MY WORLD - TAKE ME DOWN THE SULBY RIVER

My world is Ramsey, Isle Of Man

The Sulby River as I have mentioned before is one of those lovely Viking names they left their mark with on the island. I know this upsets a few Manxies (people born on the Isle Of Man) out there, but you know some you of you are viking stock you can't deny it. Anyway the Sulby. It's the largest river in the Isle Of Man. Starting at the hills of Tholt y will, through, Sulby Glen and Village, through deep and shallow, pooling into waterfalls, past Lezayre, Ramsey, into the harbour, and into the Irish sea. It's apparently good for salmon fishing when it's been as wet as this. Well yippe for those fisherman but bad news for me. My walkway down by the riverbanks is under water at the moment. The psot I stood on to take the image is usually not in danger of being swamped under water. Hopefully we can have a few dry days and the riverbanks won't be so swollen.


I mentioned Sulby was a place named by the Viking who firstly invaded, but secondly stayed and integrated. Here is the meaning of Sulby and a few other Isle Of Man Viking Place names.


Ramsey/Rhumsaa - as I have said before is wild garlic river
Laxey/Laxa - wild salmon river
Tynwald/Thingvollr - parliament field/assembly/ meeting place
Foxdale/Foss tal - waterfall glen
Cregneash/Krok-nes - crooked (coastline)
Sulby/Sula- by- farm by cleft fork in a river
Dalby/Dalr-by - dale town
Fleshwick - Flesjar -vik - green grassy, spot creek


Do you recognise any of these place names or similar in your area. If so the Viking were there.


For more my entries click MY WORLD and thank the skywatch gang once again for another inspired idea.

RAMSEY WAR MEMORIAL - MY WORLD

My World - Ramsey War Memorial

This is the Ramsey War Memorial Cross that stands next to the Police Station and opposite the Post Office. Nestled in a tranquil square surrounded by Cherry Blossom trees, small bordered lawns and benches to sit a while and pay tribute. The cross bears the names of the fallen service men from the Isle Of Man of the World Wars. Note the design of the cross and the intricate detailing. This is down to our Celtic and Manx heritage which creates many varied styles on a Celtic theme.

I chose to show for my world today, the War Memorial, as it is Armistice Day. Poppies will be laid around the foot of the Memorial and a service will be held. As the island is still quite private, and I did not wish to intrude upon the service, I have chosen a spring photo, with the Cherry Blossom in bloom and highlighted with a sepia tone which seemed best suited to the image. Later this week I will photograph the Memorial with the poppies if they are still there, hopefully.

Armistice Day is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning - the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." While this official date to mark the end of the war reflects the ceasefire on the Western Front, hostilities continued in other regions, especially across the former Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire. In the United States, Armistice Day was renamed to Veterans Day in 1954.

Ramsey, Isle of Man maybe small but the people of the island played their part and gave their lives too in the World Wars and in subsequent and ongoing wars and the War Memorial will always be the focal point in Ramsey On Armistice Day.

For more my entries click MY WORLD and thank the skywatch gang once again for another inspired idea.

MOORAGH PARK, RAMSEY, ISLE OF MAN

My World

Mooragh Park, contains Mooragh Lake was like Albert Tower, built by the Victorians. In 1881, the Ramsey Town Commissioners bought a 200 acre tidal swamp. The Land was purchased for 1,200 pounds( wonder what that would be now, a small fortune no doubt?) with the intent to build the site into a pleasure park. Six years later the site was opened to the public and included many of the sites it does today. Recent additions to the area have been the skateboard park and Ramsey Rugby Clubhouse. Ramsey home games are still played here. You know that though as I've shown you the images.

As winter approaches the park will be frequented by less visitors than the summer months. We do though have one important invent coming up this week, called Bonfire Night. I will no doubt be posting those photos of this celebration. Not sure what Bonfire night is, then you'll have to come back and find out here and probably on lots of UK blogs.

The other thing you can see in this image is the North Barrule, the mountain overlooking Ramsey. Several meaning have materialised when trying to establish the meaning of Barrule. Barrule it appears comes form the Norse word Vorofjall, Beacons Fell. Quite how it went from one to the other remains subjective. A little more of my Ramsey, Isle of Man World.

For more my entries click MY WORLD and thank the skywatch gang once again for another inspired idea.

QUEENS PIER, RAMSEY, ISLE OF MAN - MY WORLD

Ramsey Isle of Man is my world. This image is Queens Pier 2/100 for those keeping count.

Thanks in advance for all those new people stopping by as I have been named "blog of note" today.

Commissioned by the Isle of Man Harbour Board and constructed by Head Wrightson & Company, this 2241ft (679m) pier opened on 22nd July 1886 by the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man. Costing £45,000 Ramsey Queens Pier and originally designed as a landing point for steamers plying the Liverpool, Fleetwood, Belfast and River Clyde routes.
A wooden deck over iron piles, a small cafe at the far end. A 3ft (900mm) gauge horse-drawn tramway, that was used to transport building materials during construction, ran along the centre and retained for baggage transport. A new wooden landing stage was added in 1899, along with a covered passenger car on the tramway.

The horse-drawn tramway was motorised in 1937 when the locomotive "Planet" was introduced. Modifications were again made to the tramway in 1950 when a "Wickham" rail car was added. Further track alterations in 1956, gave the line an overall length of 2,080ft (631m). 1956 also saw the redevelopment of the pier entrance.

The Pier has since fallen on bad times, as I pointed out in my skywatch post. A group the "Friends of Queen's Pier" was set up to hightlight the plight of the pier, and to try and save it, from the neglect it has suffered over the years. It's future is still uncertain, but at least it has now been secured. We need to preserve this pier as many of those in the UK has been lost to the elements or even fire. Save our Pier. I know I'm home when I see it coming along the coast road.

For more my entries click MY WORLD and thank the skywatch gang once again for another inspired idea.

If you want to see loads of wonderful alternative images of the pier and excellent write up go to my world contributer Mannanan, British Isles

I am joining red bubble. Watch this space.

BATTLE OF SKY HILL,RAMSEY- MY WORLD

Sky Hill
Ramsey
Isle Of Man

The hill on the right is the most important in Ramsey and Isle of Man history. Here's why.

The Battle of Scacafell or Skyhill took place in Ramsey, Isle of Man in 1079. It was the third and final time that the Norse-Gael warrior Godred Crovan invaded the island, taking it from Dublin and Orkney. His victory over the Manx brought together the Isle of Man with the Hebrides, establishing the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles.

At the time of the battle, the Isle of Man was part of a larger political entity called the Kingdom of the Sudreys, which consisted of Man and the Hebrides. Godreds father, Harald the Black was king from c. 1035-1040, but on his death the kingdom appeared to come under the control of the Earls of Orkney. When their control over the islands lapsed around 1049, the throne passed to a distant relation of Harald the Black, Sigtrygg, whose brother was King of Dublin. His son, Godred II, who reigned until 1075, succeeded Sigtrygg.

In 1075 Godred II died and the throne was passed to Fingall, but he does not seem to have remained there long. In 1075, Godred Crovan assembled a fleet and an army, probably of Norse from the Hebrides, and attacked the island. He was repulsed, but was soon back for a second attempt. Again he was repulsed, but is during this period that Fingall disappears from the record, and it is probable he was killed during one of the invasion attempts. In 1079, Godred Crovan came back, and the chronicles are reasonably clear as to what happened next.

A third time he gathered a massive force and came by night to the harbour which is called Ramsey, and three hundred men he hid in a wood which was on the sloping brow of the mountain called Sky Hill. At dawn the Manxmen formed up in battle order and after a massive charge joined battle with Godred. When the battle was raging vehemently, the three hundred rose from their place of hiding at their rear and began to weaken the resistance of the Manxmen and compelled them to flee. Now when they saw themselves defeated without any place for them to escape to, for the tide had filled the riverbed at Ramsey and the enemy were pressing constantly from the other side, those that were left begged Godred with pitiful cries to spare them their lives. Moved with compassion and taking pity on their plight, since he had been reared among them for some time, he called off his army and forbade them to pursue them further.

Godred Crovan (Old Irish: Gofraid mac meic Arailt, Gofraid Méranech; Guðrøðr^[1]) (died 1095) was a Norse-Gael ruler of Dublin, and King of Mann and the Isles in the second half of the 11th century. Godred's epithet Crovan may mean "white hand" (Middle Irish: crobh bhan).^[2] In Manx folklore he is known as King Orry.

I chose this image to show as part of the my world theme to illustrate that although the photo is present day, we are always living amongst the past. For more my entries click MY WORLD and thank the skywatch gang once again for another inspired idea.