Day 13 Monday April 22nd Douglas, Isle of Man

 Another pretty good day beckoned as we drew back the curtains and having just arrived in Douglas We had been looking forward to this visit as we wanted to take the small gauge steam train along the coast of the island.  We breakfasted and made our way off the boat as the station was only a short walk from the port.  The welcome at the port was very good with people offering maps and advising on the best route to where we were going. The passenger waiting facilities and luggage handling mechanisms were impressive too.  The walk to the station was a little longer than expected but we soon purchased our tickets and were on a train bound for Port Erin.  We had decided to go to the end of the line and explore the small resort of Port Erin.  We soon built up some steam and were underway.  The experience was authentic with smuts and steam making their way into our 

steam past our window

carriage.  We chugged through

the dinkey carriages

 the countryside, occasionally viewing the sea with steam intervening and stopping at various small stations .  All were kept impeccable by the Isle of Man railway company.  After an hour we arrived at Port Erin 

having had a good journey, we stopped at the station coffee shop for a coffee and then went for walk to the beach.  It was an easy climb down to the beach which was good quality with a cliff and land mark at one end and a small harbour

Port Erin beach

 with fishing boats at the other.  We walked to one end 

and then the other over 

Port Erin beach

some very soft sand.  We climbed back up a slope to the road and made our way back to the station having been impressed by Port Erin.  The return was busier but we were all OK and were soon underway.  It was equally enjoyable and when we got back to Douglas I filmed the engine steaming away.

                                      

We decided to go into the shopping centre straight form the station and found M&S for a snack.  Christine bought a couple of items and we walked along the 

Refuge Tower

prom back to the boat.  It gave a good view of Refuge Tower (built to help sailors if they are shipwrecked in the harbour) and there was a special garden being planted to mark 200 years of the RNLI.  Evidently a co-founder of the RNLI lived in Douglas.  We got back to the Maud Having had a pretty good day and relaxed a bit before dinner.  After dinner we went to the port lecture on Waterford, Ireland where we arrive tomorrow.