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Every time a local bus passes Fairy Bridge on its way to the small town of Port St Mary, a melodious, pre-recorded voice says, "Hello, fairies." Among the many other strange occurrences on the Isle of Man, locals believe that failing to greet the fairies who guard the bridge will bring bad luck.
Indeed, the Isle of Man, with its narrow country roads and damp tree canopies, further enhances the feeling of an enchanting world. That moment perfectly encapsulates the island: a captivating, mysterious, and somewhat unique destination.
Like Jersey and Guernsey, which are part of the English Channel, the Isle of Man is a British Crown colony.
Despite being only 265 miles from London, the Isle of Man, with a population of around 85,000, seems to have fallen off the radar, attracting just over 300,000 visitors in 2018. That's certainly not a small number, but it pales in comparison to the approximately 2.4 million visitors to the Isle of Wight, an island only two-thirds the size of the Isle of Man.
And although the island is surrounded on all sides by the United Kingdom – Northern Ireland to the west, Scotland to the north, England to the east, and Wales to the south – the Isle of Man is not actually part of the UK.
The Celts were the first to settle on the islands, followed by the Vikings, who eventually established the Kingdom of the Islands, a sprawling archipelago off the west coast of Scotland.
In 1266, the Treaty of Perth between Norway and Scotland officially recognized the Isle of Man as Scottish territory, leading to nearly a century of contention between England and Scotland – ultimately with the English emerging victorious.
Despite its proximity to mainland England, the Isle of Man receives relatively few visitors.
Today, like Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, the Isle of Man is a British Crown colony, meaning it is nominally under British rule, but remains politically separate from Britain – except in defense and foreign affairs – even though its inhabitants are British citizens.
Similarly, as a colonial island, the Isle of Man is not considered an independent country within the Commonwealth, but because the UK's Commonwealth membership applies to the Isle of Man, it is entitled to participate in the Commonwealth Games – albeit independently, without any connection to the UK.
This territory is not part of the European Union, but it lies within the EU Customs Area.
Classic red public telephone booths, many with Yellow Pages directories inside, are scattered across the island.
"Independence is a strong part of the islanders' character. We are not part of the United Kingdom, or the British Isles – we are Manx," asserts Phil Gawne, a former politician on the island and a leading advocate for Manx cultural heritage. ("Manx" derives from Old Norse, from the original "Maniske," which gives the island its name, Isle of Man, referring to the people and language spoken on the island.)
Unsurprisingly, geographically, the Isle of Man resembles a patchwork of the British Isles. The gentle fields of southern England meet the misty Irish hills around the village of Kirk Michael, while the rugged Welsh coast joins the Scottish Highlands at the island's highest point, Mount Snaefell. On a clear day, from this windswept, isolated peak, you can gaze out over the entire United Kingdom and Ireland.
The Isle of Man has a distinctly British style, but in a classic, cozy way that you rarely find in modern-day Britain.
There's a small steam train, one of three lines on the island, that runs from Erin Harbour to Douglas—it's been in operation since 1874. This train, one of the rare old-fashioned sights and even fewer passengers, travels through the countryside, occasionally stopping, slowly puffing steam from a small village with a wonderful name like Ballasalla, where the train driver will maneuver it slowly into the platform even though no one is getting on or off.
A promenade along the capital's waterfront, with the magnificent Gaiety Theatre and neatly maintained Edwardian-era inns, adds to the familiar British atmosphere – but feels more like 1920 than 2020.
The Isle of Man was settled by Celts and Vikings before it was recognized as part of Scotland in 1266.
In 1974, the last native Manx speaker (defined as someone who uses Manx as their first language) died, and in 2009, UNESCO hastily declared the language extinct, even though there was a primary school on the island called Bunscoill Ghaelgagh that taught only Manx. The students questioned UNESCO, asking: how could our language become extinct when we are using it to write?
UNESCO quickly downgraded Manx to an "emergency" language, and since then, Gaelic Manx, led by a group of passionate people, has fought back tenaciously.
At the heart of this revival is the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh school, where teaching and learning are conducted entirely in Manx. Language classes are not only for children; many adults also come to learn Manx. The 1961 census recorded only 165 Manx speakers on the island; today that number has risen to over 2,000.
The last native speaker of Manx Gaelic, the historically endangered language of the Isle of Man, died in 1974.
Poetry and music form the foundation of this revival, with groups regularly performing in Manx across the island in various genres, from traditional folk music to rap.
Interestingly, the decline in the use of Manx from the 19th century onwards, while inevitably creating gaps in vocabulary, also allowed for creative freedom to flourish, with new words and phrases being created that helped Manx adapt to the modern world.
Just last year, new words were added to the Manx dictionary, including "tholtan" (meaning "a dilapidated shed" or "a thatched cottage"), and "skeet" ("a furtive glance/quick look").
Isle of Man is believed to have taken its name from Manannán, the Celtic sea god who created fog to conceal the island from invaders.
The name Isle of Man is said to originate from Manannán, the Celtic sea god who protected the island by creating fog to conceal it from invaders. Invaders have come and gone, but it doesn't take long for us to realize that what makes this small island so special are the people who remain.
And what's more, this is probably the only place in the world where the bus reminds you to greet the fairies.
