Douglas

Introduction

Michael the Horse

© Vicky1976

Douglas (Doolish in Manx, the local language) is the capital and largest settlement of the Isle of Man and almost every aspect of the cultural and economical life can be found right here. It has a population of roughly 27000 people and has been the capital since 1863, before that Castletown was the capital. The town is located on the central east coast at the confluence point of the small Dhoo and Glass rivers. For a city so small it has a surprisingly large collection of sights and activities, and combined with the location at the coast it makes of a great couple of days exploring the town on foot or on one of the many horse drawn trams!

Weather

Douglas has a typical maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. June to September is summer season with temperatures between 16 and 20 °C and nights around 10 °C. Winters are still above zero, even at night, though frost is not unheard of. The highest and lowest temperatures possible are around 28 °C and around -5 °C. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with autumn and winter being the wettest time and spring being the driest month. May is the driest and most sunny month of the year.

Getting There

By Plane

Isle of Man Airport (IATA: IOM, ICAO: EGNS) is located 11 kilometres southwest of Douglas. Manx2 is based here and has flights to Blackpool, Leeds, Jersey, Nottingham, Gloucester and Belfast.

Other airlines flying into this airport include Aer Arann (from Dublin), Blue Islands (Jersey, Guernsey), Eastern Airways (Birmingham, Newcastle), Flybe (Birmingham, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Southampton), Loganair (Edinburgh, Glasgow), VLM (London).

By Train

Close to the airport is a halt stop of the Isle of Man Steam Railway which runs from Port Erin, in the south, to Douglas. It offers one of the few opportunities to take a steam train from the airport to your destination. Trains run during the summer months only.

By Boat

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company run a regular service from Heysham, near Lancaster (England), and a slightly less frequent service from Larne, (Northern Ireland).
There also are services to and from Belfast, Liverpool and Dublin.

Getting Around

By Public Transport

A horsedrawn tram, one of only two left in the world, runs the Douglas promenade's length, from the ferry terminal to the Manx Electric Railway's southern terminal. There is also a bus service in town.

By Foot

Douglas is easily walkable.

Drink

There are many places to drink in Douglas, from typical British pubs to cocktail and wine bars.

Sleep

There are a large number of bed and breakfasts in Douglas with high quality hotels such as the Sefton and Hilton also available.

It is strongly that you book ahead especially in the TT Season when rooms will be at a premium.

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

External Links

• Official Website