Detour #350: An Alternative Lap of the Isle of Man

Photo Indi Bains

The Isle of Man may be synonymous with the TT, but coastal roads, open moorland and empty tarmac tell a wider story.

Starting at Port St Mary in the island’s south, a sleepy fishing village where masts bob gently in the harbour, this route begins with a climb over Meayll Hill past an abandoned WWII radar station and Cregneash, its cluster of traditional croft cottages untouched by time. Below lies The Sound, the rushing channel separating the island from the Calf of Man, but the islet broods beneath a stubborn cloud, refusing to reveal itself properly.

Looping back uphill, the horseshoe bay at Port Erin is framed by tall grassy headlands, before the road turns inland to the Sloc Road. The tarmac winds and climbs steadily through open moorland as the rearview mirror fills with an expansive, misty sweep of the southeast coast stretching towards Douglas. Somewhere out of sight, the whistle of the steam railway drifts across the hills.

Descending towards Niarbyl through pine forests and moorland, the road narrows and loses its centre line. A long, deep blue stretch of the west coast is visible beside the gently undulating asphalt. Heading inland, a sharp switchback swings around picturesque Glen Maye, tucked into the folds of a valley.

Peel arrives in pastel shades and narrow streets before the marina opens out beneath Peel Castle, sprawling across St Patrick’s Isle just offshore. The route follows the coast northeast towards Kirk Michael, sparkling sea on one side, low sandy cliffs ahead and another pleasing switchback. The mountainous interior recedes, replaced by the patchwork fields of the northern plains.

The TT begins to make its presence felt here. Orange course signage appears intermittently, and every bend invites thoughts of superbikes attacking the same corners at impossible speed.

The route towards The Ayres has an almost East Anglian feel: open fields, scattered cottages, distant rolling hills and occasional flashes of sea. At Bride, a detour heads to the island’s northern tip where the red-and-white Point of Ayre lighthouse stands above dunes, shingle beaches and nesting grounds for migratory birds.

Turning south, Snaefell, the island’s highest peak, dominates the skyline inland above Ramsey, and before long the road follows the long sandy beach past the town’s elegant seafront buildings.

A meander onto the Maughold Road passes whitewashed cottages and a stone church clustered around a sharp bend in the eponymous village, surrounded by neatly divided fields high above the shoreline.

Back on the main road, the Manx Electric Railway runs alongside, tram tracks and tarmac tracing the coastline in parallel towards Laxey. Broad switchbacks lead to Baldrine, while King Edward Road crosses the high stone arches of Groudle Glen Viaduct. Moments later, a wide sweep around the headland brings Douglas into view: the promenade stretches ahead beneath Victorian seafront buildings, the ferry moored across the bay as the water to the left merges into the horizon.

The Old Castletown Road follows the coast through grassy hills, with more fleeting sea views, before the route glides past the airport into Castletown and beneath the walls of Castle Rushen, one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval fortresses. Minutes later, the rocky shoreline returns on the approach to Port St Mary.

The Isle of Man feels like a nation of country roads: coastal drives, mountain routes, forests, plains and fishing villages all compressed into one small island. Traffic is scarce. Congestion, if it exists, seems confined to Douglas.

But the island’s appeal isn’t speed. It’s freedom: empty, pothole-free roads, no speed cameras in sight, and the rare pleasure of simply driving without constantly watching the dial.

Words & Photography Indi Bains

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ROADBOOK

CLASS: ISLAND LIFE

NAME: Alternative ISLE OF MAN

ROUTE: Port St Mary to Port St Mary

COUNTRY: ISLE OF MAN

Distance: 76 Miles

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