28th July to 3rd August. Isle of Man – Whitehaven – Kirkcudbright
Saying farewell to Janet and Jim who left us in Douglas, we had some time to explore the Isle of Man before setting sail onwards to Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. In Douglas we really enjoyed wonderful peace in the Methodist Church “Prom Prayer Head” and discovering that the Bee Gees came from the Island!
A highlight was a trip on the Mountain Railway to the top of Snaefell. The electric railway climbs slowly up the valley from Laxey – we hopped off at “The Bungalow” where the mountain road crosses the railway line. It’s a famous spot on the Isle of Man TT circuit where motorbike speeds are over 130 mph across the mountain.
From the top of Snaefell we could see England, Wales (just), Ireland and Scotland. So we took the opportunity to pray for all 4 nations. We also had some great conversations with people about the Island Pilgrimage (wearing our Island Pilgrimage polo shirts often leads to conversations).
Laxey, at the foot of the Mountain Railway, is today best known for the recently restored Lady Isabella wheel. It is an extraordinary feat of engineering, built to pump water out of the mines in the hillside. Also a thing of beauty, to an Engineer’s eye at least.
From Laxey we set sail across the Irish Sea to Whitehaven in Cumbria. One day I must write thoughts on our experiences of harbours where creating a Marina has been a key part of the regeneration of an industrial town. Once famous for shipping tobacco, sugar and lime, and of course the mining of coal (over 70 pits were sunk in the area), it fell on hard times with the closure of the last coal mine in 1986. Conversion of the harbour into a large marina was part of a huge programme of Millenium regeneration projects. The major employer now is Sellafield just a few miles down the coast, the centre of expertise for reprocessing radioactive waste (including all the materials from all those X rays you have had over the years).
After an enjoyable few days in the very friendly Marina we set sail on the Saturday afternoon to head north to Scotland and seek shelter in Kirkcudbright before Storm Floris blew in from the West.
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