Isle of Man (Slow Travel): Local, characterful guides to Britain's special places

Part of Bradt’s distinctive, award-winning series of ‘Slow’ travel guides to British regions, Isle of Man (Slow Travel) is a new guidebook celebrating this self-governing Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea. Written with intimate detail and insider tips by an author born and raised locally, it offers a more personal, off-beat selection of places to explore than other guides, and its text is infused with vibrant stories and local voices. Easily accessible from mainland Britain yet different enough to feel like a real adventure, the Isle of Man is a remarkable destination in the heart of the British Isles. With a strong sense of their own cultural and political identity, Manx people take great pride in their blend of Celtic and Viking roots. At a thousand-plus years old, the Manx parliament (Tynwald) claims to be the world’s oldest continuous parliamentary assembly, while music and cultural events celebrate the island’s status as one of the six Celtic nations. Folklore and superstition are entwined with everyday life in ways largely forgotten elsewhere: children still celebrate Hop tu Naa instead of Halloween, bonfires are lit for Oie Voaldyn on 30 April – and woe betide anyone who forgets to greet the fairies as they cross Fairy Bridge. Often described as “the British Isles in miniature”, this island of 30 miles by 13 miles harbors flat plains in the north, rugged hills down its spine, beautiful sandy beaches in the west and craggy cliffs dimpled with smugglers’ coves in the east and south. Whether along main roads linking its major settlements (Douglas, Ramsey, Peel and Castletown) or winding country lanes, from steam trains or footpaths lined with coconut-scented gorse, it is hard to find a spot that doesn’t provide a stunning view – whether out to sea, down valley to an old fishing port or across heather-dappled hills. From basking sharks to four-horned loaghtan sheep, the Isle of Man TT motorbike race to Cregneash’s folk village, ghost tours to the Great Laxey Wheel, Neolithic standing stones to the world’s oldest tram, Bradt’s Isle of Man (Slow Travel) is the essential guide for discovering this under-the-radar destination.

Emma Craig is a newspaper sub-editor who lives in London, UK. With a long Manx heritage on both sides of her family, she was born and raised on the Isle of Man, spending her childhood hearing stories of her ancestors’ exploits at sea and down the local mines. Moving to Paris to attend university, she was surprised to learn that not everyone grows up in a land dominated by fairies and shape-shifting ogres — and quickly realised that she came from somewhere quite special. Her lifelong love of words took her into a career in journalism and she has spent a decade working on national newspapers, while also finding time to write a little poetry on the side. She enjoys nothing more than telling willing listeners about her home — and the contents of Bradt’s Isle of Man (Slow Travel), her first book, are exactly what she would tell any visiting friend.