Isle of Man Day 4 - Laxey Reprise

Pictures from our final morning in Laxey:

Isle of Man Day 3 - Mt. Snaefell and the Mann Cat Sanctuary

Even though we had already achieved our purpose in coming to the Isle of Man, we agreed to visit the Mann Cat Sanctuary. Since the sanctuary visiting hours were in the afternoon, we began our day with a stroll through town. Here is part of the Laxey harbour at high tide:

We stayed in the top floor of the white house on the hill in the far background:

 The small Laxey wheel from an old lead mine:

We then decided to take the electric tram from Laxey to the top of Mt. Snafu Snaefell, the island's highest point. They say the view is tremendous on a clear day:

From there we retraced our steps to Douglas on the electric tram:

This time we opted to walk along the promenade:

 

 After a rather rushed lunch at the Douglas train station, we finally made it on board:

 Any resemblance to Thomas the Tank Engine is not coincidental:

We got off at Santon, two stops down the line, and then walked to the Mann Cat Sanctuary, where we discovered that one kitten is not too many:

 

 

Isle of Man Day 2 - Cregneash

Our destination on day 2 was the old Manx village of Cregneash south of Port Erin, where there was reputed to be a Manx cat.

I thought it would be nice to combine this outing with a unique Manx travel experience, taking advantage of our 3-day "Go Explore" travel pass.

This turned out to be a mistake. The first electric tram from Laxey to Douglas (with stunning views of the Isle of Man coast) left at 10:15:

The horse tram around the Douglas harbour took longer than I expected.

 Despite the smiles, there is no need to do that again!

By the time we made it to the Douglas Steam Train station, we had missed our train and had to wait for a bus. We finally arrived in Cregneash two hours before the site closed and two hours after our usual lunch time. But our mission was doubly successful:

Delicious lamb soup hit the spot, and we had enough of a taste of the scenery to decide that if we ever return to the Isle of Man, a more extended visit to Cregneash will be high on our list of things to do.

 Not on my list of things to do again is attempting to wade in the Irish Sea:

Laxey Beach

Isle of Man Day 1 - Laxey

We arrived at our Airbnb in Laxey around 3 pm last Friday, which gave us plenty of time to look around. Laxey beach when the tide is out:

 The photographs don't do justice to the "moving picture" experience of actually being there:

 After a nice supper at the Mona Lisa restaurant, we took a stroll along one of the harbour piers:

 The harbour entrance at low tide:

 The view from the top (taken on day 4):