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Port Soderick
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Paddling pool and arcade (1993) | |
Location within the Isle of Man | |
OS grid reference | SC346726 |
Parish | Braddan |
Sheading | Middle |
Crown dependency | Isle of Man |
Post town | ISLE OF MAN |
Postcode district | IM4 |
Dialling code | 01624 |
Police | Isle of Man |
Fire | Isle of Man |
Ambulance | Isle of Man |
House of Keys | Middle |
Port Soderick (Manx : Purt Soderick) is a small hamlet to the south of Douglas, capital of the Isle of Man, once famed for its pleasure grounds and beach. [1] In later years there have been various attempts to rejuvenate the area, all of which have been unsuccessful to date. It still has a station on the steam railway.
The beach area had its own small promenade and hotel (later named "The Anchor" but now closed and abandoned), a suspended walkway (now closed and deemed unsafe), former oyster beds, and a sea lion pool, a large building formerly housing an amusement arcade, paddling pool (long since filled in by shingle from the incoming tide), and access to the nearby glen of the same name. These days the place is something of a ghost town, disturbed only by the occasional dog walker, but it once had its own funicular railway linking the sea level resort with the Douglas Head Marine Drive Railway atop the cliffs above, the remnants of which can still be traced today.
The entire site was purchased in the 1990s by Pacini Ltd (a subsidiary of De Beers) and the land was leased to Port Soderick Leisure Ltd, a company established by Andrew Evans of Douglas, with the sole purpose of rebuilding much of the site and operating a water sports facility there: primarily scuba diving, sailing, canoeing and jet ski rentals.
The original building was gutted except for the original sprung dance floor, and was converted for the most part into the Anchor pub. The centre opened with much support from local people, and was very popular during the summer. Pacini had however inadvertently leased the small wooden cafe on the site to a separate party who enforced their contract to be the sole supplier of food to the area. Thus robbed of the lucrative profits from food as alcohol consumption fell due to social concerns, the centre's financial viability was stretched. Pacini decided to pull all future funding; this resulted in the lease being given up and control handed to the cafe proprietor, who abandoned the water sports and ran the pub for a short while before closing its doors for good.
The site has limitations mainly associated with decay of the building structures due to lack of maintenance and vandalism and the general deterioration of the old coastal walkways. In addition there is no sewer connection at the site and the sea outfall has long been destroyed.
Largs is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about 33 mi (53 km) from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" in Scottish Gaelic.
Laxey is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Man. Its name derives from the Old Norse Laxa meaning 'Salmon River'. Its key distinguishing features are its three working vintage railways and the largest working waterwheel in the world. It is also the location of King Orry's Grave.
Onchan is a large village in the parish of Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Administratively a district, it has the second largest population of settlements on the island, after Douglas, with which it forms a conurbation.
Port St Mary is a village district in the south-west of the Isle of Man. The village takes its name from the former Chapel of St Mary which is thought to have overlooked Chapel Bay in the village. Its population is 1,953 according to the 2011 census. In the 19th century it was sometimes called Port-le-Murray.
Port Erin is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it is designated as a village district, with its own board of commissioners. The district covers around 1 square mile, and is adjacent to: Port St Mary to the south-east; the main part of Arbory and Rushen parish district to the north and east; the sea to the west; and an exclave of Arbory and Rushen parish district to the south. Following recent residential expansion, the settlement is now contiguous with that of Port St Mary, and on 18 July 2018 Tynwald authorised a public enquiry into the proposed expansion of the district boundary to include some of this expansion.
Ramsey is a coastal town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the Island after Douglas. Its population is 8,288 according to the 2021 Census. It has one of the biggest harbours on the Island, and has a prominent derelict pier, called the Queen's Pier. It was formerly one of the main points of communication with Scotland. Ramsey has also been a route for several invasions by the Vikings and Scots.
Mallaig is a port in Morar, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. It faces Skye from across the Sound of Sleat. The local railway station is the terminus of the West Highland Line, and the town is linked to Fort William by the A830 road – the "Road to the Isles".
The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is 3 ft narrow gauge and 15+1⁄2 miles long. It is the remainder of what was a much larger network that also served the western town of Peel, the northern town of Ramsey and the mining village of Foxdale. Now in government ownership, it uses original rolling stock and locomotives and there are few concessions to modernity.
Braddan is one of the seventeen parishes of the Isle of Man.
Port Soderick Railway Station is the first station on the Port Erin line of the Isle of Man Railway and is located near the settlement of the same name on the Isle of Man. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the railway which once served a 46-mile network across the island. The station was built primarily to serve the popular coastal resort which is a short walk from the station via one of the Manx National Glens. Although largely derelict today, this resort was once a hugely popular destination for tourists
Douglas Head is a rocky point on the Isle of Man overlooking Douglas Bay and harbour. Views extend to include Snaefell Mountain and Laxey.
Groudle, or Groudle Glen, a glen on the outskirts of Onchan on the Isle of Man, is formed in a valley leading to the sea at the small port of the same name. It is one of the officially-listed Manx National Glens.
This article details each of the lines operated by the Isle of Man Railway, including the original line to Peel in the west, opened in 1873, followed by the Port Erin line the following year, as well as the Manx Northern Railway's line between St John's and Ramsey and the Foxdale Railway's line between St John's and Foxdale.
Douglas Southern Electric Tramway was a standard gauge tramway between the top of Douglas Head on the Isle of Man and the nearby resort of Port Soderick.
Port Jack Halt is the name of the first official stopping place on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man and is situated a short distance from the terminus.
The Isle of Man Sea Terminal is the arrival and departure point for all passenger and car ferries operating to and from the Isle of Man, and is located in Douglas, the island's capital. It is one of the two main gateways to the Isle of Man, the other one being the Isle of Man Airport. It is operated by and is the main hub for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, which runs year-round sailings to Heysham, and seasonal sailings to Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin in the summer and Birkenhead at weekends in the winter.
HMS Valkyrie was a shore establishment or "stone frigate" of the Royal Navy located in Douglas, Isle of Man. The establishment was split into two component parts, Valkyrie I and Valkyrie II.
Baldrine is a village in the Isle of Man. It is close to the east coast of the island, about 3 km south of Laxey and 6 km NE of Douglas. It is in the historic parish of Lonan, in the sheading of Garff. For administrative purposes it is in the parish district of Garff, and it is also in the House of Keys constituency of Garff.
There have been five cliff railways in the Isle of Man, none of which remain operational. Usually referred to as 'cliff lifts', they were all railways, having wheeled carriages running on weight-bearing rails. The two Falcon lifts served the same hotel at different periods ; the first Falcon lift was moved to become the Port Soderick lift, at the south end of the Douglas Southern Electric Tramway, with the Douglas Head lift at its north end. The Browside lift served the Laxey Wheel.