Loaghtan Books

Spotted in Ramsey yesterday (20 August) was this Royal Navy Bomb Disposal vehicle. Seven mortars dating from the Second World War were discovered on 18 August near a footpath in the south of the island running between Cregneash and Calf Sound.  Unsurprisingly the Isle of Man does not have its own bomb disposal squad, so the area was cordoned off while specialist help was obtained from across. Bomb Disposal experts from Faslane destroyed the ordnance in a controlled explosion near The Chasms, just round the corner from Cregneash, either yesterday or earlier today. All this is well and good, but what were the Bomb squad doing in Ramsey, forty miles away at the other end of the island?

Now you see me... There have been developments since the last blog post.  Apparently the stones of the Three Legs had not been removed, but had been painted over to blend with the hillside and so not stand out. Deciding that its disappearance was not acceptable, four friends from Ramsey have trekked up the shoulder of North Barrule and painted the Three Legs white again.  Each had to carry two large and heavy tins of paint - popping to the shops if they ran out wasn't an easy option from Mann's second highest peak. The job took about four hours but when they had finished, the Three Legs was again displayed over the north of the island. How long will they be allowed to stand firm?  Watch this space!

For those of you who don't know, the above is the largest Three Legs of Man in the world. Or it was. With a diameter of 100 feet, the Three Legs perched on the north-west shoulder of North Barrule, the Isle of Man's second highest peak, and was clearly visible from Ramsey and the North.  The design was created out of local rocks by Bryan Callister over twelve weeks in 2019. Unfortunately he didn't have planning permission, or whatever it was he needed.  Many people liked the proud display of the Manx emblem, but some objected and kept objecting to what they saw as illegal man-made items defacing the landscape. On 9 August 2024 the Department of Infrastructure removed the Barrule Three Legs.  They had to close the mountain road to do it.  It seems a poor use of tax payers money. Now the only place to see Mr Callister's creation is in historic photographs.  Or the second edition of our book Three Legs Good .

The Isle of Man's heritage railways have just finished a week of special events to celebrate... well, their existence really.  Nowhere else in the world has public transport still using its Victorian and Edwardian rolling stock. The heritage railways really pushed the boat out (pushed the tram out??) and showed off all sorts of vehicles which the public rarely see.  Above is a back view of car 34 towing trailer 51 and heading north round Bulgham; definitely NOT a normal combination. Car 34, sometimes known as the Flying Banana but officially called Maria, is a very odd vehicle not only to look at, but also in how she works.  She's powered by diesel - the only rail vehicle dedicated to the Manx Electric Railway which is - but is operated using the same sort of electric controller as all the tramcars.  The thinking is that anyone who can drive a tram can drive her without additional training.  She's a works car so can travel along the line when the electricity is switched off

This is the main road between Douglas and Ramsey if you don't go over the mountain.  It's the Manx A2 and runs within a mile or so of the office.  OK, the photograph was taken earlier in the year - not even on the Isle of Man do daffodils flower in July - but the amount of traffic it gets is fairly accurately shown. We recently visited the UK and were horrified by the volume of traffic.  All the time!  We're what the Manx call 'come overs', in other words immigrants, so, moving from the UK, we were not unused to UK traffic.  But surely it's got a lot worse?  It's dangerous.  It's noisy.  It smells.  It wrecks the countryside.  It's unhealthy.  I had an asthma attack when we were there because of all the pollution.  The last time I had an asthma attack was nearly thirty years ago. It's not for me to say what should be happening in a country I no longer live in, but... come on!  How many ordinary people voted for turning England's green and ple

Last weekend was the island's Parish Walk.  It's always held as near to the longest day as possible as the walkers need all the help they can get. Visitors often think that 'Parish Walk' sounds like a pleasant stroll:  it isn't.  Walkers must visit every parish church in the Isle of Man - that's seventeen parishes - along a designated route which is 85 miles long.  They have 24 hours in which to do this, hence the need for as much daylight as possible.  The Manx Parish Walk is considered one of the most gruelling walking challenges in the world. Hundreds start, few finish and, while there is a lot to see at the start with hundreds of people, some in costume, by the time they get near here the field is sparse and very spread out.  This year 1,009 people started, 100 finished. The race begins at 8.00 in the morning at the National Sports Centre, Douglas, so walkers get to us about 12 hours later, or slightly less if they're in the lead.  This year's race w