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Castletown

During my visit to the Isle of Man in May 2024, I went to Castletown, in the south of the island. I have a vague memory of going there as a child. It was the Manx capital until 1869. In it's center is a large castle, hence the town's name.
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The Castle Rushen

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Part of the port.

castletown4.jpgManx stone can be seen on both sides of the road. Further on the houses have been plastered and the variety of colors brightening up the street.
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Part of the island's public transport is a railroad, which has steam engines used not only by tourists, but the locals as well to get places. There are also trams and buses which are a bunch cheaper than those in London.
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The old House of Keys, the original has been gone for centuries.

At first the motorcycle seemed out of place, but then that is another thing which the Isle of Man is famous for, the Manx TT motocycle race. It's probably the roughest one on the planet because the route is on the regular roads over the entire island. When I was 9 years old my uncle put me on the back of his Ariel 500 bike and rode me around the whole thing, I think I opened my eyes twice.

Being Manx American, I wanted to see where modern democracy was born. A lot of early history was not written down because most people could not read or write. The Vikings had their boats somewhere around 350 BCE and traveled. Approximately 200-400 CE it is said they landed on the Isle of Man, written history puts it later. Apparently the Vikngs elected their tribal leaders and besides their raiding, brought democracy to the Isle of Man.

At least a thousand years ago the Tynwald was established. It is the oldest continous parliament and the United States government is based on it. The Tynwald became the seed of modern democracy and the two house electoral system, not many countries have that. This was long before England's claim to have the mother of all parliaments—no it is not! It is the illegitmate daughter. The Parliament of Great Britain began centuries after the Tynwald.
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I also went on a long walk along the coast in nice weather. The large bay can see in the background.



Enjoyed it.
Jun 25, 2024




My old Simian Circles blog here for reference

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