Isle of Man

hollymathwriter
4 minutes ago
2 min read

July 7, 2026

In the afternoon, we visited the Isle of Man. Although located near the Scottish Isles, the Isle of Man is not actually a part of Scotland or even the United Kingdom. It is a self-governing island that was granted its independence by the English monarch who is the "Lord of Mann," a largely symbolic title.

We did a panoramic bus tour of the island.

Castle Rushen is one of the best-preserved medieval castles.

We had some time to explore in Peel. The bus parked at the harbor, across a bridge from Peel Castle.

Peel Castle was originally a fortification built by the Viking King Magnus Barefoot.

We crossed a pedestrian swing bridge to get a closer view of the castle. Just after we crossed, it swung open to let boats through. I was a little worried it might not close again in time as many boats came through.

Once across the bridge, we enjoyed not just the views of the castle, but the birds in Peel Harbor, as well as an intriguing blue jellyfish.

The blue jellyfish is a smaller cousin to the lion's mane jellyfish.

Replicas of Viking longboats which are raced in the annual World Championship Viking Longboat Races in Peel Harbor.

I especially enjoyed watching a common eider preening. The sea duck had a huge bill and feet.

We made it back across the bridge with time to spare and explored the other side of the harbor.

Fenella Beach in Peel is a "shell hash" beach, covered with scallop shells instead of sand.

This fish bar had "Queenies" (scallops) on the menu.

Our last stop before heading back to the ship was to see Tynwald Hill in St. John. This tiered turf mound is where the new laws passed by the Isle of Man's Parliament are read aloud in an annual ceremony on Tynwald Day.