Two brothers who walked the coastal Raad ny Foillan footpath in five days over Easter weekend experienced the island in all its moods.
Joel Rookwood said he and his brother Barney had rain, hail and strong gusts of wind but they also had sunshine, stunning sunsets and rainbows.
‘It was amazing,’ he said. ‘Walking was not easy in places but we both really enjoyed it.’
Tackling the footpath – which is 95 miles long – was in tribute to their mum Carol, who died in 2012. The family’s attachment to the island – through Port St Mary’s annual beach mission – stretches back several generations. Their parents met on the boat to the island in the 1960s and the family came each year until Joel was 14.
At the Sound, Carol had saw a sign for the Raad ny Foillan. Joel said: ‘She told me about the path. She would have loved to do it.’
Port St Mary was the natural start and finish point for the walk which they tackled anti-clockwise and got off to a very bad start when Joel’s arm was hit hard by a van.
Joel said: ‘The driver was not looking, I knocked off the wing mirror with my arm.’
Another motorist stopped the van, which had carried on, and the van driver returned to the brothers. ‘He did come back round and was fairly apologetic.’
Barney, 44, a GP, assessed they could continue the walk.
The route to Douglas was ‘really wet’, said Joel, adding: ‘We were on our hands and knees at times, there was a steep drop to the sea and it was windy.’
They made good progress in the north and even rescued a sheep that had fallen on its back; the grateful farmer fed and watered them in thanks.
Accommodation was the challenge and they stayed at Woodside B&B where owners Orry and Alison were ‘just brilliant’ at driving them to and fro.
They also had great service from Fiona and David Anderson at Knockaloe Beg Farm near Peel, and the Berries at Aaron House in Port St Mary.
Physical hardship lay between Kirk Michael and Peel and increasingly Port Erin and Port St Mary. This was offset by some ‘amazing cliffs and beaches’.
The island’s variety struck Joel, who said: ‘The cliffs and beaches in Port Erin are beautiful, you could be anywhere, in the north it’s pebble. It’s the variation in weather, landscape and people.’
The walk is a great asset and should be advertised more widely, said Joel. ‘Anyone we talk to does not know it’s there. In the Lake District they are queuing up to use the footpaths.’
Joel, 35, a senior lecturer at Southampton Solent University, made a short film of the walk he hopes will help promote tourism.
He said: ‘I will cover the rain as well – I got the full breadth of experience.
‘I hope to be true to the Isle of Man.’