Our Christmas party menu, priced at £29.00 which includes a Manx Loaghtan dish has now been published on this site!
Book now to avoid disappointment but we do still have dates available!
Archive for year: 2021
It might be fair to say that you cannot guarantee warm sunny days on the Isle of Man at this time of year. Indeed, you can’t guarantee warm, sunny weather at any time of year in the Isle of Man!
However, it is quite unusual to have whole days of absolutely teeming rain and even on the worst of them, you can still extract something despite a little dampness and a bit of a hooly.
Actually that’s what we had to do recently when our daughter and her family visited for half term. we picked the time when it was least likely to be most wet and headed off to Glen Helen, 9 miles along the TT course on the west of the Island.
The intention was to visit Spooyt Vane, arguably the biggest waterfall here, which is situated just beyond the glen on private land, so we set off inland, up river. And here’s the thing: Although it is a beatiful shady spot to visit in the summer, it’s just as beautiful but much more spectacular, especially after heavy rainfall in the winter and, as on many of our walks, you can see so much more without all the leaves on the trees.
The main path to the Rhenass fall (13 years, a tourist and 43 years living here and I have only discovered the name) is wide, with no major inclines or descents, so it is one of our more accessible glens and we had no trouble with the pram or any of our other two grandchildren, despite them starting to show the effects of a hard few days of holiday and there was certainly plenty of flow to the river, rapids and lots of contributary waterfalls.
What I had forgotten, is that there was no way that we could get the pram beyond the bridge, so Spooyt Vane will have to wait until their visit next year when the youngest is a little bit bigger.
There is also a little play park, near to the entrance of the glen which is always a great sweetener for the kids to have to do a walk!
The Swiss Chalet is being refurbished after a fire and the cafe by the yurts was closed but we could have gone to Tynwald Mills nearby and we ended up going to the Hawthorn which serves food all day but you can also pop in for a coffee or a drink.
A little while later and into November, following more rainfall, on one of our beautiful autumnal days, I took this photograph of another waterfall on the Calf of Man.
You don’t need to leave the Isle of Man until the summer because there’s no such thing as bad weather, only weather in all its differing forms. And even if, sometimes you don’t fancy going out in it, it doesn’t rain in the Welbeck Bar!
Book now to stay at the Welbeck!
For about 20 years, Irene & myself had been meaning to go on one of the Gaiety Theatre tours which are held every Saturday morning, from April to September (Though our’s was in October, so it might be worth checking if there’s one on, if you are coming over the winter) but failed uselessly until, a few weeks ago, our daughter, Lucy bought us a pair as a present.
I thought I had quite an extensive knowlewdge of our local masterpiece, designed by the revered specialist architect, Frank Matcham but soon discovered I really knew next to nothing and what I’d expected to be a swift 45 minute whizz around it, actually it was a fascinating two hour tour!
In this blog, I won’t go into too much detail but there are some unique features, such as the ‘Drop Curtain,’ and the ‘Corsican Trap,’ and the stories of its battle to survive through the 20th century (It is only here because of a quirk of Manx law and the refusal of one man to sign the warrant for its demolition) and the everlasting restorations, initiated and pushed through by the relentless enthusiasm of its former manager, Mervyn Stokes, make such interesting viewing and listening.
Bookings can be made at http://www.villagaiety.com and it costs £7.50 per adult, family tickets £15 though, as the theatre was built in the 1900s, some areas are not accessible for all.
Of course, don’t forget to book to stay at the Welbeck! Open nearly 12 months a year! Reservations
Sunday Lunch (and Dinner) is back at the Welbeck Restaurant!
Loaghtan, reared at Ballacosnahan Farm in Patrick featured last week for the first time! It was a sellout with more than a third of our diners opting to try it!
Book your table on 675663 or by messaging through here!
#manxloaghtan
Sunday lunch is here at the Welbeck Hotel Restaurant once more! From 12:30 to 2:30 (Last Orders) and open again from 5:00 in the evening.
The best Isle of Man Beef and Lamb will feature but most exciting will be the arrival of #ManxLoagthan from Ballacosnahan Farm in Patrick, which we are looking forward to in the near future.
For those who are unaware, The Loaghtan is our local indigenous sheep which was very close to dying out at the end of the 19th century. Because the animal takes 24 months to mature (Best eaten between 2 and 5 years,) it is more expensive to rear and it isn’t strictly lamb which puts off many farmers from producing it. They are fit, hardy creatures, preferring to inhabit the hills and for this reason are less fatty then more common breeds of lamb and sheep.
We are also hoping to sell the wool from our cabinet.
Anyone who regularly reads our Facebook and Blog will by now know that Irene & I (Michael) are experts at not seeing dolphins and whales!
However, it all appears to have gone a bit wrong this year and we seem to have stumbled on a new way of finding them: By complete coincidence! After years of going specifically to see them and failing miserably and missing them by arriving the day before, the day after, minutes after and before, sailing out in boats, on kayaks the answer was there all along! Don’t try!
19th June, we weren’t looking for them in Ramsey. In fact, we were following the Parish Walk and following a toilet emergency, we found ourselves on South Shore, and there, right by the pier, only about 150m out were Moonlight & Starlight*!
Last Saturday, 25th September, we didn’t mention dolphins once as we headed out to Peel for what has been a rare excursion out of Douglas the last few weeks. We left the car in the Fenella Beach park and before we’d even reached the road, there once again were Moonlight & Starlight, right in the centre of the Bay, between the two yellow markers.
One of them did a fantastic breach, fully out of the water but of course, as we tried to get ourselves nearer by moving towards the breakwater, they seemed to be heading North and away from us but at least we’d seen them!
Therefore, we walked back along the top of the Breakwater, to perhaps grab a cup of tea. We could see the seals playing in the waves in the distance as high tide approached but frustratingly, the gate, part way along was locked, so we had to turn around. And there, probably about 100m away were our two cetecean chums apparently, just hanging around, intertwining with each other as they dipped beneath the water. if some dude hadn’t shut the padlock for seemingly no reason at all, we might not have been so lucky!
If you want to come to the Isle of Man to not see dolphins, either by using our new method or more traditional modes, why not stay at the Welbeck Hotel & Restaurant? Book now through our website, though we much prefer the old fashioned way of actually talking to you +44 (0) 1624 657663 or email mail@welbeckhotel.com https://www.welbeckhotel.com/
- For those of you not in the know, Starlight is the first bottlenose dolphin to be recorded as born in Manx waters, around the Point of Ayre area 2019. Her mother, Moonlight was originally identified in Scotland but thought to be lost before being spotted again near Scandinavia, then appearing here two years ago. Ordinarily, dolphins are just visitors to the Island, mainly bottlenose in the winter and Rissos in the summer, with occasional excursions here by common dolphins too but our mother and daughter pair seem to have stayed around the Island, most regularly appearing in Peel and on the West coast. The other cetaceans usually spotted in our area are Harbour Porpoise and Minke whales, the latter usually arriving in numbers around this time of year, following the spawning herrings.Ms. Roberta Harbisher, one of our residents who was also in Peel on Saturday but saw no dolphins would like to point out that she saw a pod far bigger than ours’ at Dhoon Bay last week!
For anyone more interested in their story, see https://mwdwresidentbottlenose.weebly.com/story-and-sightings.html?fbclid=IwAR255Ou1v2FWGVlGpqFEhiiXIDObDZ8CQYAQNX-R1rTjng1lt6lI0gAcFAA
We have written a new terms and conditions document for bookings, including a C19 Guarantee.
Terms and Conditions Welbeck 2021
We had a family outing and walked from Port Erin to the Calf Sound along the Raad ny Foillan (literally translated as the Road of the Gull, the IOM coastal footpath travels 95 miles around the Island, mostly very close to the sea) which is one of the most beautiful sections, though there are many others of varied scenery which I could make an argument to be the best on any given day. The track is accessed by going behind the old Marine Biological Centre building, a little past the RNLI boathouse and slipway which is on the left hand side of the bay looking from the land side.
Our grandson, Harry wasn’t best pleased that we had decided to put him through this torture, so the going was very slow and the 3.2km (two miles-ish) took us over an hour, though normally this would only take us 35-40 minutes or so. There are parts of the journey where you have to clamber over a few rocks, so you have to be reasonably nimble on your feet to take this one on but it isn’t exactly mountaineering. Some of the hills are a little steep, so you need to be just a little bit fit.
I imagine he looked a little more enthused, winning his first stock car races this week!
Having reached the Calf Sound, Irene & myself opted for the Seafood Chowder which was excellent while Lucy and Harry feasted on ice cream. At this stage, we noticed that the bus had pulled in, so the younger members of our team opted for a ride home.
We decided to return to Port Erin along the road, so we walked up to Cregneash, then turned left, over the top back to Port Erin. At this point it is possible to visit the Meayll (pronounced Mull) Circle which is a little like a minute Stone Henge without the balancing acts, and also there are great views in all directions from on top the WW2 buildings.
It is a little further in distance back to Port Erin but quicker because you are walking on the tarmac (And no press ganged child to slow us down) with lovely vistas of both sides of the peninsula and Bradda Head, Hill, Reayrt Ny Beinney and Cronk-ny-Arrey-Laa.
The return journey takes you around the other side of Ballaman which was built by Nigel Mansell when he lived here in the 80s but now owned by John Whittaker, one of the Isle of Man’s richest residents.
To end up on the side of the Promenade that you set off from, you turn left at the Darragh and down the little path that brings you out just by the Bay Hotel.
You’ll be glad to know that Harry was much happier on the beach and in the sea!
For the next few weeks, Sunday lunch will begin at 12 with last orders being at 3pm and we open again for dinner at 5:30pm until 8.00pm.
Two Courses – £18.50 Three Courses – £21.50
Book now 675663
Last Sunday, following reports of a basking shark sighting off Niarbyl, as it was a beautiful afternoon, we decided to go and take a look.
With it not having rained in Douglas all morning, we were very surprised to find lots of standing water and miniature rivers flowing down the roads!
With our customary timing and skill, we did of course not see any aquatic life, beyond a few birds, though we perhaps should have stuck it out a little longer as apparently a huge animal breached, not half an hour after our departure, though too fast for anyone to identify and we’d probably have been looking the other direction anyway.
We decided to walk down Glen Maye and the evidence of the earlier downpour was astonishing, as we have never seen the waterfalls there look so spectacular and the usual trickle of a stream was a raging torrent!
