The Isle of Man sits here in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. It’s like England without the people and Ireland without the charm.

The Isle of Man has about 70,000 people and about 37 miles long. There are also a lot of sheep here. The name used to be the Isle of Manannan, named after some old God who supposedly would throw his cloak of fog over the island to keep it safe. This was told to me by a wizened old man with one eye that I found tending some sheep. I only caught a few words of what he said, and I am 25% sure he cast some sort of Celtic spell on me.

People that live here do not call themselves English or Scots – they call themselves “Manx.” There is even an old Manx language that a few people still speak here. It’s some form of Gaelic that can only be understood by dolphins and Enya.

I’ve spent most of my time here in the capital of Douglas. It’s a nice little town with lots of Victorian architecture.