Train ride to Ramsey

Getting about in the Isle of Man can be quite an experience as they have steam trains, horse drawn carriges and an old electric train system. Just reading the timetable can be a challenge in itself, with four timetables for the steam train and six timetables for the electric. If I was back as a teacher, I would use the information as an exercise, because different days have different tables. On the day we decided to travel to Ramsey from Douglas, timetables C and E were in operation, while if we had decided to travel the day before, it would of been just timetable C, and just timetable D the day after. 

We caught the horse drawn coach, to the start of the Electric railway and we just made it in time, to catch the train all the way to Ramsey. We were in first class on the way there which meant we had windows and plush seats. The carriges are from a time gone by and they are fantastic because of it, wood paneling and a conductor, to point out all the sights. We told him that we were particularly interested in Moorings, so he pointed out mooring in Laxey bay near the pier and the south east corner, even seeing them at speed allowed us to see exaclly where they were which is all useful information.

Coffee in the Isle of Man

Once we got into Ramsey, we found a coffee shop, where the coffee shape that they add is that of the Manx legs, I thought it was brialliant and a nice touch. In the town we found a statue of some kings playing chess, as well as a shop called Bilbo's which I thought was ironic as on the train ride, Beverley could imagine the place being inhabited by hobits.

We payed particular attention to the harbour and its always good to see places and compare them with our pilot guide, it gives you a better understanding of the writting which puts you in a much better position for when you do not have the luxury.

In the pilot guide it mentioned mooring, but with the help of the local expert at the RNLI station, he showed us exactly where they were as we would be mooring to them in the dark and the more information we had on the moorings the better.

On the way back we were in third class, which meant wooden seats and no sides on the carriges. We missed the last horse ride back so we had to walk but we got back in time for our meal aboard Creo

For more information on trains in the Isle of Man visit www.rail.im

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