Isle of Man Guide

On Friday 6th April in glorious spring sunshine, the ‘Story of Mann’ attractions on the Island opened for the 2007 summer season.

The first visitors to Castle Rushen, who entered the premises literally as the doors opened were Chris and Sue Ward, with their son Matthew and daughter Fiona. The Ward family, who are from Boarhant in Portsmouth, are on holiday in the Island visiting friends and have already visited several of the Story of Mann sites. For the 2007 seasonal opening, they settled upon Castle Rushen, which they chose to explore because they had not previously visited Castle Rushen.

The same sort of enthusiastic reaction was noted throughout the Island at many of the other 'Story of Mann' sites which include the Great Laxey Wheel and Mines Trail, The Grove & Conservatory Restaurant at Ramsey, the Nautical Museum, the Old House of Keys and the Old Grammar School at Castletown, the National Folk Museum at Cregneash, Peel Castle and Rushen Abbey as well as The Sound restaurant and Visitor Centre, and Niarbyl Café and Visitor Centre. To this list, of course, needs to be added the Manx Museum and the House of Manannan which are both open throughout the year.

In preparation for the opening nearly 50 members of seasonal staff were recruited to present the Story of Mann.

Howard Parkin, Public Services Manager for Manx National Heritage, said:

“It is always a rewarding time for us when we open our doors for the new season. There is great deal of work done on the sites to make them ready for the season over the winter and it is always a pleasure to once again re-open our heritage sites for the enjoyment of our many off and on Island visitors. We are confident that we have recruited a great team to present the Story of Mann at our seasonal heritage sites. Already the enthusiasm and commitment of the seasonal staff is apparent, and we are all looking forward to welcoming visitors throughout the summer”.

This year the sites will all be open until the 28th October. All of the Story of Mann attractions are open seven days a week 10.00 am to 5.00 pm with the exception of the Manx Museum which does not open on Sundays.

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