Isle of Man Attractions

The Isle of Man, some 227sq.miles/588sq.km in area, is situated in the Irish Sea 31 miles/50km from England, about the same distance from Northern Ireland and 16 miles/26km from Scotland. It is a very popular holiday island, with a coastline of more than 100 miles/161km made up partly of sandy bathing beaches and partly of steep cliffs. Most of the island, which is some 33 miles/53km long and 12 miles/19km wide, is undulating and hilly, with a varied scenic pattern of moorland and heath, the dark green of juniper and reedbeds, brown Loghtan sheep grazing on gentle uplands, narrow glens with waterfalls, and areas of woodland. The climate is mild, with the temperature in winter rarely falling below 5+C/41+F.

Crown Dependency

The Isle of Man does not belong to the United Kingdom, but is a crown dependency. The island is autonomous and has its own parliament, the Court of Tynwald, which lays claim to being the oldest in the world. In addition it has a range of privileges which have been handed down: its own special system of land tenure, its own constitution (since 1866), as well as the right to levy its own taxes and customs duties under the direct protection of the English crown. The Queen is Sovereign and Lord Proprietor of Man and is represented by a Lieutenant Governor.

The island's very lenient taxation system, with its low charges and high interest rates, has in the last few years caused large numbers of banks, foreign exchange dealers and investors to settle here. This "wind of change" through the expanding financial sector is most noticeable in the wave of new building which has taken place in the island's capital, Douglas. About a third of the population now lives here. The island has a total population of about 73,000, although in the summer, when the famous TT (Tourist Trophy) motor-race takes place and the colorful assembly of the island's government is held on the Tynwald at St John, the population is swollen by almost half a million holidaymakers.

Access

There are regular ferry connections from Douglas to Liverpool and Heysham. The island has its own airline, Manx Air, and provides flight connections from Ronaldsway Airport in the south-east of the island with most of the larger English, Scottish and Irish airports.

History

The Isle of Man has a very interesting past. The oldest inhabitants were a hunting and fishing people of the Mesolithic period, ca. 2000 B.C. Long before the Romans came to Britain the island was occupied by Celts, to whom the Iron Age forts and the large circular timber-framed huts found here are attributed. The Isle of Man was neveroccupied by the Romans. St Patrick (d. 463) is believed to have converted the people to Christianity long before St Augustine was sent to Canterbury. Celtic Christianity flourished until the arrival of the Vikings, whose raids began at the end of the 8th C. All these various periods have left their traces on the island, which has much of interest to offer the archaeologically inclined visitor. The island's parliament, the Tynwald, is thought to have its origins in the law-making assemblies established in 979 by the Vikings, who occupied the Kingdom of Man from the 9th to the middle of the 13th C., when its was transferred to Scottish ownership. In 1765 it was acquired by the English crown.

Manx

The islanders' fierce sense of independence can be seen in the fact that they think of themselves as Manx, rather than English. The old Manx tongue, a member of the Celtic family of languages, has for all practical purposes died out, being preserved only in family and place names. The tailless Manx cat, on the other hand, continues to flourish; originally the result of a mutation, it is now bred to preserve the species.