We took the ferry from Liverpool to The Isle of Man. The ferry across was nice and smooth and the journey took 3 hours. Whilst waiting for our hotel rooms to become available we took a trip around the coast to Laxby. At our check-in time we all settled into the hotel and then had a pizza /pasta meal for dinner. Some of the group opted to walk back. Today had been a hot sunny day!
Another lovely hot and sunny day today! We took a horse drawn Tram to the electric train terminal. Then we went by train to Laxey, then transferred to the Mountain Railway and travelled to the top of the Snaefell mountain. We had lunch and took a visit to the very top and then we returned to Laxey. We visited the famous Laxey Wheel and some went to the very top of the wheel which is now a tourist attraction. In the evening we ordered a take-away meal and settled in to watch the World Cup on television, it was the England game against Columbia.
It is Steam Train day today! We travelled to the station in our minibus and got on the train to Port Erin stopping along the way for a coffee. The Steam Railway is a narrow gauge steam operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin. Some of the views on this line are spectactular. While there we had lunch at Scoops Cafe and took a walk along the seafront. We took the 5pm train back and later had a meal in an Italian restaurant, with some of us opting to walk back to the hotel after their meal.
Today we went on the Manx Electric Railway, this line connects Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey and was built between 1893 and 1899. We travelled towards Ramsey and once there we had lunch at a cafe on the seafront. Then we travelled back on the afternoon train. In the evening we enjoyed a visit to The Terminus Tavern for our evening meal, it was nice being able to sit outside as we have been very lucky with the weather and had another nice day.
We took a trip to Peel on the North side of the Island today by bus. We visited a museum which told us all about the history of the Isle of Man. During the day we stopped for a coffee and then again for lunch followed by a walk to the old castle and then we took the bus back to the hotel. The Peel castle was originally built by the Vikings.
It was our final Steam train day and we travelled the full length of the line to Port Erin. We had lunch there and a stroll and had a walk around the railway museum. We then travelled back to Douglas. We walked to the horse drawn train and took this back. Some of the group went to a car museum with some opting to watch the next football game in the World Cup, England v Sweden in the quarter final.
We had a fairly relaxing day today. Geraint took those who wanted to go to a church service. Some of the rest of the group went for a coffee. Then we all met up and had a walk around Douglas and stopped for lunch. We enjoyed a traditional Sunday roast dinner and then packed ready for tomorrow.
We were up at 7:30 am to get ready for our journey home by Ferry. Some of the group were going on to the Options holiday called "Drive a Train" in the Cotswolds.
One of the trains we saw during our holiday
