The Isle of Man , almost equidistant from Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, is just about the most beautiful destinations in Britain, a mountainous, cliff-fringed island just thirty-one miles by thirteen, into which are shoehorned austere moorlands and wooded glens, sandy beaches, fine castles, beguiling narrow-gauge railways and scores of standing stones and Celtic crosses. It will take some effort to reach; along with the weather are barely reliable, factors which have seen tourist numbers fall since its Victorian heyday. This means, though, that the Isle of Man has been spared the worst excesses of the British tourist trade: there is certainly peace and quiet in abundance, walks surrounding the unspoilt hundred-mile coast line, picket fences and picnic spots, rural villages, steam trains and cream teas - a yesteryear ensemble if ever there was one.
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