You probably will not believe the story that I am about to tell you, how is this for arse.
As you know I ventured to the UK with a plan of spending a week on the Isle of Man (IoM) for a week to watch the TT bike races with out any accommodation organised beforehand, not due to the lack of effort trying to organise a bed to sleep in from Australia for almost 3-months. I was informed that every thing was booked out, as per usual that did not worry me, l still went ahead and planned my trip.
Before I left Sydney my son thought that I was absolutely crazy along with heaps of others. Let the story begin...
On leaving the Holiday Inn at London Luton Airport the sun broke through the clouds, and it looked like it was going to be a nice day. I checked in for my EasyJet flight to the IoM a little apprehensive because I had no idea of the circumstances that would lay ahead of me.
I boarded the Airbus A318 aircraft (seat 8E) middle seat RHS of the aircraft wondering who on earth would be sitting next to me during the flight. A middle-aged gentleman sat in seat (8F) window, we started chatting to each other as you do.
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| An EasyJet Airbus A-319 on short final for Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man |
John informed me that he is an eight-time spectator here for the races, very experienced I thought. I told him my story and he just looked at me in amazement when I told him my story. He also mentioned that the Island is booked out because the races draw a crowd upwards of 50,000 people. During the taxi out before take off he mentioned that he would text the landlady that he stays with to ask her if she could accommodate a crazy Aussie that has no accommodation for the week that he is here.
He received a reply before we actually took off. She told him that she could accommodate me for the 7-days at £42.00 per night (£294.00) for the week, (including an English Breakfast every day) thrown in & would that be alright. Needless to say I jumped at it, by comparison the Holiday Inn cost me £120.00 per night so I thought it was a bargain.
On the flight over he filled me in on every detail about the racing, where to watch the races, where to eat, etc. When we landed on the IoM the weather was absolutely perfect. After deplaning, I picked up my Nissan rental car and the two of us drove to the town of Douglas which is the main downtown area where all the action is. The guesthouse is located about 500 metres from the esplanade, perfect.
My accommodation is; the Strathmore Guest House. Proprietor: Elizabeth Lovell. 8 Clifton Terrace, Douglas, Isle of Man. Telephone contact: 01624 613662. I can highly recommend this place & it certainly comes at the right price.
This afternoon I went for a walk along the promenade to find a bank to get some cash, because you cannot use English Pounds on the Island, this place is fully independent from Britain, they have their own Isle of Man Government and currency.
I had no idea how beautiful this place is, it reminds me very much of Ireland, lush green fields and the people are so nice & friendly. I have almost forgotten what I came here for.
Tomorrow morning I will drive around the track in my Nissan rental car, when there is no practice or racing underway you can actually drive around the 36-mile road racing circuit, how good is that. It takes the bikes approx 17-minutes to complete one lap averaging 130+mph. Don’t quote me now, I will have all the statistics once I start learning more about this incredible place.
I am so happy that I made the decision to make this trip against all the odds, this Island is a very special place on earth and I am here to experience the adrenaline rush watching these 1,000cc bikes traveling at speeds of 180mph only 1 metre away from you on the other side of the hedge, l can’t wait...
I asked John (my saviour) what the casualties were like at this track, he told me that several riders lose there life here every year, as a matter of fact there was a guy from the Tyco team killed last night in the practice session, I mentioned to him that the travel brochures do not give you those statistics and nor should they.
They also race the side car outfits around this circuit, I wonder how the boys from Winton would go here.
I was concerned that 7-days here on the Island would be a tad too long, however I can assure you that I will have no problems filling in the days ahead.
Nothing more for now. More live reports tomorrow.
Cheers
Ken W.
N.B. You can see my silver Nissan parked under the big tree, now that was a good move because it gives me total independence, and when I booked it back in Australia 4 months ago it was also a back up if I could not arrange accommodation, at least I did not have to sleep out under the stars.
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| Welcome to Douglas, the capital and the largest town on the Isle of Man with a population of 30,000 |
On the flight over he filled me in on every detail about the racing, where to watch the races, where to eat, etc. When we landed on the IoM the weather was absolutely perfect. After deplaning, I picked up my Nissan rental car and the two of us drove to the town of Douglas which is the main downtown area where all the action is. The guesthouse is located about 500 metres from the esplanade, perfect.
My accommodation is; the Strathmore Guest House. Proprietor: Elizabeth Lovell. 8 Clifton Terrace, Douglas, Isle of Man. Telephone contact: 01624 613662. I can highly recommend this place & it certainly comes at the right price.
 |
| My Guest House, Strathmore on Clifton Terrace in Douglas My home for a week on the Isle of Man. |
This afternoon I went for a walk along the promenade to find a bank to get some cash, because you cannot use English Pounds on the Island, this place is fully independent from Britain, they have their own Isle of Man Government and currency.
I had no idea how beautiful this place is, it reminds me very much of Ireland, lush green fields and the people are so nice & friendly. I have almost forgotten what I came here for.
 |
| On arrival I went for a stroll along the Promenade and into Douglas Harbour. Here there are plenty of pleasure craft tied up inside the Douglas Marina. |
Tomorrow morning I will drive around the track in my Nissan rental car, when there is no practice or racing underway you can actually drive around the 36-mile road racing circuit, how good is that. It takes the bikes approx 17-minutes to complete one lap averaging 130+mph. Don’t quote me now, I will have all the statistics once I start learning more about this incredible place.
I am so happy that I made the decision to make this trip against all the odds, this Island is a very special place on earth and I am here to experience the adrenaline rush watching these 1,000cc bikes traveling at speeds of 180mph only 1 metre away from you on the other side of the hedge, l can’t wait...
 |
| My Nissan rental car parked under a tree on Marathon Road in Douglas |
I asked John (my saviour) what the casualties were like at this track, he told me that several riders lose there life here every year, as a matter of fact there was a guy from the Tyco team killed last night in the practice session, I mentioned to him that the travel brochures do not give you those statistics and nor should they.
They also race the side car outfits around this circuit, I wonder how the boys from Winton would go here.
I was concerned that 7-days here on the Island would be a tad too long, however I can assure you that I will have no problems filling in the days ahead.
Nothing more for now. More live reports tomorrow.
Cheers
Ken W.
N.B. You can see my silver Nissan parked under the big tree, now that was a good move because it gives me total independence, and when I booked it back in Australia 4 months ago it was also a back up if I could not arrange accommodation, at least I did not have to sleep out under the stars.
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