ISLE of MAN - Trains, Buses and Trams

The day started with a couple of things that are a bit different over here:

Firstly the money - I knew that they were not changing to plastic banknotes but I was surprised to find that the new issue Manx £1 coins are still one metal and round.

Secondly although I have used my phone all over Europe and North America, outgoing calls here are barred - apparently it's something to do with the fact that the island is part of the UK dialling system (i.e. normal phone numbers) but the charging is at International rates (I've had the "Welcome to France" type message).

Anyway enough of those things, what have I been up to today? 

I'm staying in Castletown in the south, so first of all, I caught the train north to Douglas and was very amused to find that Douglas railway station has a Platform 9 3/4. Whats even better - unlike King's Cross - there is no queue and no charge to take a photo.

Next it was a bus to St John's (I have a GO smart card that allows me to travel anywhere). St John's is the site of Tynwald Hill the traditional meeting place of the Manx parliament. Tynwald is an old Norse word that appears in other places where parliaments have met - Tingwall in Shetland and Thingvellir in Iceland. The Manx parliament still meets here, in the open air to enact new laws in a ceremony on the July 5th - a national holiday.

From St John's it's a short hop to Peel the principle settlement on the island's west coast. Here the main site is St Patrick's Isle with the ruins of both a castle and cathedral.  With the weather being clear blue skies today there were good views of the Irish coast.

I returned to Castletown the long way via Ramsey the island's second biggest settlement at the north end. This was so I could return to Douglas by electric tram. The tram service runs late into the evening on Fridays and Saturdays with the last one getting back to Douglas at 11:40pm! I was lucky to have the open sided car at the rear all to myself and it was a lovely ride along the coast - this time with views across to Cumbria.

ENGLAND - Northern Apologises .......

Now I could have got the ferry direct from Liverpool to Douglas but I decided that it would be fun to travel by train to Heysham and get the boat from there. Firstly it's a proper ferry rather than a catamaran and secondly I could go via the Ormskirk line and get some new track. Lastly, reminiscent of the days of the Hook Continental and the Golden Arrow/Fleche D'or, I could travel on the Isle of Man boat train which is the one and only train each day to go down the line to Heysham Port.

However, in the period between planning and execution we have had "Meltdown Monday" The day over a month ago when Northern Rail woke up, shocked to find that Network Rail hadn't finished the electrification work in Bolton, they didn't have enough diesel trains to bridge the gap and none of that mattered anyway because they didn't have enough drivers to drive any type of train and the guards were going on strike. 

So lets go to Heysham .......

Half the trains on the Ormskirk to Preston line are now bus replacements so I headed to Liverpool Lime Street to catch one of the shuttles to Wigan - the rest of the station is closed for rebuilding as can be seen from this pic.

The train that arrived was one of the NEW electric trains that the government have given the good people of the north. A Class 319 built by BREL.

Let me explain that BREL is not a new Chinese company building shinny new trains. This is an old Thameslink unit built by British Rail Engineering Limited - and believe it or not they are an vast improvement on what was here before!

On arrival at Lancaster the Isle of Man Boat Train was a rail replacement bus because they had no train, driver, guard or possibly all three. 

And so it was that I travelled on the ferry to the Isle of Man

And arrived in a place where the good people of Northern England can look at the trains and sigh ..... "If only"

ENGLAND - It's Important To Have Bees In The Loo

Day 2 in Liverpool starts with the two cathedrals - both of which are 20th century structures.  

The Anglican cathedral is the largest in the UK and was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott - he of red phone box fame, in fact there is one of his phone boxes in one of the transepts. Like many cathedrals now, Liverpool makes a bit of extra money through allowing access to special areas, in this case the tower. The views from the top are stunning and the big bonus of course is that because it's fairly new there are lifts! 

The Catholic, Metropolitan Cathedral nearby looks a much more modest affair, however it sits on an enormous crypt designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. As with many religious buildings of modern design the stained glass is particularly bright and impressive.

For lunch today, I tried out the Philharmonic Dining Rooms - a grade 2 listed Victorian pub that has grade 1 listed gents toilets. Whilst the atmosphere was great and the food and drink excellent, I can report readers that - in my opinion - the toilets were a bit of a let down because there were no bees. For a toilet to be special it has to have bees!

Ladies - Victorian porcelain makers often included the image of a bee on urinals to give the men something to aim at and thus reduce mess. Why a bee I hear you ask? Well one of the theories is that our witty but rather uptight Victorians picked up on the Latin for bee which is apis (a - pis .... get it?). Anyway whilst some modern manufacturers do, do something similar they are not very common these days.  Oh and ladies, don't even think of asking if it works - you know us men are just big kids ........

For the afternoon in a street nearby there is a little gem of a place to visit - The Hardmans' House.

 

The National Trust has a couple of prestigious properties in Liverpool, Speke Hall and the Beatles Houses (John Lennon and Paul McCartney's childhood homes). However, one that gets overlooked is this. The home and studio of society photographer E C Hardman. The tours have to be prebooked and I was the only one on my tour and it was fascinating. You see the whole house - waiting room, studio, dark rooms, living quarters, cellar and learn a lot about traditional photography.  I really do recommend this place if you are ever up here.

And for those reading from South Foreland - the laminated ticket is alive and well here in Liverpool !!

As I leave Liverpool tomorrow, there was one last thing to do this evening.

The "Ferry Cross The Mersey"

ENGLAND - Liverpool is Hot!

Yesterday's train journey up here was not an example of our rail network at its best - over an hour late but then at least I got a free ride as Virgin Trains will now have to refund the fare - every cloud and all that .........

Today though Liverpool has basked in hot summer sun which is perfect for my first proper visit to the city - previous trips here have been for work.  

I started the day at the Albert Dock and the Waterfront. 

And of course the Royal Liver Building - did you know that the clock faces are bigger than those on the Palace of Westminster?

 

I had a good wander and as Liverpool has some excellent museums (and they are mostly free) I spent some of the day in the Maritime Museum where they have sections devoted to both the Titanic and the Lusitania, since both the White Star Line and Cunard were headquartered here. However, the hot summer weather really made you want to be outside today.

Therefore this afternoon I got the train north to Crosby beach and checked out "The Iron Men" or Sir Antony Gormley's art installation "Another Place". I had no idea there were 100 of the statues and they really are rather impressive.

 

 Although they do look at times like something out of Dr Who

Now in Chatham, statues usually attract traffic cones - there is one in particular near the station that always seems to have a cone on his head or outstretched arm - but here in Merseyside it seems that they like to dress them up. Several had been neatly covered, one even had a high vis vest.

A walk along the coast path, finished the day off very nicely indeed.