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Our hotel is up the little street
Edelweiss, the white and black building rising over the tee shirt shop.
From here, we headed down the promenade to the Trike Tour office. We had signed up for an Isle of Man Trike Tour. We chose the East Coast tour which went north, up the east coast to Ramsey, with a couple stops, then returned via part of the TT course.
The Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) is the ultimate 'must see it' event for motorsport fans across the globe. Every May and June the Isle, a tiny country between England and Ireland, turns into motorcycle nirvana as the world's greatest road racers gather to test themselves against the incredible 37.73 mile 'Mountain Course' (https://www.iomtt.com/tt-info). We were NOT there to see the race but were interested in it because it's such a big event for the island.
There were several cycle enthusiasts staying at our hotel earlier in the week, just come over to ride the course before the race. During our earlier visit, in 2017, we saw the same thing--folks coming over on the ferry with their motorcycles to ride the course. Good business for the island--they stay several days, and take home great memories (and lots of TT souvenirs).
Stops along the way north from Douglas to Ramsey, through Laxey:
--Overlook dedicated to Sir Henry
Charles Kerruish, OBE LLD CP MLC, was a Manx politician who was the first President of Tynwald and, as Speaker of the House of Keys from 1962 to 1990, was the longest-serving Speaker in any Parliament in the Commonwealth. The overlook was both 'hidden' and lovely.
--Kirk Maughold Church is one of the oldest churches on the Island and it is a site of vast importance for the Island's history, heritage and culture with elements dating back to the sixth century. The church was founded approximately 447 A.D. by Celtic St Maughold who was expelled from Ireland by St Patrick and landed on the coast here towards the end of the 5th century, bringing Christianity with him. This site on the headland became one of the most important sites of the early period and was regularly frequented by pilgrims across the ages, before being commissioned as a church in the 12th century by Viking King Olaf I. There is a lot of Norwegian influence in the area, per our guide--names that blur the Norwegian and Manx languages. The Church also contains a large number of historically important Celtic crosses from the early Christian period (6th-13th Century) and the ruins
of three keills, suggesting that it was the site of an early Christian monastery and the main pre-Norse religious community on the Isle of Man.
Also in the church itself, stands the Pillar Cross which is the only remaining parish cross on the island and depicts the oldest stone-carved example of the three legs of Mann symbol on the Island. It had been in the crosshouse but the weather was getting to it so it was moved inside. The crosshouse in the churchyard contains almost a third of all pre-Norse cross slabs found on the Island. In the churchyard was a World War Two memorial and an original Archibald Knox designed obelisk with Art Nouveau and Celtic designs that was created for British novelist Hall Caine. Sounds like Caine was an incredible egotist. He wanted a separate monument area but somehow figured that his 'fans' would not be able to get to it easily so left funds for a good-sized obelisk. Hitchcock was making one of Caine's first books, The Manxman, into a movie and wanted to make it on the Isle of Man. However, a few days with Caine convinced Mr. Hitchcock that it would be too much
trouble!
Sir Charles Kerruish was active in the congregation and his name is listed in several of the plaques of names of deacons, etc.
We went on north and around in Ramsey before heading down the TT route. When we were still in some urban areas, the curbs were painted black and white -- as they were brick, every other brick was painted white. Out on the road, there were signs at each mileage point with the name of the spot. Also, of course, there were curve signs but I didn't notice many speed limit signs....
All in all, quite an invigorating trip. Great guide, fun day.
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