Aug 2nd - Castletown

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Right, so I've found a place that rivals rural Wales for its quietness on a Sunday - there is no one out and nothing is open haha. I mean the heritage places are still open, and some stores in Douglas have very limited hours, but wow is it ever quiet.

I took the bus to Castletown - on the way I noticed we passed the "Old Horse Sanctuary" which I need to google when I'm back at my BnB tonight. I haven't been horseback riding in forever - I'd very much settle for an hour looking at pretty horses and feeding them.

Castletown is quiet enough on a weekday lol, so there was nothing going on today. I wandered along the bay - nothing special, just a lot of Arctic terns and swans which I guess is better than an overflow of seagulls.

They have the Old House of Keys (former Parliament) - the have this interactive experience but I knew I'd be the only one so... not point haha. They also have the Old Grammar School which is essentially a gift shop with a display in it lol. Nevertheless the display was interesting because it had a bunch of old school items from boards, to ink bottles and the "punisher" - eep.

Of course I also went to the castle - Castle Rushen. That was well worth the visit. The staff were very chatty - wanting to give a lot of information but also talk about the Isle of Man, where you're from and what you're doing during your visit. One of the guys, his Mom had moved to Canada before he was born - to Saskatchewan - but she found the winters way too cold so she moved back to the Isle of Man. Don't really blame her lol.

The castle itself was well maintained and restored - every room that was open had a placard with the different uses the room would have had over the years. I liked seeing some of the wallpaper and designs - they're always unique. And they had this fantastically ancient Bible with one of those fancy design pages at the front. It was on the table for you to (carefully!) flip through it. Best part though was the former kitchen where they had a real fire going - nothing beats the crackle of a fire and the smell that goes with it.

They also had these super creepy mannequins around - I laughed so hard, in one of the rooms (it had been a guard's room) when you walk in you start hearing this like moaning and grunting. I'm like wtf..? I walk further in and they have a mannequin sitting on a toilet making the noises. Like. What. Even..?!?! hahahaha.

And that was it. Lazy lazy rainy day.

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