Slow What Did We Make of That?

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On Monday night Mister E and I returned from a visit to the Isle of Man. We remain somewhat nonplussed as to how best to describe it. 

 



Northern definitely; elegant touches of Victoriana with its narrow gauge electric and steam railways as well as horse drawn trams; a 1950's seaside holiday vibe; magnificent coastal scenery; historic castles; a proud Celtic history; fairy glens; so much more.



No we never solved the mystery of the origin of the three legged Manx symbol, despite paying attention in the museums that we visited and also failed to spot a Manx cat or even one of the wallabies that apparently now roam wild on the island having escaped from a private collection. We did however visit the old House of Keys in Castletown and saw the original site of the  Tynwald, the world's oldest continuous Parliament.

 I apologise for the apparent oxymoron but the Slow Movement has been gaining momentum as a philosophy for life in which the aim is to live responsibly and in harmony with nature in an unhurried, receptive and intuitive manner. Slow travel, interpreted in many ways, is also gaining in popularity and whilst we may have only been there for six days, we used public transport throughout our visit and even reached the island by train to Liverpool and then ferry across the Irish Sea. 


We stayed on the impressive promenade in Douglas, conveniently located for the buses and trains. The latter have been in operation for over a hundred years, and are certainly leisurely in pace as well as lacking in modern comforts.






The whole island has been granted the status of a UNESCO biosphere where man and environment seek to live in harmony. A perfect domain for a slow sojourn with its Celtic traditions and fairy stories; old ports and quaysides where it seemed boats had been tied up to rest and decay; narrow streets and dark skies; hedges ablaze with fuschias and  red berries; strong winds and heavy showers blowing in from the Atlantic. We watched seals swim in the Calf Sound and ringed plovers on the beach at Ramsey.

 

Snaefell at 2036 feet dominates the island and it is said that from the top on a clear day you can see 7 Kingdoms: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Mann, Neptune and Heaven. We saw only mist!


At sea level the sun shone and as we moved slowly through the landscape we were aware of that parallel existence in which locals went about their daily business and the pressures of western civilisation prevailed around us. On our part we watched the tide rise and fall, inhaled the salted air and felt our pulses slow and minds relax.



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