Isle of Man (Slow Travel)

. Tourist spend in 2023 was up 20% on pre-pandemic levels; visitor numbers have almost entirely recovered . Visit Isle of Man has an active marketing campaign to encourage visitors to explore beyond the TT motorbike races (who form 23% of visitors) . Government strategy aims to raise total visitor numbers by a third by 2030 (to 0.5 million), with a focus on ecotourism About Bradt Travel Guides . Founded in 1974, Bradt is now the largest independent guidebook publisher in the UK with over 200 titles in print . Authentic guides, written by expert authors who really know their destinations. . Comprehensive, practical information with a particular focus on wildlife, culture and sustainability . For more information, follow us on X, Instagram and Facebook, or visit bradtguides.com

Isle of Man slow travel guide. Holiday tips and tourist advice about the British Crown Dependency. Features Douglas, Ramsey, Peel and Castletown; Manx National Heritage sites such as the Great Laxey Wheel, Peel Castle, Castle Rushen and Cregneash folk village; and ancient heritage, ghost stories, a steam railway, electric trams and wildlife-watching.Part of Bradt's distinctive, award-winning series of 'Slow' travel guides to British regions, Isle of Man (Slow Travel) is a new guidebook celebrating this self-governing Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea. Written with intimate detail and insider tips by an author born and raised on the island, it offers a more personal, off-beat selection of places to explore than other guides, and its text is infused with vibrant stories and local voices. Easily accessible from mainland Britain yet different enough to feel like a real adventure, the Isle of Man is a remarkable destination in the heart of the British Isles. With a strong sense of their own cultural and political identity, Manx people take great pride in their blend of Celtic and Viking roots. At a thousand-plus years old, the Manx parliament (Tynwald) claims to be the world's oldest continuous parliamentary assembly, while music and cultural events celebrate the island's status as one of the six Celtic nations. Folklore and superstition are entwined with everyday life in ways largely forgotten elsewhere: children still celebrate Hop tu Naa instead of Halloween, bonfires are lit for Oie Voaldyn on 30 April - and woe betide anyone who forgets to greet the fairies as they cross Fairy Bridge. Often described as 'the British Isles in miniature', this island of 50km by 21km harbours flat plains in the north, rugged hills down its spine, beautiful sandy beaches in the west and craggy cliffs dimpled with smugglers' coves in the east and south. Whether along main roads linking its major settlements (Douglas, Ramsey, Peel and Castletown) or winding country lanes, from steam trains or footpaths lined with coconut-scented gorse, it is hard to find a spot that doesn't provide a stunning view - whether out to sea, down a valley to an old fishing port or across heather-dappled hills. From basking sharks to four-horned loaghtan sheep, the Isle of Man TT motorbike race to Cregneash's folk village, ghost...