his company, but he
was also one of the editors and main driving forces behind our Gateway to
Kent Guide – see below for details about the publication picking up the top
award.
Our
journey continued all the way to Peel passing the Tynwald National Park –
historic home of the IOM Parliament since Viking times, on our way. Peel is the
third largest town on the island after Douglas and Ramsey and is a seaside town
and small fishing port. It is home to a couple of good pubs, but our itinerary
only allowed time to visit one.
The
pub chosen was the multi-roomed White House Hotel, a pub with an
interior of regional historic significance, thereby qualifying for a place on
CAMRA’s National Inventory of Heritage Pubs. The White House is a notable free
house and has been awarded Isle of Man CAMRA Pub of The Year competition
several times.
With
my notes missing, I am unable to recall the beers on offer, but what I do
remember is heading off in advance of the bus departure time to a nearby
bakery, in order to buy a pasty to eat on the bus. Our next stop was Ballough
Bridge, where the Raven provided us with some excellent Okell’s beer.
Because of its position on the TT circuit, it is a good pub to stand and watch the riders as they flash by.
The
bus then took us roughly east, across the northern neck of the island and into
Ramsey, where we again visited the Trafalgar. It was back on the Manx
Electric Railway after, as far as Laxey, where we enjoyed some excellent Bushy's in the Queen's Hotel, before
finally boarding a bus back to Douglas.
Once back in town, we went along to the Villa Marina conference centre to register
our attendance and pick up our members’ weekend bag of goodies – so good that I’ve
forgotten what they were! We then made our way to a café, which a couple of the
Maidstone contingent had found the previous evening. I have to say the cod and
chips rather good.
Afterwards
there were a couple of Okells pubs,
close to the Inner Harbour, that we called in at. I can picture one of them in
my mind’s eye, a traditional boozer, with plenty of wooden panelling, but again
the name escapes me.
Saturday
and most of Sunday were spent at the CAMRA AGM, held in the impressive, and
recently restored Villa Marina complex in
Douglas. Although the last such event I attended had been the 1984 AGM in Edinburgh,
I found the debates and speeches far more interesting than I'd expected to. I
was particularly impressed with the presentation given by the Campaign's then
Chief Executive, Mike Benner.
We spent both those lunchtimes at the Conference Beer Exhibition. where there was a good selection of beers to enjoy, as well as friends and colleagues to meet up with. The highlight of the weekend came on the Sunday, when the Gateway to Kent Guide; a collaboration between WK, MMK and G&D branches, picked up the award for best local CAMRA guide for 2009! This achievement was a fitting reward for all the hard work that went in to producing the guide. The photo shows Jeff, who was MMK chairman at the time, with Iain, our sadly departed and much-missed friend. Iain was chairman of WK CAMRA, back in 2010.
We spent both those lunchtimes at the Conference Beer Exhibition. where there was a good selection of beers to enjoy, as well as friends and colleagues to meet up with. The highlight of the weekend came on the Sunday, when the Gateway to Kent Guide; a collaboration between WK, MMK and G&D branches, picked up the award for best local CAMRA guide for 2009! This achievement was a fitting reward for all the hard work that went in to producing the guide. The photo shows Jeff, who was MMK chairman at the time, with Iain, our sadly departed and much-missed friend. Iain was chairman of WK CAMRA, back in 2010.
In summary, I had an excellent and most enjoyable four
days on the Isle of Man. The excursions we made to Castletown
and Port Erin in the south, Peel in the west, Ramsey in the north,
plus of course Douglas and Laxey in the east, enabled me to see most of the
island. The pubs we visited at these
destinations, and points in between, were also good, although I must confess, I
grew a little tired of Okells’ beer.
With the bonus of good company,
nice surroundings, busy and unspoilt pubs and beer at up to £1 a pint cheaper
than it was at the time in Kent, there was nothing not to like, I’d certainly give
my hind teeth to be experiencing something similar, at the moment!