Island dreams – a weekend away in the Isle of Man COMPLETED 7/15 - Page 12 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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MMMm Breakfast looks yummy, My tummy just did a growl!
Likewise! Oh, that smoked salmon will do me in!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Sunday 15 June – part two: heading up the Laxey Wheel!
We found our way to the car park for the Laxey Wheel, although all I can say is thank goodness no-one was coming the other way as we entered and exited, as the entrance was very tight. For once, we had car parking right on top of the attraction, while those on coaches had quite a walk to get there.
This really is a beautiful structure, and we had a stunning day for photos…
The Lady Isabella or the Great Laxey Wheel, to give it its two official titles, was named after the wife of the Governor of the day when it was opened in 1854. The wheel is the largest surviving waterwheel in Europe and it was built to pump water from the depths of the Laxey mines nearby, as the Isle of Man does not have a supply of coal, but has plenty of water. Today, the wheel still operates, but it no longer pumps water. To give you an idea of scale, the diameter of the wheel is 72 feet, and it’s six feet wide.
We could either go left for the wheel, or go right for the mine. Well, as a coach tour group had just turned up, we decided to do the wheel first before it got busy. Honestly, we needn’t have worried. They were still standing there, getting a talk from their guide once we’d finished with the wheel…
We headed up to the first level…
From here you can then go up further, first to this level….
The walk up here was really easy, so it does lull you a bit into a false sense of security. When we were ready to head up to the top, we got a bit of a shock, as it was double the distance up again, and you had an obstacle to get through as well…
The view from up here was really something.
Mark didn’t feel well up here. He wasn’t sure what it was, as he’s never had an issue with heights before…
I must admit when I saw this though, I started to feel a bit motion sick, so I just got a couple of quick photos, as I didn’t want to make myself ill.
Once we were done there, we made our way back down, getting a few photos on the way…
This is 1 BIG WHEEL!!!! That amazes me to hear stories when Imagineers back in the day came up with a concept to make life easier for them!!! The scenery was very beautiful up there. I think I would have felt a little motion sickness here too. The Wheel is tall, it looks like it is up in the clouds.
This is 1 BIG WHEEL!!!! That amazes me to hear stories when Imagineers back in the day came up with a concept to make life easier for them!!! The scenery was very beautiful up there. I think I would have felt a little motion sickness here too. The Wheel is tall, it looks like it is up in the clouds.
It's funny you say that, as I didn't think it was that big when I saw it, but I guess maybe it was and that's why we felt a bit queasy at the top...
It's very deceiving. Doesn't look too bad at first glance, but once you're up there, wow! It's massive! One heck of a view though. Love this shot with the bridge:
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Just getting caught up again! Great pictures from Douglas! What a beautiful town and a great tram ride! Congrats on the upgrade to the suite! Your dinner with Carole looked delish! And more great pictures from Laxey!
That was a unique visit and looked well worth it! The view is deceptive as it doesn't look that high up, but is. Can't believe the size of this water wheel. Imagine the quantity of energy it can produce! Great views from up top and especially of the bridge!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
We headed through the wheel – there’s an archway that takes you underneath it, so we could see the viaduct a bit better.
We made our way along the viaduct, getting some more photos as we did…
I was particularly impressed with my zoom when it captured this:
I’ve seen managed to zoom in on it even further, and establish it was an Emirates plane.
We made our way towards the mine, finding this beautiful waterfall as we did.
We donned our hard hats, and headed inside. You literally only go maybe 20 or 30 metres inside, it’s just to give you an idea of what it would’ve been like. At the height of the mining here, more than 800 men would descend over 2,200 feet into the mine – a journey that could take over an hour! Work was done completely by candlelight, and it must’ve been appalling working conditions in here.
When we came back out, the sky was really clouding over, and it wasn’t quite as picture perfect as it had been earlier.
I found this cute guy on the way, but couldn’t capture a decent shot of him. He was a cross between a robin and something else.
We made our way slowly back to the car. From here, we headed down to Laxey village itself, as Mark thought it looked picturesque. The problem was to reach it you had to go down lanes only wide enough for one car and at quite an angle. Although we had an automatic car, let’s just say it wasn’t a good automatic, and we bunny hopped our way down it. By the time we got to the bottom, I was feeling lousy, and when we got out of the car, I could barely put one foot in front of the other, I felt so motion sick.
I somehow managed to make it over to the wall by the beach, and sat down for a beach, and felt well enough to take a few photos.
Eventually, we wandered through the harbour, and up to the lighthouse, although I was still moving very gingerly, and lagging behind Mark.
When I got to the lighthouse, Mark asked if I could see the fish below, but when I looked down, and saw the moving water, I started to feel ill again, so I decided that wasn’t a good plan.
He took the opportunity to give his dad a call and wish him Happy Father’s Day, which threw him, as apparently Mark’s number came up as being in a foreign country. Well I guess we are… sort of!
As we sat there in the sun, I did start to feel a bit better, and eventually we made it back to the car. Mark took it very easily as we headed out of Laxey, and I only took a couple of shots, as I didn’t want to make myself feel worse…
Next: this won’t be on the “to do” list next time…
All of these photos are just stunning! Another beautiful waterfront area and beach. Just lovely!
Not so great on how you were feeling though. That can just ruin a good couple of hours.
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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Oh, that smoked salmon will do me in! 
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For once, we had car parking right on top of the attraction, while those on coaches had quite a walk to get there. 
Today, the wheel still operates, but it no longer pumps water. To give you an idea of scale, the diameter of the wheel is 72 feet, and it’s six feet wide. 
That amazes me to hear stories when Imagineers back in the day came up with a concept to make life easier for them!!! The scenery was very beautiful up there. I think I would have felt a little motion sickness here too
. The Wheel is tall, it looks like it is up in the clouds
And more great pictures from Laxey! 
But the view from up there was amazing. 
Work was done completely by candlelight, and it must’ve been appalling working conditions in here. 
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