Isle of Man TT Course




Monday 20th October 2008 saw me driving north to Heysham to catch the ferry to the Isle of Man so that I could cycle around the famous 37.75mile TT course - no real reason other than it was something I wanted to do.

The lady who ran the campsite said that there would be no problem with catching the ferry in October so I needn't bother to book in advance. Why do I always listen to other people - because of strong winds, all the Liverpool crossings had been cancelled and those who had reservations were transferred to Heysham. This meant that I couldn't get on either the 2.15pm or the 7.45pm sailings, however I did manage to book a place on the 2.15am ferry next morning. Trying to kill fourteen hours around Morecambe and Heysham was no joke so I slept most of it!

It was 7.15am on Tuesday morning when I pulled into the campsite - a field adjacent an old house that looked like Miss Faversham had once owned it! I had been warned by the old lady that the field was bit boggy so I should park by the house which I did - in between several hatchback cars in various stages of dismantle! I checked out the shower and toilet blocks only to find they were delapidated mildew-coated portakabins - even the toilet rolls were grey!

Having had four more hours of sleep on the floor of the ferrys' restaurant, I decided to make a start on cycling the TT course. Having sketched out some route instructions which I attached to my bars, I made my short way from the campsite to the start adjacent to the grandstand and timing board. My plan was to do one relaxed lap in order to find the route and to take photos and then do a 'quick' lap - well quick for a bicycle.

Setting off on a slight descent, I reached the first crossroads with traffic lights and made my first wrong turning so I retraced and pressed on to the next set of lights and did the same again! Continuing on, I eventually reached Quarter Bridge which turned out to be a set of double roundabouts where I got onto the A1 and headed for Union Mills. The strong wind, which had caused the chaos with the ferries, was still blowing but down amongst the tree-lined road which runs westwards across the island to Ballacraine, I made good progress.

Out in the countryside, the Isle of Man authorities had erected orange signs to indicate the route of the TT course so at Ballacraine, I duly followed the marker and turned right onto the A3. I now had the wind behind me but I was faced with a steep climb up Glen Helen but once over that, it was a quick ride to Kirk Michael apart from having to stop while a farmer moved his flock of sheep from one field to another.

You wouldn't see that on the A3 in England!

Leaving Kirk Michael, I was now heading north-east with the wind still behind me so I was soon at the famous Ballaugh Bridge where the motorcyclists get airborne - no chance of me emulating them on my bicycle!

Pressing on, I negotiated Quarry Bends which might be bends at well over 100mph but not at a steady 18mph then it was on to Sulby Straight where I topped 20mph - about one tenth of that of the motorcyclists! In Ramsey, I entered Parliament Square expecting to see something resembling the one in England only to find it was a T-junction controlled by traffic lights with a brightly-painted cast-iron column opposite.

Leaving Ramsey and turning south, I started on the infamous mountain, Snaefell, which when covered in fog, can stop the traffic. The first part of the climb up May Hill to the Waterworks Hairpin was very steep but thankfully, I was sheltered from the wind by the hillside. Having struggled around the hairpin and past Alberts Tower, erected to mark the point where Prince Albert climbed to after Queen Victoria and he landed at Ramsey on their visit to the island, the gradient eased off to just a steep climb but I was now exposed to the south-westerly blast which was trying to blow me off the side of the road. To make matters worse, the road had been resurfaced so many times that there was a one foot drop off the side of the tarmac to a deep gully full of rocks! Briefly pausing from my struggle, I took a breather in a layby and photographed the panoramic view overlooking Ramsey Bay.

Returning to the climb up the mountain, I eventually reached the Guthrie Memorial so I stopped again to take a break and a photograph.

Back to the climb again, I continued to battle my way onwards and upwards at a steady 6.5mph and eventually reached a layby adjacent the radio mast on top of Snaefell. As can be seen from the photo below, I had climbed 6.25miles from Ramsey but this was not the end of the climbing.

Trying to take photos on the exposed mountain was not easy as the wind was so strong that it would blow my bike over so I didn't hang about. At the Bungalow, the gradient eased off a little and I stopped to take a photo of the bronze statue of Joey Dunlop but I didn't stop for long.

Snaefell might have been behind me now but the climbing wasn't and the road kicked back up again as I approached Hailwood Heights where I took another breather and photo before heading for the final summit, 7.5miles after leaving Ramsey.

I was now travelling across a ridge from the highest point of the course to the start of the descent indicated by a sharp right-hander. Approaching the bend, I was already leaning into the wind and when I turned my bars to get round the corner, I just went straight on into the run-off area which thankfully was tarmaced! I later found out that this was called Windy Corner - too right! Having stopped, I turned my bike to face into the wind and had to pedal downhill to Kate's Cottage where the road went left and picking up a slight tailwind, I approached the next sharp right-hander called Creg-ny-Baa at 45mph! The bus driver, who was following me at this point, decided to stay behind me so I could use all of my side of the road and I needed it - that is one hell of a corner even on a bicycle!

The downhill ride continued all the way to Signpost corner which was now a right turn at a mini-roundabout and then another descent to Governors Bridge. The old bridge had been bypassed by two more roundabouts but by threading my way between marker cones, I managed to cycle around the old piece of road which is still used for the TT Races. As the races are held in the summertime, Governors Bridge would be in a lot better condition than it is in the photo!


One lap of the TT Course completed and it had taken me about 3.5hours so now it was time to do it all again but without stopping. I won't bore you with the details again but suffice it to say that I did have to stop halfway up the mountain to take a breather and managed to capture a photo of a rainbow overlooking Ramsey Bay.

It was only a small raincloud which produced a short shower and the sunshine soon returned allowing me to complete the second lap in just under 3hours. Oh, I also had to stop at Windy Corner again for the same reason as before - blown off course!

The Isle of Man is extremely picturesque with some beautiful scenery but some narrow twisty roads and somehow, I managed to get two days of glorious sunshine. The TT Course is also well worth attempting but I would stick to a bicycle and leave the motorbikes to others. Finally, I just had to finish my visit to the most famous landmark on the island - the Lady Isabella.