Travel solutions: Isle of Man

Ramsey harbour

Walk on and you encounter snug tearoom Harbour Lights, cosy pub The Creek Inn and a tiny warren of fishermen’s cottages so inviting that you wish you could just let yourself into one of them and fall asleep in front of the fire. The annual TT motorbike race fortnight in late May-early June is the only thing that disturbs the island’s peace; the other 50 weeks of the year it’s almost breathlessly quiet. At the moment.

For the past decade, the Isle of Man has been promoting itself as an ideal place for film locations, masquerading as Ireland in ‘Waking Ned’, as bygone Bristol in ‘Treasure Island’ and even as Oregon in Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer flick ‘Big Nothing’. Guy Ritchie’s been here filming chase scenes with OutKast’s Andre 3000. Bill Nighy has visited so often he now has his favourite hotel room on standby at The Regency in Douglas. And the story of how every single eligible woman on the island crammed into Colours nightclub when Johnny Depp popped in while filming ‘The Libertine’ have already passed into legend. There’ll be more celebrity excitement when the island hosts its first rock festival in Douglas next summer.

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Cosy Nook Café, Port Erin

Back in The Mitre, the eccentric tales keep coming. Have you heard the one about the wallabies that roam the island? They escaped from the wildlife park a few years ago, apparently, and have proved impossible to catch. You can, they say, spot all over the place. Did you know you can still shoot a Scotsman on sight if he runs towards you on a beach? ‘We always welcome the come-overs,’ a local whispers to me. ‘Though you have to get used to the fact that things are different around here. Not at all like where you come from.’

Getting there
Cheapest flights to the island are with Aer Arann, which flies from Luton (www.aerarann.ie).

Where to stay
Rob Crossan stayed at the Regency Hotel on Douglas seafront, where luxurious rooms start from £80 (www.iom-1.net/regency).

Rob Crossan