Isle of Man Aug 2024

[ski ww]

We just received notice that our Aug 2024 stop in Belfast has been replaced with a stop in Isle of Man instead. What are some interesting things to see & do there?

[VMax1700]

Sorry that you will miss Belfast (my birthplace), but IoM is a nice substitute.  It will probably be a tender port.

You will be able to use the horse drawn trams, take the electric railway to Laxey and view the largest surviving working waterwheel.  Then take the railway up to the summit of Snaefell for great views to N. Ireland and Scotland (cloud level permitting!).

What date in August?  There could be a lot of biker activity as the Manx Grand Prix is running August 18th to 26th using the famous T.T. Mountain circuit made up of 37.7 miles of public roads which are closed to normal traffic during practice and race times.

 

https://manxnationalheritage.im/

https://manxelectricrailway.co.uk/

https://www.visitisleofman.com/experience/snaefell-mountain-railway-p1292361

 

 

[Harters]

Firstly, enjoy the feeling of stepping back in time. It really does have a sense of twenty or thirty years ago. And be thankful you've arrived on a cruise ship, rather than the "Vomit Comet" fast ferry from England.

 

But, as for tourism for a day, think railways as already mentioned. And, in particular, the one that climbs Snaefell. Good fun and great scenery

 

If there's time, a visit to the Manx Museum in Douglas may be of interest if for no other reason than to learn something of the history of the island. Bear in mind that this is not part of the UK and is a semi-independent Crown Dependency, with its own laws and government (the UK government is responsible for defence and international matters)

 

[ski ww]

We'll be there on 10 Aug. Thanks for posting on what to see & do.

[VMax1700]

Although the currency is Pounds Sterling, the IoM issues its own notes (as does Scotland and N.Ireland).  these notes are not well received in the other parts of the UK.  Bank of England notes are accepted all over.

[Cotswold Eagle]

3 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

other parts of the UK

Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man is not part of the UK. As mentioned up thread, it is a Crown Dependency. 

[VMax1700]

1 minute ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man is not part of the UK. As mentioned up thread, it is a Crown Dependency. 

True, however there is still a resistance to UK stores accepting Manx, Scottish or N. Irish notes, which is the relevant information.

[Harters]

36 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

there is still a resistance to UK stores accepting Manx, Scottish or N. Irish notes,

True. It is a complex legal situation (which I make no claim to fully understanding) but Scottish notes, for example, are not "legal tender" elsewhere in the UK, so a resistance is perhaps understandable. 

 

Suggestion for the OP is to try and pay by card when on the island. And ask for English notes as change if you have to pay cash. 

[Cotswold Eagle]

6 hours ago, Harters said:

It is a complex legal situation (which I make no claim to fully understanding)

Legal tender has absolutely no relevance to what means of payment shops choose (and it is entirely their choice) to accept. A business can’t be forced to accept anything.  Legal tender has an extremely narrow, technical meaning. As it happens, Scottish banknotes aren’t even legal tender in Scotland. 

The real question is are they legal currency throughout the U.K. and Scottish and Northern Irish notes are because they are recognised by the U.K. Parliament as being denominated in pounds sterling (British pounds).  
Pounds issued by the Crown Dependencies, Overseas Territories and Gibraltar are entirely different currencies backed by their own governments, who have chosen unilaterally to peg them at par with sterling and to make British pounds legal currencies in their territories. 

[Harters]

8 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Legal tender has an extremely narrow, technical meaning

Yes, as I wrote, it is a complex situation. Thanks for agreeing, albeit with  different wording. 

[Globaliser]

17 hours ago, Harters said:

It is a complex legal situation (which I make no claim to fully understanding) but Scottish notes, for example, are not "legal tender" elsewhere in the UK, so a resistance is perhaps understandable.

 

2 hours ago, Harters said:

Yes, as I wrote, it is a complex situation. Thanks for agreeing, albeit with  different wording.

 

10 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

The real question is are they legal currency throughout the U.K. and Scottish and Northern Irish notes are because they are recognised by the U.K. Parliament as being denominated in pounds sterling (British pounds).

 

It's likely that the reluctance of businesses in England to accept banknotes from Scotland, Northern Ireland or the islands is much more to do with practicalities than anything legal.

 

These notes are only rarely seen in England (compared to the frequency with which English notes are seen in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the islands), so staff are likely to have difficulty in quickly and accurately recognising them, and in being confident that they can spot forgeries, and businesses will not want to spend lots of resources training staff about notes that they will only rarely see.

 

Although the concept of "legal tender" is frequently misunderstood, I don't think that there's anything complex about the legal situation concerning what businesses will accept for payment, or even about what is "legal currency". In the UK, businesses are generally free to accept payment in any currency they wish. Plenty of businesses (particularly in tourist areas) advertise that they will accept foreign countries' currencies for payment - although you'd generally be a mug to do so. (I've previously told the story of the taxi driver who had a sign saying that he would happily take US dollars, at a rate that was very advantageous - to him, of course.) And there are plenty of businesses that will accept payment in crypto-"currencies", which are not issued by or on behalf of any government and are arguably not currencies at all.

[Harters]

52 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

It's likely that the reluctance of businesses in England to accept banknotes from Scotland, Northern Ireland or the islands is much more to do with practicalities than anything legal.

Agreed. As I recently said on another thread, the many closures of bank branches is making it difficult for small businesses to pay in cash takings. So, ones in England may well be reluctant to take, say, Scottish notes as they struggle to offer them out again in change. FWIW, by the end of this year, there will not be a single bank in my parliamentary constituency and is now a problem. And that's in an urban area so goodness knows the problems being faced in rural communities. 

 

FWIW, my metro area is not a touristy one and I can't recall ever seeing a business advertising that it accepts other than sterling. 

[Cotswold Eagle]

Oh, shops can take whatever they like as payment - glass beads, if they wish. My point is that Manx notes are the equivalent of glass beads as they do not represent British pounds and are not legal currency. They cannot be paid into a British pounds denominated bank account, unlike Scottish or Northern Ireland notes, so a shop might get stuck with them or need special exchange arrangements (some currency exchanges will take them, but it's not a foreign exchange transaction either....)

 

This is why the Manx government states, "the Manx pound, which is equivalent in value to its United Kingdom counterpart, however can not be spent outside of the Isle of Man".

 

[VMax1700]

@ski ww I apologise for giving an opening for the thread drift.

Just use a credit card and if using cash, then examine your change! 😉

[ski ww]

3 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

@ski ww I apologise for giving an opening for the thread drift.

Just use a credit card and if using cash, then examine your change! 😉

No problem, as it is good information to have as to what currencies are needed for travel to that part of the Isles.