The Isle of Man (Take Two)
Well, we finally made it to the Isle of Man this autumn. After an aborted trip a couple of weeks ago, when the plane turned around mid-flight and landed back in Liverpool due to the weather, we tried again at the weekend. This time we flew from Manchester to visit Anna’s mum, Pat. We drove up on Friday morning, had lunch at the airport, and then had a long wait for the flight.
Yes, there was a delay. Apparently, the plane was there ready to go with the pilot and crew waiting for us, but there was an issue with updating the boards in the airport to tell passengers where to go. I’m not sure how this could be the case, as the boards were updating fine for every other flight—just not ours. How is it even possible that they can’t update the information for just one flight?
Eventually, the details did get updated—without warning. It went from “Delayed, relax and wait for updates” to “FINAL CALL: Go To Gate 2 NOW!”
We boarded, waited for a slot, and took off, landing on the Isle of Man half an hour later. After a long wait to collect our hire car, we finally made it to Pat’s house. We caught up over dinner, then headed to our cottage for a few days to settle in—complete with the usual fruit cake, which I made an immediate start on!
We were there for the weekend and flew home on Monday morning, so we didn’t have much time, but we managed to fit everything in. We took Pat to Currys, B&Q, and Robinsons, and even squeezed in a little shopping trip to M&S. We visited Castletown, went seal-spotting at Derby Haven, and watched some wing foilers too. I kind of wished I’d had windsurfing kit with me—it was a windy, wet weekend—but that would mean taking the boat, which is even more unreliable than the flights at this time of year. In fact, one ferry had issues while we were there: rougher seas than expected made for a very uncomfortable crossing, and several cars were damaged as they were thrown around. Not fun!
Maybe taking the windsurfing kit over just isn’t worth the hassle these days.
Coastal Capers
Anna and I also drove up to Laxey, where we stopped on the beach for a hot chocolate and visited the Woolen Mill. It was chilly, but the café was sheltered from the wind and had fleece blankets to keep us warm.
I managed to run a short section of the coast path from Peel to Glen Mooar in the wind and rain—Anna and Pat met me along the way and waited in the car.
The journey back home was fine, although there was a delay once we were on the plane because the Air Traffic Controllers needed a break. So we sat in the plane for half an hour while they had their coffee! We were soon back in Manchester and ready for the drive home, with a stop at Rhug Estate for a burger and to top up the car.
We’re thinking of changing the times of year that we visit the Isle of Man, as early spring and early autumn don’t seem the best for crossing the Irish Sea. We’d given up travelling by sea for this very reason, but it doesn’t seem as though the flights are any more reliable. Still, I suppose it adds a touch of adventure.
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3 Responses
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[…] might not be a huge distance, but I did at least manage to run along some of the coast path while on the Isle of Man. Last time I was there, I ran the short section from Niarbyl to Peel, so this time I started in […]
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Do you mean that they were waiting for everyone on the flight ?
At least it sounds that you had a good time whist there and you got home safely .
Nope, they just couldn’t update the information about out flight on the information boards so they couldn’t tell anyone which gate to go to!!