Island dreams – a weekend away in the Isle of Man COMPLETED 7/15 About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures from Peel Castle! How great to be able to see Ireland! Such a beautiful area!

[Roxie2006]

What beautiful countryside. The history of that wonderful castle is very interesting. Great photos!

[SuperDave]

Such great scenery! Glad you were able to see the coast of Eire... but sadly you're camera couldn't see the same! A lot of the structures of this area and castles would remind you or Ireland!

[chezp]

Sunday 15 June – part ten: who is that woman?

We headed back to the car, and headed out of Peel, getting some photos on the way…



Soon we were back in the beautiful countryside again...



We got some views towards the sea, and Castletown, where we’d started out yesterday. Wow, that feels like a lot longer ago than that.



We saw some more of the TT course again…



Just as we were approaching the airport, look what I found – airport cows!



We parked the rental car up, and headed towards the terminal. I finally got the chance to get some photos of it:



When we went into the terminal, there was no-one to be seen at the rental car counter, so we just dropped the keys in, and headed upstairs. This is where I love small airports. We walked up to security, and literally just walked straight through it – no line whatsoever! If only all air travel could be like this…

When we got to the other side, the waiting area was pretty luxurious. I was particularly impressed with the seating…



We settled down to wait for our flight, and I caught up on the trip report. There was a group of Irish guys, who were doing a lot of drinking, and getting louder and louder, and we made several silent prayers that we wouldn’t be on the same flight as then. Thankfully, someone listened, as they headed for the Belfast flight. The worst thing was they were still drinking as the calls came through for them to board. We honestly heard the final call go out, then they all headed off. People like that really annoy me, as it’s not fair to the airlines to leave it that late, not unless there’s an emergency. Just sitting there drinking, and leaving it all until the last minute.

It was all going fine, and about half an hour before we were due to leave, we heard the call for special needs passengers for our flight to go to gate 1, which is where we were sitting. Ok, good so we’re in the right place then. We figured it wouldn’t be long before we were called…

At around this time, Mark spotted an Easyjet plane landing, and said it could be ours. I figured there was no way it could be, because they wouldn’t have already called down those passengers surely, because they’d know there would still be quite a wait for them. Mark was spot on, as we found out about 15 minutes later, when they finally told us what we’d all worked out – our flight was late, and had only just arrived. I don’t think anyone sitting there was impressed at all, but worse was to come.

A few minutes later, there was no announcement, but suddenly our flight was showing up at gate 4, so we trekked over there, followed by most of our flight.

Not long after we got there, the woman made some announcement, but no-one could hear what it was. We asked, and we didn’t get an answer, so we ended up showing our boarding passes, only to be told it was speedy boarding first. Fine, could you have told us that when we asked? By now, everyone was lined up, as no-one wanted to take a seat, having only just been moved over here, and we were late as well.

Finally, everyone was allowed to board, then the woman decided to collar myself and another girl, and tell us to put one bag inside the other. I don’t have a problem with that, as it’s the company’s policy, provided you apply it to everyone. What made me mad was she’d just let a woman with a child go through with two huge bags. Even worse, we saw a lot of other passengers with two bags. Not acceptable, and rather stupidly, Easyjet sent me a customer survey, so I made my views on the whole thing very clear.

We headed out to the plane, and it was painful loading people. I don’t think anyone was doing anything to help the situation. They just seemed resigned to the fact we were late, and that was fine. Had I seen some action to try and move things along, I’d have been a bit more impressed…

Finally, we took off around 6:30pm, about half an hour late. It wasn’t the end of the world, but sadly like so many of these things, it was how the airline handled the whole thing – badly from start to finish. They really could’ve done things so much better.

I got a few final shots as we left the Isle of Man, and from here, the scenery looked just as stunning as it did at ground level. It really is a beautiful place.



We both got something to drink on the flight back (non-alcoholic) and a macaroon each. Soon the pilot told us we’d be starting our descent and we should be on the ground at Gatwick by 7:30pm, making up some time.

Well, we circled for some time above the clouds, and we assumed we were right above Gatwick. When we came under the clouds, we flew for about another 10 minutes, with London in the distance, so we knew we were approaching from the west. Goodness knows where we were circling. It was certainly a damp and drab day, very different from what we’d just left behind…



We finally came into land, and taxied along.



As we drew up to our gate, I saw two buses pull up alongside us, and my heart just sank. That could only mean one thing, and sure enough, it did. Again, there was a clear lack of communication here from the crew. All they had to do was say that we’d be heading to the terminal by buses, but they didn’t say a word. We headed off through the walkway, and then down stairs to the waiting buses. Worse was to come. We were on the first bus that was packed by the time the second half of passengers were coming off the plane. There were even a couple of people who pushed their way on when there really wasn’t any space but we didn’t go anywhere. Why? Because our bus driver was chatting away to the other bus driver. Finally, once every single person was loaded, we pulled away… painful!

At least we had something to entertain ourselves with. I’d been trying not to stare at a woman on our bus, as I was sure I knew her from somewhere. I was thinking famous actress, but I couldn’t place her anymore than that… then Mark whispered to me “I know her from somewhere” and I knew I was right. It was to puzzle us for some time…

We headed over to the terminal, stopping to let this guy go first… I think you win, you’re definitely bigger than us!



When we got there, the reason why we had to take the bus was clear. We’d come in at gate 100 and something, and all UK flights come and go through the gates at 55, because they’re the only ones with no customs or immigration controls.

I called our valet parking company, who asked the standard questions: 1) have you collected your luggage? “no luggage to collect” and 2) have you cleared customs? “no customs to clear on a UK flight”. They said they’d be there in five minutes, and with a quick restroom break, we walked straight out into the terminal, and headed off to where we were due to meet them, all the time both agonising about who the heck that woman could be.

We only had a couple of minutes to wait for the car, during which time I desperately tried Googling all sorts of things, but still no joy. All the way home, we were discussing it, trying to decide if she’d been in a movie or TV. I was so frustrated, as I knew I should know who she was, but my mind just couldn’t decipher it.

When I got home, I tried a few more Google searches. No joy. I was sure she’d been in a period drama, as I remembered her appearing with her face covered up. A couple more Google searches. No joy…. Then….





…. Finally I came up with something! It was Laura Haddock, who’s appeared in quite a few movies, but we know her from Da Vinci’s Demons. I was so relieved I’d finally worked it out, and now I knew who our celeb sighting was!

So with that, this trip report comes to an end. I hope it’s not our first and last visit to the Isle of Man. As you’ve probably gathered, we both fell in love with the place and want to go back. Obviously, the good weather helped, but there is so much to see and do there, much more than even we could cram into two days. One day, we’ll be back… hopefully.

The weather today was warm and sunny with temperatures in the mid 60s.
The best thing today was visiting the Laxey Wheel.
The worst thing today was how ill I felt this morning.
Today we tried visiting Peel Castle
And the result was it’s a beautiful place with lots to see and some lovely views of the town.
The most magical moment today was seeing the Laxey Wheel.

[ccmom]

Really a very beautiful place, I can't get over the colors. Thanks for taking me along!

[lauriep]

Beautiful trip. Definitely a place to return to. I've never seen Laura Haddock in anything, but looked her up. Apparently she lives in Onchan, so maybe you'll see her again when you return to the island!

[Jambo]

Beautiful trip. Loved the photos and learning about an unfamiliar place. Sorry it ended with such poor airline service. Thanks for taking us along.

[xwewhisper]

You really made the most of those two days! Thanks so much for sharing your trip and so many beautiful pictures with us

[chezp]

Originally Posted by lauriep

Beautiful trip. Definitely a place to return to. I've never seen Laura Haddock in anything, but looked her up. Apparently she lives in Onchan, so maybe you'll see her again when you return to the island!

Maybe...

[Roxie2006]

Thank You for sharing such an awesome journey. Everything was very beautiful and the history was very interesting. Enjoyed all of the dining photos and all the description of each meal.

[Pris]

It is a gorgeous place to visit. So glad you got to take us along and that you got to meet up with your friend.

[KMB733]

Thankfully those Irish guys were not on the flight with you. Glad you made it home safe. You certainly made the most of the two short days you were on the island!

[jenseib]

Another wonderful trip!
That island is just beautiful!
We had some communication issues with our flight home from Orlando in April. 2 flights set to depart at the same gate 5 minutes apart...yet the girls at the desk insisted that was what it was.....Nope, we had to move and our flight was late.

[manticorjenn]

Thank you for taking us to another beautiful place!! I have shown all of your wonderful pictures to my boyfriend in the hopes that he will some day want to discover more of his heritage. Who knows, I may be able to convince him some day that jumping the pond would be worth it.

[Cam22]

The scenery on Isle of Mann is simply stunning. What a hassle all around with EasyJet. Boo! so much for sharing this trip with us as I've always been curious about the Isle of Mann.