An Easter return to the Isle of Man COMPLETED 5/10 About This Page:

[SuperDave]

Some more great photos of Douglas and especially of the arts and crafts centre. Especially the Jurby Mice as I can't believe the detail in those. Amazing, the hard work and craftmanship that went into those!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Some more great photos of Douglas and especially of the arts and crafts centre. Especially the Jurby Mice as I can't believe the detail in those. Amazing, the hard work and craftmanship that went into those!

I know - they were superb.

[chezp]

Sunday 5 April – part seven: above the mist and clouds…

We were making our way over to the western side of the island, and Peel, as we’d really enjoyed it the last time we were there. It’s a lovely place, even if it was still very murky when we got there.



We drove around to Peel Castle…



… and parked up in the jetty just beyond the castle, overlooking the town…


Mark and Dave admire the views…

We made our way back past the harbour…



…. And headed out, making our way south…



We were heading down to Niarbyl Bay, as Carole had told us that it was a beautiful place, and she was certainly right about that.



These photos were taken from literally right at the mouth of the bay, as we’d made our way right down to the shoreline. Carole had tipped us off that there were three cottages down here, so although it looked like a dead end, and it was, there was a wide turning cycle to get back.

Once we’d seen the view from there, we headed back up to the Bay Café, where you got a slightly different perspective…



We started to make our way back to the airport, and we climbed up through the hills, until we were above the mist or cloud, and finally back in sunshine, which made a pleasant change for today.



Of course, eventually we were always bound to head back into the fog, and sure enough, that’s what happened:



Next: we don’t know if they’ll be able to land…

[lauriep]

The coast is beautiful. Nice to get a bit of blue sky for a brief moment. Kind of ominous now, knowing a bit of what's about to happen at the airport...

[disney_duke]

Caught up now.....
The display about the mine was fascinating. We all know that they go deep, but wow when you look at it like that. Crazy.
You're sure getting a great tour around the island with some fantastic views too, despite the weather. Glad they got a close up of the wheel too!

[mommapants]

OMG that little mouse display was so cute and the model of the wheel and mines. Being a miner is not anything I would like to do - no thank you. Lovely countryside

[chezp]

Originally Posted by lauriep

The coast is beautiful. Nice to get a bit of blue sky for a brief moment. Kind of ominous now, knowing a bit of what's about to happen at the airport...

I know... this was the part of the trip report I was not looking forward to posting, as it brings back some very mixed memories.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

Caught up now.....
The display about the mine was fascinating. We all know that they go deep, but wow when you look at it like that. Crazy.

And today you can literally only walk 100 yards or so into the tunnels, that's all that's open to the public. It really makes you think how much else is still there that can't be explored...

You're sure getting a great tour around the island with some fantastic views too, despite the weather. Glad they got a close up of the wheel too!

That's the lovely thing about the Isle of Man, it's so small you can easily travel all around it.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by mommapants

OMG that little mouse display was so cute and the model of the wheel and mines. Being a miner is not anything I would like to do - no thank you.

Nor me...

[Pris]

Originally Posted by lauriep

The coast is beautiful. Nice to get a bit of blue sky for a brief moment. Kind of ominous now, knowing a bit of what's about to happen at the airport...

Exactly what I was thinking!!

[Cam22]

Like Laurie, I was thinking as I read this update that though the coastline was beautiful, you all were about to hit a wall when you flight was canceled.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Cam22

Like Laurie, I was thinking as I read this update that though the coastline was beautiful, you all were about to hit a wall when you flight was canceled.

Yep.... and that bit is coming right up....

[chezp]

Sunday 5 April – part eight: we don’t know if they’ll be able to land…

We made good time back to the airport, and were there about 6:40pm, five minutes before bag drop was due to open. We had no issue, and it was already open, so we dropped the two cases off, and got a wheelchair for Barb and headed upstairs to departures. We sat there for a while, before deciding to go through security. I know I always say this about a small airport, but they are such a pleasure to clear security through. We were literally the only ones there, and we were all through in a couple of minutes.

We headed into the departure lounge, and settled down by gate 1, as we’d been told that’s where the special assistance passengers go from. Unfortunately, we’d found out when we arrived at the airport that our flight had already been delayed. We were due to leave at 8:45pm, getting in at 10:00pm, but now our departure time was back to 9:30pm. Not the news we needed, but then again, I had deliberately booked the flight for tonight, just in case this happened, as it would give us all of tomorrow, Easter Monday, to recover from any late night.



I had a quick browse of the shop, which was pretty useless, and then we all settled down to enjoy either a soft or a hot drink, while I killed the time catching up on my trip report.

I went for a wander after a little while, and found all these amazing trophies, all given out for various feats of flying.



I got some shots of the views outside, before it got too dark…



… and the Flybe flight that was just departing. I guess at least someone’s getting out on time.

I went back to wait, and the flight departure time got pushed back from 9:30pm to 9:45pm, but at least everyone was told to go through to departures, so that was something…

Mark kept commenting about the fog was closing in, and I kept telling him to shut up, as I didn’t need to hear things like that. I will be honest, I didn’t think it was an issue, as planes land and take off in fog all the time, right?

A woman came up to Barb just after 9:00pm to take her down for the plane, and we asked if we could all go with her, and there was no issue with that, so down we went. It was only when we got downstairs, and the woman put us in what I can only call a “holding area” that she told us that we might have some issues. She said the fog was very thick and that the plane was close, but they didn’t know if it would be able to land. She explained it was the pilot’s call, although apparently if it passed a certain limit, that was it, all bets were off, and the plane wouldn’t be landing full stop, even if the pilot wanted to. Ok, it’s not looking promising then…

A couple of minutes later, a guy came down to tell us the bad news – that our plane had just been seen on radar turning around to return to Gatwick. They didn’t know the reason why, but they suspected it was the weather. Oh well…

We immediately asked what happened next, although I had a good idea. As the plane hadn’t landed, we were now EasyJet’s problem, and they would have to put anyone from outside the island up for the night. As there were about 120 passengers on the plane, the idea was that they would put another flight on tomorrow to get us home, although at this point, they had no clue what time it might be.

The woman took us back out into the arrivals area, and I felt so sorry for people waiting for those on the incoming flight that wouldn’t now be landing. She told us to wait at one point, and said that they would either deal with everyone from there or a little further on, so we covered our options, and were at both locations, when the tannoy went out. It told everyone on our flight to go to the EasyJet check-in desks, and we were already standing right there, so at least we were first to be seen.

They took our names and details, but told us that they wouldn’t be able to allocate hotels until they had everyone’s details, as they needed to know how many people they needed to put up for the night. The line was exceptionally long at this point, as you can see….



…. so we settled down to wait for everyone to be seen, and for the arrangements to be sorted out. We sat there, and we sat there, and we sat a bit longer. You get the idea. Now the flight must’ve been cancelled at around 9:20pm, and I reckon they finally got through all the line maybe 40 or 50 minutes later. After that, there was some confusion about what the heck was going on.

We finally heard that our flight was now scheduled for 10:15am tomorrow morning, which was something, but to be honest, all we cared about now was what on earth was happening tonight. We knew that the staff were seeking approval from EasyJet for the hotels and taxis to get people there, as they’d explained to us earlier than once, they’d just have made those arrangements themselves and that would’ve been an end to the matter. Not any longer. Now they had to wait for approval, before they could get anything in place, and this seemed to be the sticking point.

Finally, at around 10:30pm, word came that taxis were on their way, although there was still uncertainty about where we’d be staying. Then we heard that it would be the Empress Hotel along the promenade in Douglas, so we all trooped outside to wait for a taxi. I’m not quite sure how he did it, but Mark ended up second in line, so Dave put Barb just inside the terminal doors in the wheelchair, and I wandered in and out, as it was so cold and damp by now out there.

One taxi turned up, and the group in front headed off, but there was no sign of anything else. We all got excited when we thought we saw a taxi, but it turned out to be an airport vehicle. I half jokingly said to Mark I’d go to use the restrooms, as usually if we’re waiting for a flight, that’s a sure sign that they’ll then call for boarding, although I got back outside, and there was still no sign of a taxi. However, a couple of minutes later, one arrived, and I went back in to get Barb, while the luggage was packed in.

I was in the back seat of the car, and that was not a good idea, as I have terrible car sickness in the back seat of cars. I was hoping that it wouldn’t happen to me, as I haven’t travelled in the back for many, many years now, because of the impact it has on me, but sadly a combination of the fog, and the fast driving made me feel exceptionally sick. I tried closing my eyes for part of the journey, but it didn’t really help.

I was so glad when we finally got back to Douglas, and I stumbled outside into the cold air, which was lovely to breathe in, and helped to make me feel a little better.



However, we still needed to get our rooms, and once I was back in the hotel, I started to feel worse again, as it was warm in here, and I was already feeling sick. I managed to keep the nausea down somehow (I’m not entirely sure). I felt completely and utterly washed out, and just wanted to lie down, but it probably took about five or 10 minutes to be seen at the reception desk, as some of the other passengers were already there and being dealt with. To me, it felt like a lifetime.

Finally, we had our room keys, and headed up to the first floor, where I stumbled my way along to our room, which of course was right at the end of the building – typical! I got a couple of photos of it….



…. and then headed to bed, taking an indigestion tablet to help settle my stomach, which thankfully helped a lot. I tried to go to sleep, but it took me forever, as let’s just say we could then hear the various other passengers arriving into their rooms. They weren’t exactly quiet, shall we say? It hadn’t been a good end to what had been a lovely day.

The weather today was very cloudy, misty and damp, with temperatures in the mid 40s.
The best thing today was taking the Manx Steam Railway.
The worst thing today was our flight home being delayed.
Today we tried going on the Isle of Man Steam Railway
And the result was it was fun, but it would’ve been better, had it not been so foggy.
The most magical moment today was seeing all those beautiful cows look up from feeding to watch us past by on the steam train!

Next: one delay after another…

[chezp]

As you may have noticed, there's a new pre-trip report from me, which means we're about to head out again - boating back on the Boards, so there may or may not be updates to this while we're gone....

[lauriep]

Oh, how completely exhausting! At least the room looks comfortable.