Days Out from Port St Mary by Train/Bus

Port St Mary itself is a great place to stay, the lovely beach, bay and views are ideal to sit and relax. However if you want to get out and about then there are plenty of places to go to and there is no need to take the car as Port St Mary is well served by train and bus, as are many of the places to visit.

Places To Visit

Port Erin has the Railway Museum, another beautiful beach, shops and some pleasant cafes.

Creagneash is the closest Manx Heritage site. It is a traditional village of thatched cottages and there are regular demonstrations of traditional trades and crafts. This is where “Waking Ned” was filmed.

Further south from Creagneash is “The Sound”, the most southerly point of the island, where there is a Manx Heritage visitors’ centre and café.

Castletown has four Manx Heritage sites, Castle Rushen, The Old House of Keys, the Grammar School and the Peggy Story. All are worth a visit and are not far from the town centre bus stops and a ten minute walk from the railway station. Children of all ages and adults will enjoy the Castle and the Grammar School. The Peggy Story and the Old House of Keys are more suitable for older children and adults.

Ronaldsway airport has a good viewing area and is served by the Port St Mary/Port Erin to/from Douglas (1/2) and the Port Erin to/from Peel buses (8). It also has its own steam railway halt which is about ten minutes walk from the terminal building.

Just before the airport is the Manx Avaition Museum which is open on Saturdays and Sundays.

Near to Ballasalla is Silverdale Glen with childrens’s play area, boats, café and the famous water powered merry-go-round. Silverdale is about 20 minutes walk along the Millennium Way from the buses (1/2) or trains in Ballasalla.

Also in Ballasalla and well worth spending time at is another Manx Heritage site, Rushen Abbey which is about a 5/10 minute walk from the railway/buses (1/2).

Douglas of course has many shops, but also has the horse drawn trams along the Promenade. There is also the Manx Museum which is free and suitable for all ages. There is Nobles Park which has an extensive play area for toddlers, as well as facilities for older children, and Onchan Park with boats, go-karts and crazy golf. Also in Douglas is the Sports Centre which includes a modern swimming pool with flumes and is served by the buses from Port St Mary.

At the north end of the Promenade in Douglas, where the horse trams terminate, is the Electric Railway terminus. Here you can catch the tram up to Ramsey via Laxey. There are still trams which are over 100 years old in service. On the way to Ramsey you can stop at Groudle where on Sundays and Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in July and August you can travel on the Groundle Glen Railway to the former sea life zoo.

At Laxey you can visit the famous Laxey Wheel (the world’s largest, still operational water wheel) or take a trip on the Mountain Railway to the highest point on the island, Snaefell summit. The station before the summit is the Bungalow - you can alight here for the Motorcycle museum.

From Laxey you can carry on northwards to Royal Ramsey and visit Mooragh Park with children’s play area, putting and boats. You can also visit another Manx heritage site, the Gibbs of Grove - again for slightly older children and adults.

Travelling west from Douglas you can visit Tynwald Hill, the traditional seat of Manx Government, at St Johns (bus service 5/6 from Douglas and 8 from Port Erin). Tynwald Mills, a craft and shopping centre is about 10 minutes walk from St Johns but due to the narrow roads the walk is not recommended for younger children.

A few miles west of St Johns is Peel where you will find Peel Castle, the House of Manannan and the Leece Museum. Peel Castle is about a 10 minute walk from the centre of Peel. All these again are well worth a visit. Also, at weekends the Manx Transport Society Museum is open adjacent to the House of Manannan.

Some of the number 5/6 buses carry on from Peel north to Ramsey via the coast stopping en-route at the Wildlife Park. This is a suitable venue for all ages. On Sundays and some other days in the summer the Orchard Line minature railway operates inside the Wildlife Park.

Many of the beautiful glens are easily accessible from the bus or electric railway.

Children’s Play Areas

There are a number of children’s play areas around the Island. The following can be easily accessed by public transport.

q Port Erin - beside the steam railway station, not far from the bus terminus.

q Castletown - again right beside the steam railway station and there is a bus stop not far away.

q Silverdale Glen is twenty minutes’ walk from Ballasalla station, but children love the merry-go-round operated by a water wheel, as well as the boating lake.

q Douglas has several including one on the Promenade near the street which leads to Woolworths. There are stops for the horse trams and Promenade buses close by. There are two very good play areas one at Onchan Pleasure Park a short walk from the bus routes 1/2/11/12 (from Port St Mary)

The other is at Nobles Park a short walk from the bus routes 3/3A/12/22/23/25 (from Douglas Town Centre)

q Laxey has a play area in Laxey Glen and this is a 10 minute walk from the Electric Railway or the number 3/13 bus route in Laxey.

q Mooragh Park in Ramsey has a large boating lake, putting, tennis and an extensive children’s play park. Mooragh Park is a 15 minute walk from the Bus station and the Manx Electric Tram station . Bus service 3 runs from the Bus station and along Mooragh Promenade (most services  continue to Douglas).