10 beautiful islands!
They are amazing places off our coastlines, offering memorable and fascinating experiences when visited. In a special feature for this issue, Coast writers ALEX GREEN, CHRISSY HARRIS and ANDREW MILLHAM profile ten very special islands
ISLE OF MAN
Helen Crosbie is officially a stopover. She and her family have lived on the Isle of Man for seven years - long enough to progress from being a mere ‘comeover’. “We’ve passed the fiveyear mark so we’re classed as stopovers now,” says Helen, who moved here with her husband Mike and their toddler daughter when the chance of a new start came up. The couple had been living in France for almost 15 years and working in ski resorts - not easy to balance with raising a young family.
“We wanted to relocate somewhere and then my husband had the opportunity to set up a business on the Isle of Man,” says Helen. “We took the leap and decided to go for it.”
Helen and her family have well and truly embraced their new home. Children Hettie, now eight, and George, five, love playing on the beaches and walking in the glens, forests and plantations. There are plenty of bike rides, coastal walks and the occasional round of golf, if there’s time. Helen has recently started her own business, producing handharvested sea salt from the marine nature reserve waters surrounding the Isle of Man.
The ‘side-hustle’ in a polytunnel in Helen’s back garden has recently been upscaled to a larger site. The plan is to launch the Isle of Man Salt Co into a product that can be exported and sold on a wider basis.
“I absolutely love doing it,” says Helen, adding that the idea of harvesting sea salt was a ‘lightbulb moment’ during a lockdown walk along the coast. “It’s a sustainable process and it’s given me such a nice balance with work and the kids. They can be fully involved. Come the summer season, they get their little white wellies on and come and help me.
“It’s really lovely here,” adds Helen. “It reminds me of growing up in the north west of England in the Eighties. It’s so safe for bringing up young children. My commute into the city (Douglas was accorded city status as part of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee) is about 20 minutes and that’s about one of the longest drives you’ll do here.
The island can be reached by ferry or plane in as little as 30 minutes from the UK and Ireland. It’s the only entire nation to be recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere and is home to a diverse range of nature and marine life. TOP TIP: Go to the glens. There are 18 mountain and coastal glens across the island. For a hike that’s suitable for all the family, visit Groudle Glen. Dhoon Glen is more out of the way but one of the most impressive.
