Island dreams – a weekend away in the Isle of Man COMPLETED 7/15 - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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A few of your pictures remind me of pictures we took at Dover Castle. But I guess when it comes down to it there isn't much variety among castles - high, thick walls, big doors with lots of hardware....
That was an adorable police station! Seems like they should only be allowed to process petty little crimes like maybe jaywalking there. Anything else wouldn't seem to fit in that cute spot!
A few of your pictures remind me of pictures we took at Dover Castle. But I guess when it comes down to it there isn't much variety among castles - high, thick walls, big doors with lots of hardware....
That's certainly true. At the end of the day, they were all built for the same purpose - to protect the city/country etc. and there are definitely set ways to do that, exactly as you described it...
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That was an adorable police station! Seems like they should only be allowed to process petty little crimes like maybe jaywalking there. Anything else wouldn't seem to fit in that cute spot!
I kind of got the impression that was what happened. We saw a newspaper headline for the Isle of Man Gazette (I think that's right) while we were there, and the top story was two people in court for burglary. I think you guys use a different term for it, but basically stealing from a house. If only we could just have headlines like that!
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Saturday 14 June – part five: this is a photographer’s paradise!
We found ourselves above the main entrance, and these holes are where soldiers would have rained down rocks and stones on anyone attacking the castle.
Then we headed upwards, seeing more rooms…
… and also an exhibition about the history of the castle, with some fascinating prison graffiti…
Mark was fascinated by this:
It was a really interesting exhibition, although some of what we learnt here did echo what we’d already seen in the video earlier.
This bit of the exhibition explains how Castle Rushen has had an impact on Manx life, appearing on the reverse side of the Ł5 note…
From there, I said to Mark I’d climb up to the top of flag tower to save his back, but when I got up there, I knew he’d really want to see it. It was a photographer’s paradise, so I was in heaven snapping away, figuring I’d go down in a minute and let him know he should come up, but I didn’t need to, as he appeared, and we both enjoyed the amazing views.
Putting my super zoom to good use…
In case you’re wondering, the flag is at half-mast because one of their trustees died. We only know as we asked, as it was puzzling us.
Then we headed down for a tour along the walls. Here you got much of the same views, but at a slightly lower level.
There were still displays along the way, this one showcases some of the ammunition they used!
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You were right, the view is just breath taking. I enjoyed the history lesson too!! I am wondering why are there different size cannonballs? I guess it has something to do with distance???
You were right, the view is just breath taking. I enjoyed the history lesson too!! I am wondering why are there different size cannonballs? I guess it has something to do with distance???
Do you know what? I've never even thought of that... good question! I guess maybe it is distance.
this castle! The view from the tower is just stunning! And I loved all your photos from up there. I'm already laughing because of the teaser for the next update!
this castle! The view from the tower is just stunning! And I loved all your photos from up there. I'm already laughing because of the teaser for the next update!
Saturday 14 June – part six: learning about mythical, farting creatures!
We headed into the private rooms of the Lord of Mann, who had this castle. This section is all based around the visit to the castle by Thomas Stanley, King of Mann in 1507. It’s quite sad because they rarely visited the island, leaving the governing to lower ranking officials, so of course it was quite a celebration when he came to stay. This was the dining room…
This area was the stairs down to the prison. We’d seen earlier in the video these were the stairs that they took John Kewish down, the last person to be executed in the Isle of Man. He murdered his father.
This was interesting… a prison with a view!
Then we saw the Treasury, the best guarded part of the castle.
Here one of the staff or volunteers (I have no idea if they were paid or not… ) came into his own, explaining that this wallpaper was all about mythical creatures. You had this one where apparently its farts were so terrible, it would clear the forest - Pumbaa, your time is up!
Then there was this one, where if you stole its cub, the only way to get rid of it, was to show it a mirror, and when it saw its own face, it thought it was its cub’s face, so then it would leave you alone…
And then there was this one, where if it did this when it saw you, you were doing to die… nice!
We headed down the prisoners’ stairs…
… and into a banqueting hall, learning about their staple diet…
Then it was out through here…
… and the mediaeval kitchen, where it smelt as if someone had burnt the food!
Then we were back in the central courtyard, and our tour was over. It had been wonderful, and well worth doing.
We got our obligatory fridge magnet, and headed off to explore some of Castletown that we’d seen from the walls of the castle earlier. Considering it was a Saturday late morning, I couldn’t believe how quiet the place was…
I got some photos of the castle from below as well…
Then we headed back to the car, and I tested out my zoom again!
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Maybe that was the inspiration for Pumba! (Although that picture wasn't showing up for me - the first was the one with the guy looking in the mirror).
Looked like a tour well worth the time.
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I am wondering why are there different size cannonballs? I guess it has something to do with distance???
this castle! The view from the tower is just stunning! And I loved all your photos from up there. 
That instalment coming right up...
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