Ramsey and the North, through my eyes.

 Of course, returning to the Isle of Man meant returning to my home town as well. Ramsey lies on the TT course, and like the capital Douglas, it is an important harbour town for the island, with freight coming and going every day through the busy port with its famous swing bridge. Built in 1892 the bridge swings to allow shipping and pleasure craft to enter and leave the upper harbour area. When closed, road traffic and pedestrians can use it to take a short cut to the Northern promenade of the town. The rising sea levels and hotter summers have become an issue in recent years, but she still looks beautiful.

My dad keeps his boat in that very same harbour. He was away sailing when we arrived; both he and my son Jiffy tend to avoid the TT races and the crowds they bring, preferring instead to slip away by sea when the island gets busy.

It was good to be back and revisit the town. It felt very small after twelve years in New Zealand — something I hadn’t really noticed while wandering around Douglas. Many of the shops along the small main street were not just closed, but gone entirely, with buildings demolished and empty spaces where they once stood. Though some had received a face lift. 

Some things, though, don’t change. We took more than one walk along the North Promenade 

and around the lake in the park — familiar paths that still feel like Ramsey at its heart.

Someone had also been busy with a paintbrush in recent years, adding new artworks around the town. Not as grand as the painted silos you might find in Australia, but still a lovely surprise to come across while walking.

I'll talk more about these lovely art works in another post. They deserve a place of their own.

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Another place I was keen to revisit was the Point of Ayre — the most northerly point of the island. I spent many childhood summers off the island, sailing with dad up through the Scottish islands, this was a familiar sight and told me I was nearly home.

The tall lighthouse there once stood right at the water’s edge, but the island is still growing, and the “Winkie” light was later built to reflect that change. 

Poo thing could do with a coat of paint. Even now, the land continues to extend, and Winkie is no longer quite as close to the sea as it once was.

Both lights still shine out at night, guiding shipping safely around the island, though modern technology now means there is less need for additional lights than there once was.

Something that is no longer in use, but still very much part of the landscape at the Ayres, is the foghorn. I can still remember it from my childhood — When fog surrounded the island and the lighthouses couldn't be seen the foghorn boomed out its warning across the water and across much of the north of the island.

It was good to revisit the Ayres, even if we were nearly blown away by the strong winds, that no photo can capture. 

Those winds became a bit of a theme. 

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One lovely surprise while visiting Ramsey was discovering an old friend.

A Little history.

Massimo came from Italy to the island to work for a summer, like many do — and, like quite a few, he ended up staying. I first met him in his first summer on the island, when I was about 18. He was working as a waiter in one of the hotels in Ramsey. He would appear here and there over the years; we were never close friends, more acquaintances who crossed paths from time to time.

A few years before Tony and I left the island, Massimo reappeared, this time working in a small restaurant quite close to our home, Mamma Mia. It was a lovely little Italian place, and of course we became regulars. We learned that Mas and some of his colleagues had been on loan from another restaurant in Laxey, helping to set up the new venture and get it running smoothly.

When Mas eventually returned to his role in Laxey, at La Mona Lisa, we followed — finding yet another Italian restaurant with familiar faces and good food.

Back to present day. One evening while wandering around Ramsey and wondering where to eat before meeting friends, we noticed a new-to-us Italian restaurant. Ravioli House. We stopped to look at the menu in the window, and Tony happened to glance up at the name above the door.

Massimo Di Marco.

There can only be one… surely.

We went in, and were greeted with smiles and a welcome like old friends. Mas had finally achieved his dream of owning his own place.

The restaurant serves a mix of traditional Manx dishes alongside classic Italian food. And on one occasion, when Tony mentioned a dish that wasn’t on the menu, Mas simply asked his chef to make it specially — Pollo Milanese.

I opted for a Manx favourite instead: queenies and bacon in a garlic sauce served with a crusty roll to soak up that beautiful buttery sauce..

Those Queen Scallops were probably caught by my boy, Jiffy Jonathan. 

We returned to visit Mas and eat in his restaurant two more times during our stay. 

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Of course, there is much more to Ramsey than I’ve written here.

I could have taken a walk up to Albert Tower, built on the spot above the town where Prince Albert once stood during the visit to “Royal Ramsey” in 1847. I'm unsure if Queen Victoria joined him on the walk through Elfin glen and the woods. It's a steep climb in places. 

The Iron or Queen’s Pier stretches out into Ramsey Bay as if trying to reach Cumbria in England. Construction began in 1882 and it opened in 1886. Sadly, it was left to decline over time and had become quite dilapidated by the time I left the island, eventually being closed to the public. It is now, however, undergoing restoration, which is wonderful to see. I didn’t manage to visit or take photos on this trip, but I do follow its progress on Facebook. As a child, I remember walking along it and riding the little train that ran to and from the very end.

Ramsey also has a small museum, quietly reflecting its rural past and way of life.

Mooragh Park was once part of a very wet river delta, later drained by the Victorians to create the park we know today. It now offers beautiful walks around the lake, a children’s play area, and boating in the summer months — a space that has clearly grown and adapted over time, while still remaining at the heart of the town.

Ramsey felt smaller than I remembered after twelve years away, and yet in other ways it felt unchanged — still holding onto its familiar rhythms, its harbour life, and the same paths along the North Prom and around the lake.

There is something quietly grounding about returning to a place like that. You don’t step back into exactly the same town you left, but you do find pieces of it still waiting for you — in the streets, in the views, and sometimes in the most unexpected of encounters.

Time to leave Ramsey behind and move on to another part of the island....

Douglas through my eyes.

 Although it was supposedly late spring early summer when we arrived on the island, the weather was very much a typical Manx mix — everything from beautiful sunshine 

to thick fog 

and torrential rain arriving in no particular order. 

Oh and just plain grey overcast days too. 

I made the best of it, of course, and got out for walks whenever I could.

I lived most of my life in Ramsey in the north, 

but during this visit we stayed with my brother and his wife in Douglas, the capital. I know Ramsey far better, so it was rather lovely — and slightly strange — to rediscover Douglas after more than 12 years away.

One of my favourite places to walk was Douglas Promenade. 

I made a point of walking there several times during our stay; it’s a wonderful stretch for wandering, with the sea always doing something different every time you look at it.

On one of those walks, I came across a new-to-me sculpture. Did you know the Bee Gees were born on the Isle of Man? 

This sculpture was installed after I left the island, but I knew I would come across it.

A very familiar sight, though, was the Tower of Refuge sitting out on Conister Rock.

You can read more about that little tower and its history here. 

There are so many other memories along the promenade too: the horse drawn trams, 

I always loved to see the horses pulling their load along the prom. Don't worry, they are the most spoiled rotten horses that ever lived. They are only allowed to make so many pulls a day, then back to the stables before being walked up to their paddock to rest. They retire to the Home of Rest for old horses where the spoiling continues. Such beautiful and lucky animals. 

Other familiar sights include the Jubilee Clock which was installed to celebrate Queen Victorias Golden Jubilee.

The sunken gardens. 

In the island’s heyday as a tourist destination, these gardens would have been full of visitors enjoying a break from the cool easterly breezes. 

They’re still there today, though used more quietly. With rising sea levels and wilder storms, they really do become sunken gardens in winter when flooding takes over 

it was good to see them restored again for the summer months.

One walk I was determined to do was through Summerhill Glen. 

It begins on the promenade and winds its way uphill towards the TT course. I used to love walking it — either up or down — the paths twisting this way and that through trees and greenery.

The paths always had pretty lights strung along them, and while I noticed there is more lighting now, I’m not entirely sure I agree with all of it. I think I still prefer the simpler, softer lighting from before.

 Visiting in the daytime, though, I enjoyed the wildflowers and trees and the sound of water tumbling down the streams just as much as I remembered. There were some new sculptures too. It was nice to revisit this beautiful spot.

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One thing that really caught my eye one day while walking was a sign I hadn’t noticed before… 

well, I never knew!

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Of course, there is much more to Douglas than a single blogpost can capture. It remains one of the island’s two main arrival points, where ferries bring passengers in from England and Ireland, as they always have. Back in the day there were also regular sailings Wales and Scotland, and several other ports around the Irish Sea. Sitting right in the heart of the British Isles, the island has long been well connected, even if those links have changed over time.

There is a lovely museum in Douglas that tells the story of the island’s past, and it is well worth a visit for anyone wanting to understand a little more of its history and character.

Strand Street, the main shopping area, hasn’t changed all that much. Many of the same shops are still there twelve years on, alongside a few newer additions, but it still feels familiar.

The electric tram still leaves from the promenade and heads north towards Laxey and beyond, a reminder of the island’s enduring traditions of transport and tourism. The steam railway, departing from the south of town, and certainly deserves a mention in its own right another time.

Coming back after so many years away, I was struck by how much felt unchanged, and yet how much time has quietly moved on all the same. It was a pleasure to rediscover Douglas — familiar in feeling, but different in detail — and to see it again through new eyes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing Douglas through mine.

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