New interpretative display boards informing visitors about Port Erin’s points of interest are sitting at strategic points in the village.
Resident Judy Matthews, a member of Port Erin Traders, said she with fellow PET members Sally Holden and Andrew Foxon have been working on the project for the last 18 months.
‘The work has taken a good while – writing and checking the text, ascertaining planning requirements, obtaining the right photographs and then correlating it all in to the seven boards. A lot of time and effort has gone into this project, but we are there now.’
She said the guide is principally aimed at very short term visitors.
She said: ‘We get an awful lot of people taking the train or coach and they’ve only got three quarters of an hour here, 90 per cent of them will not get much further than the Falcon’s Nest. The idea is to enable them to maximise on what they see in a short time, and hopefully encourage them to visit the village again later.
‘You can put loads and loads of information about the history in, but not everybody’s interested in getting loads of information. It’s getting the right balance.’
The boards will form a trail through the centre of the village. Six have been erected and the seventh – free standing and made in England to special specifications to endure its exposed location by the Falcon’s Nest – will be put in situ within the next few weeks.
One at Droghadfayle Road (sponsored by the Whistlestop Cafe) greets those arriving by coach pointing them towards the railway station. Another in the railway station (Thompson Travel) outlines the history of the railway and museum with information on walking trails. The one in the paved area by the railway station features local attractions and history (Rushen Rotary). Points of interest in the area of the lower promenade are on a board by the Bridge Bookshop, which also sponsored the sign. Shopríte sponsored three signs: looking towards the Raglan pier, towards Bradda Head and by the Falcon’s Nest.
Julie thanked the sponsors, regeneration committee, for part funding the project, printers Quine & Cubbon for their design work and Ron Strathdee for use of his photographs.
She said: ‘We hope that even locals will find out something new about Port Erin!’