If you are traveling with a car, the only way to get from “mainland” England to the Isle of Man is by ferry. For us this meant a four-hour crossing from Liverpool to Douglas on the Steam Packet vessel “Manxman;” the speedier “Manannan” runs only from March to October. As veterans of some horribly memorable ferry rides, we were a bit leery of facing the Irish Sea in mid-winter but the crossing was especially calm.
We had great views from our seats near “Manxman’s” bow windows, mostly of Irish Sea drilling platforms, wind farms and a few birds we hadn’t seen in a while; Guillemots, Dovekies, Gannets and a European Shag.
Our AirBnB in Douglas couldn’t have a more convenient location—just ten minutes from the ferry terminal and a block from the seaside Promenade. It even offered a much-appreciated washer/dryer. Parking was a little tight, but a car is essential on an island, even one only 30-miles long and a third as wide. Getting around should be a snap.
Everything Manx is confusing—Manx being anything referring to the Isle of Man—like the Manx shearwater or the tail-less Manx cat. In Manx Gaelic, the Isle of Man is Ellan Vannin or just Mannin, a reference, possibly, to a Celtic sea god. The origin of the “Three Legs of Man” triskelion that appears everywhere is equally obscure. Everyone does agrees that its inscription, “Quocunque Jeceris Stabit,” (“Whithersoever you throw it, it will stand”) symbolizes the Islands independence and resilience.
While not part of the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man is a British self-governing Crown Dependency whose head of state is the Lord of Man, formerly Queen Elizabeth but now King Charles III. The governing body, the 24-member Tynwald, is the oldest continuous parliament in the world. It consists of the Legislative Council and the House of Keys—but no one is certain if “keys” is a bastardization of old Norse, Manx Gaelic or, improbably, Latin.
We threw up our hands in despair and decided to explore the island despite our confusion.
