Our 2025 programme opened with an excellent presentation by Adam Horne, who took us on a journey down the west coast from Peel – not just to Fleshwick, but into Port Erin Bay and then through yn Cheyllys Vooar, the Great Sound between Kitterland and the Calf.
At the height of the fishing industry working out of Peel, each boat with a crew of seven, many would have had a good working knowledge of the coast and all its rocks and caves. There are still working boats, pleasure craft and kayaks up and down the coast, of course, who can enjoy this experience. For many of us, even those who walk the coastal paths and explore some of the more accessible beaches, looking back towards the coast from the sea gave us quite a different perspective as Adam pointed out places of interest with bits of folklore and history. Navigating some of the zig-zag wrack roads with a horse and cart must have been quite a challenge, including one place where the beach was so small they had to build a platform out over the sea to provide a place to turn the cart to go back up the path.
It was a particularly interesting presentation because Adam delivered it by way of a series of videos he and Jo Callister had filmed last October, interspersed with historic images or with some of their videos from other trips.
It was a great opener to our programme, as ta shin kianglt booise da Adam as Jo son nyn obbyr.