| Mann It's A Long Way 2007 |
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 Well it's finally happened....the eagerly awaited sequel to the Long Way Across has been completed. Pete and Mike returned from their travels on Monday 2nd July and this is their account of the trip, with some stunning photographs taken by Pete (and maybe a clip or two of film!).Day One Those of you that have followed our travels will know that Pete and I do an annual long-weekend bike trip to somewhere. This year, to make up for the fact we missed the centenary TT races because the Island was full up, we decided to do a post-TT trip and hope some of the excitement of the races would still be there for us. As usual, we both left our respective homes/work places and headed for a meeting point from which to start our trip. We had chosen Chester as a suitable place becasue it was only a short ride to the docks for the ferry. Pete had selected a rather nice hotel near Chester and I arrived first.  The Llyndir Hall Hotel is situated six miles from Chester in lovely tranquil surroundings. Bizarrely, the gardens are full of statues and ornaments of animals! My ride to the hotel was wonderful with little traffic and generally dry conditions (it did try and rain a couple of times near Chester). Pete travelled up much later and got caught in quite a few showers. We enjoyed a relaxing evening in the bar catching up on news and planning our trip - and sampling a few beers of course. Day Two The next morning dawned dry and clear, but by the time we'd had breakfast the rain was pouring down, which gave us a rather miserable ride to the Liverpool docks for the ferry to the Isle of Man.  Things couldn't have been more different as we docked in Douglas, Isle of Man. The skies were blue and the sun was shining. We both grinned at each other as we put on our helmets and disembarked from the ship. All bikers who land in the Isle of Man are instantly drawn to the TT Racing circuit and the start/finish point in Douglas. We were no different and set off immediately from the docks up the hill to the permanent TT Grandstand on Glencrutchery Road. I prepared the camera on my bike and we set off to complete a full lap of the TT circuit and record it for posterity. We were frustrated in doing a full circuit all at once because the Mountain section was being resurfaced and we had to wait for it to open. When it did it was covered in about two inches of loose gravel, which made for very ponderous progress!  Because the afternoon and evening were so beautiful we decided to delay booking into our hotel and make the most of the weather by touring the Island and taking film and photos of some of the glorious views - especially from Snaefell. This picture is of the Joey Dunlop Memorial outside the Bike Museum at the Bungalow. Sadly, the museum has been closed down and the exhibits scattered all round the world. The museum and cafe were always a great place to stop halfway round the circuit to take in the views, have a coffee and bacon butty and get your certificate for riding round the TT Circuit. Alas, this is all no more. I'm sure something will grow up in its place - just because this is such a mecca for bikers. After a visit to Laxey Wheel and Ramsey we made our way to our hotel on Douglas Promenade - The Hilton. Day Three We awoke on day three to see the forecasted torrential rain pouring down the windows and roads! We were soo glad we'd made the most of the day before. We decided we wouldn't get the bikes out today but would go exploring in Douglas and visit the Manx Museum, which included a new section for the Centenary TT Races celebrations.  In spite of the rain we walked the length of the promenade to the museum. I hadn't brought any suitable clothing (except my bike gear) and so was rather sodden when we arrived!  The Manx Museum is well-worth a visit. We ended up spending all day there just because there is so much to see and do. The museum used to be the hospital and so is contained in rather splendid buildings at the top of a steep hill! We then took a tram back along the seafront to the hotel where we enjoyed an invigorating swim and sauna. We had planned to use ourreturn tram ticket to go back into Douglas that  evening for a drink and a meal, but we hadn't quite mastered the technique of hailing a tram and ended up walking back along the prom - AGAIN!Day Four Day Four, which was our last full day, was going to have mixed weather with sunshine and showers. We couldn't miss another day on the bikes so we donned our waterproofs and set off to ride the perimeter of the Island. We started by heading South via Peel to Port St Mary and Port Erin.  After brief stops there it was down to the southern most point of the Island - Calf of Man to see the seals and enjoy a coffee in the wonderful cafe there. From there we started up the east coast of the Island, stopping at Ballaugh Shore to sit on the beach for a bit before arriving at the northern most point of the Island - Point of Ayre. Here we got a couple to take our photograph near the lighthouse. On the way to Point of Ayre we were passed by a yellow rocket!!  A three-wheeler that obvioulsy knew the roads and how to "make progress"! Press play below and see him fly....Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!  Want to know more about the Isle of Man TT? The BBC has an excellent site (click here).
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