Island dreams – a weekend away in the Isle of Man COMPLETED 7/15 - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I am a late comer....Very interesting stuff about the Isle of Man. I was so happy to learn the origin of Manx cats. It is a beautiful island. You two are going to need a day off to rest up after such a busy weekend - seeing so many things in just two days. Can't wait to see the rest.
I can actually see why you were initially reminded of Hawaii. Great little town.
Not sure I understand the disk parking? Is there someplace you pay for the disk?
Loving Castletown! I wasn't expecting palm trees though.
Nope - me neither. When we met my friend Carole that night, she did say that they very rarely get snow, and they seem to have a mild climate, so maybe that explains it?
I am a late comer....Very interesting stuff about the Isle of Man. I was so happy to learn the origin of Manx cats. It is a beautiful island. You two are going to need a day off to rest up after such a busy weekend - seeing so many things in just two days. Can't wait to see the rest.
You are so right about that - we did pack a lot in, but I'm glad we did, as there was a lot to see and it was beautiful weather, so we wanted to make the best of it.
I can actually see why you were initially reminded of Hawaii. Great little town.
Not sure I understand the disk parking? Is there someplace you pay for the disk?
I assume, if you do pay, it's the rental car company that pays, as it was just in the car. Actually, your question got me thinking, so I did a search and, from what I can see on the Isle of Man government website, I don't think there is a charge, which is really good...
Saturday 14 June – part four: “who goes there?”…. “me!”
We walked over to the castle, finding the cutest police station ever!
We headed inside Castle Rushen, and the first thing that struck me was how high the walls were! They are 25 feet tall and seven feet thick!
We watched a bit of the introductory video in a room that was home to these amazing models…
… then we went and showed our gold National Trust life membership cards, and headed inside. We were told to go in through the main entrance, and underneath the portcullis, which was quite something…
As you approached, you’d step on a certain spot and suddenly you’d be asked “who goes there?” Mark replied “me” and swears he got a laugh back in return, although when he tried to demonstrate it for me, it didn’t work…
We found ourselves in the courtyard.
Then we visited Bishop Wilson’s prison. He was one of the island’s greatest bishops and strengthened the church in the 18th century. At that time, the church had its own laws and enforced its own penalties, completely independent of the states. This led to conflict, as I’m sure you can imagine. He was imprisoned in the cell for two months in 1722 for contempt of course, following a dispute with the governor of the time. Eventually, after an appeal, he was released to a large cheering crowd.
.. before heading inside to learn a bit more about the history of the castle.
They certainly added to this thing over the years! Before we go any further, I’ll add to the history you’ve already seen about this. Once the Viking kings had had their day, the ownership of this place passed into the Kings of Mann, who were the then rulers of the island. They were the ones who went on to develop and expand the castle, as you’ve seen here. Then the castle changed hands repeatedly between the English and the Scottish, with the English eventually prevailing. King Henry VI gave the tile of King of Mann to Sir John Stanley in 1405, and so began the castle’s time in the family, which lasted until 1738, although the title changed during that time to the Lord of Mann, a title still held today by the reigning British monarch.
In the 17th century, during the English Civil War (yes, we had one too ), James Stanley sided with the Royalists. He decided to sail to England to fight against the Parliamentary forces, and after several successful battles, he was finally captured and executed. Now when he left, James had left his wife, Countess Charlotte in charge of the Isle of Man. She held Castle Rushen until she suffered a mutiny of her own garrison two months later, and was forced to surrender to Parliamentary forces.
The castle, as you’ll already be aware, was used as a prison, but that stopped at the end of the 19th century, when the then Lieutenant Governor, Lord Raglan, after a new prison was created in Douglas. In 1988, it was transferred to Manx National Heritage, who still run it to this day. It was opened to the public in 1991, and became the first of their sites to open to the public.
Then you watched a video, giving you some more history of the place, before heading upstairs to start climbing the small spiral staircase. Now just to give you some background, Mark’s back had been playing him up since the start of the trip, after he bent down to pick something off the floor. I know, it’s always the stupidest things, isn’t it? Of course, those spiral staircases weren’t going to do much for his back…
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I wasn't expecting palm trees though. 
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They are 25 feet tall and seven feet thick! 
Before we go any further, I’ll add to the history you’ve already seen about this. Once the Viking kings had had their day, the ownership of this place passed into the Kings of Mann, who were the then rulers of the island. They were the ones who went on to develop and expand the castle, as you’ve seen here. Then the castle changed hands repeatedly between the English and the Scottish, with the English eventually prevailing. King Henry VI gave the tile of King of Mann to Sir John Stanley in 1405, and so began the castle’s time in the family, which lasted until 1738, although the title changed during that time to the Lord of Mann, a title still held today by the reigning British monarch. 
), James Stanley sided with the Royalists. He decided to sail to England to fight against the Parliamentary forces, and after several successful battles, he was finally captured and executed. Now when he left, James had left his wife, Countess Charlotte in charge of the Isle of Man. She held Castle Rushen until she suffered a mutiny of her own garrison two months later, and was forced to surrender to Parliamentary forces. 
Of course, those spiral staircases weren’t going to do much for his back… 
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