Day 5 - Grey Tuesday

Bit of a lie in today. No racing and plans really depend on the weather, which as it stands is dull, grey and wet. Raining quite hard but supposed to brighten up later.

Today is Ramsey Sprint day, down on the prom. To be honest I’m not really that fussed. I don’t really want to spend the whole week doing bikey things, when there is so much more to see. I’m thinking then, that I might just get the tram up to Laxey and check out the wheel. I’ve never been there before, though I’ve seen it from the road a couple of times this week. I could ride up there but I’m in Douglas for the races tomorrow so don’t really want to risk getting my gear wet today.

Just as I walked out the back gate, the rain started. Just a quick shower. Long enough for  me to get my new brolly out and put straight away again. £10 got me a return to Laxey. The trams consist of two cars. The second was open sided, I avoided that. The first had all heavily varnished wood panelling and cast iron, reversible seats. The trams are over 100 years old. I think I've seen something similar, maybe even made by the same company, in Majorca.

The trip to Laxey takes 45 minutes, through beautiful countryside and along the cliffs above the sea. Once at Laxey, you cross the road and walk up the hill towards the wheel. You can see it turning away through the trees. A big white structure with a massive, bright red wheel. If it looks impressive from a distance, up close it is even more so. It's four quid to get in, which I didn't think was bad. Besides the wheel, there is a walk up the valley around the mine workings and old, now fallen into disrepair, buildings.     

You can actually climb up the wheel structure, so on the top platform you are face to face with the top of the 72ft diameter wheel. The view from there is quite good too, both up and down the valley. Around the site are numerous sign boards, so you are never left in doubt as to what you are looking at. There is one bit of the mine you can still walk into, albeit just a few metres (70 or so) you need a hard hat to be safe and could probably do with a brolly too, as water drips down from the ceiling.

I give the Laxey Wheel a big thumbs up and would recommend it to anyone. a value for money visit.

After leaving the wheel I went down to the harbour. On the way, by the road, you pass another smaller wheel. This is on the site of where the rock from the mine was 'washed'. Basically where they broke it down into small pieces and separated the ore from the stone. The harbour is small, the seafront not much bigger, with one shop/cafe. I gave that a miss and headed back to the pub I'd just passed. It was a brew pub, which means they produce their own beer. I had a pint of their Bosun ale and a beef sandwich. Then it was time to walk back to the tram station and catch the return to Ramsey.

I timed it just right, a Ramsey tram was in the station. Only problem was, both carriages were open sided, so it was a tad chilly on the way back, to say the least.

Having finally managed to get some photos uploaded, albeit one at a time, I popped out for a burger and chips at the Trawlerman fish and chip restaurant. Then I popped into the Swan for my third pint of the holiday. Yesterday I'd had a Titanic but unfortunately it was off, so I ended up having Okells bitter. Not as nice. Just as I left the pub, the rains came again. Here's hoping it's dry for tomorrow.

And that was Day 5. 

Day 4, Black Monday

I finished off Sunday by going to the Italian restaurant in a little arcade down Parliament Street.  I had an Inferno pizza. Salami and pepperoni with chillies. Not your common old jalapeno though but a fiery red sauce. Can’t say it was the best pizza I’ve ever had but it filled a gap and options for eating out every night are rather limited in Ramsey. I washed it down with a bottle of Peroni Red, my first alcohol on the island.

Had decided I’d go up to watch at The Gooseneck today, so was up fairly early and had sausage sarnie for brekkie. Matty, he’s a star when it comes to the brekkies, did two rounds though, too much for me to manage in one sitting, so Candy wrapped the second up for my lunch.

I was early enough at the corner to get a decent viewpoint and right by the loudspeaker, so no problems with keeping tabs on the race commentary. It was a bit chilly but I was prepared, with fleecy jumper and neck warmer on. It was fairly bright though and I lay down to await the first race, the Supersport 600 race. The race was about a lap and a half old when it was red flagged. We later learnt that someone had died in a high speed accident. A rather unpleasant start to the day but one of those things you have to accept is possible if you come to race and spectate. There was a long delay before the race was rerun and the day’s schedule was altered as a result. Following that race, there was a sidecar practice session, a Subaru demonstration lap and then the electric bike practice. The Superstock race, originally planned for 15:15 was put back to 18:30, so I decided to head back into Ramsey and watch that from the square.

I hadn’t realised how sunny it had been during the day, until, that was, till I got home and saw my face in the mirror. Beetroot red cheeks and white panda eyes from my sunglasses. Nice!

I thought it was probably about time I tried some Manx ale, so when I went back out, I headed for The Swan pub. You can sit in the garden and get a couple of different views of the circuit, so you can imagine, it’s a popular spot. At the bar I got chatting to this bloke. I then noticed Matty sitting at a table with some people, one I recognised as his sister. As I walked over to him, the other guy walked to that table too. Turns out he’s a friend. We watched racing together from the pub and when the racing was over, they invited me back to their place for a B-B-Q. This didn’t seem very practical, given the time, so Chinese takeaway was ordered instead and back we went to the house of one girls mum, who was also at the pub.

The evening was quite unlike anything I’ve experienced. They were so hospitable to this stranger in their midst, but aside from their friendliness, I was shown round the house (part of), which includes a medieval styled dining room and the garage, where sit a tiny Honda 125 Dream racer and a 1917 Model T Speedster. I had seen the latter on the road on Sunday and now I was given the chance to sit on it, complete with goggles, furry hat and long elbow gloves! Quite amazing. I have some pictures of me on the car, if I can ever get them uploaded to flickr. Having sat down to watch the day’s highlights on ITV4, I bid them farewell but not before they invited me to a B-B-Q on Friday, Senior race day, at another of their houses, right on the course, just after May Hill. I’ve not made any other plans yet as to where I’ll watch from, so I may take them up on their offer, especially if it means free grub ;-)

Bedtime now, it’s already Tuesday. No plans yet made for tomorrow. I think the forecast is rain, so need to think carefully before going out on the bike.

That’s all for now.