Ramsey is a port and beach resort on the northeast coast of the Isle of Man. It's about the island's closest point to England - Whitehaven is 36 miles / 58 km northeast - so the port was historically important until Douglas developed.

Ramsey (Manx: Rhumsaa) derives from Old Norse hrams-á, meaning "wild garlic river". It's the third-largest town on the island, with a population in 2021 of 8288.

Get in

The quickest driving route from Douglas (the capital and ferry port) is by A18, 15 miles over the shoulder of Snaefell. Otherwise follow A2 along the coast through Laxey.

Bus 3 runs from Douglas every 30 min, taking an hour via Onchan and Laxey. The last bus is at 23:15, but on Friday and Saturday there's an extra N3 shortly after midnight.

Bus 5 runs from Douglas to Peel on the west coast, where it turns around and re-crosses the island to Ramsey. The service from Peel is hourly and takes 45 min via Kirk Michael; it then makes a 15 min circuit of town.

The bus station is on Albert Terrace 100 yards west of the railway station.

1 Ramsey railway station on Albert Street is the north terminus of the Manx Electric Railway. This plies hourly mid-March to Oct from Douglas Derby Castle, taking 75 min via Laxey where it connects with Snaefell Mountain Railway.

Get around

Town is compact. You need your own wheels to visit the north end of the island, which only has a school bus service.

Manx Taxis are on +44 1624 817788.

Throughout the TT fortnight in June, the mountain section A18 is one-way southbound from Ramsey to Creg-ny-Baa approaching Douglas, and cyclists are prohibited. This is apart from the complete closures during races and practice.

See

• The Harbour is formed by the outflow of Sulby River. A few fishing vessels use it but it's mostly leisure craft. The swing bridge across the outlet is for pedestrians and cyclists only. Harbour lights stand on the breakwaters either side - they're 19th century and look like glorified Ruritanian sentry boxes.
• Our Lady, Star of the Sea & St Maughold Church is RC, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and completed in 1910. It's on Dale St just off Queen's Promenade.
• 1 Queen's Pier remains closed in 2023. It's 2241 ft / 683 m long, built from 1882 so that steamers could call at Ramsey at low tide. A tramway conveyed passengers and their luggage, hand-shoved until a locomotive was added in 1930. Steamer traffic ended in 1970 and the pier fell derelict and was closed in 1990. Restoration is under way.
• Ramsey Heritage Centre next to the railway station sometimes hosts exhibitions and events. It's open May-Sept.
• 2 Mooragh Park north of the harbour was a wetland until developed in the 19th century. You can hire boats to plosh around the lake. The houses along this part of the promenade were requisitioned 1940-45 as an internment camp for enemy aliens. Many were Finnish, captured off shipping.
• 3 Grove Museum (Thie Tashtee ‘Yn Chell’), Andreas Rd IM8 2UA, ☏ +44 1624 648000. Apr-Oct daily 11:00-15:00. Built by a Liverpool merchant family as a summer retreat, this became their permanent residence until the 1970s. It's a well-preserved villa depicting a prosperous Victorian way of life. Adult £9, child free. (updated Apr 2023)
• 4 Albert Tower is a Gothic Revival tower built shortly after the shambolic visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1847. The sea was rough and the Royal Yacht couldn't put into Douglas, so it anchored off Ramsey, where a welcome committee assembled on the pier, and the town bailiff was rowed out to deliver a fawning address. Victoria was sea-sick and couldn't stir from her cabin, but Albert took a barge ashore - ignoring the pier and landing at Ballure beach, where he greeted townsfolk and asked to be shown up the hill. Where the tower now stands he admired the view and chatted about this 'n that, including the potato blight, then returned to the Royal Yacht. The chief bailiff of Douglas and entourage, all in their full municipal fig, arrived nicely in time to watch it sail away to England. Victoria never set foot on this island where so much is Victorian.
• Ramsey Hairpin on the west flank of the hill is a tight bend on A18. It's a viewpoint on the TT race circuit, which is clockwise so the racers are climbing out of Ramsey to cross Snaefell towards Douglas.

Swing bridge across the harbour

• 5 Milntown Estate, Lezayre Rd IM7 2AB, ☏ +44 1624 818091. Daily 10:00-16:00. The mansion dates from the 16th century, but is mostly an 1830s rebuild, cod-battlements and all. Tours within are only available to pre-booked groups of 10+. Most visitors are here for the garden and cafe, open year-round. Garden adult £5, conc £4.50, child £2. (updated Apr 2023)
• 6 Point of Ayre is the north tip of the Isle of Man. It's breezy low-lying heathland - Eyrr is Norse for a gravel bank, and the strong currents continually re-shape the shingle beach. The lighthouse was built by Robert Stevenson (grandfather of novelist Robert Louis Stevenson) and lit in 1819. It has a range of 21 miles and its foghorn could sometimes be heard on the Mull of Galloway in Scotland; it was automated in 1993. As the coastline kept shifting, a secondary light "The Winkie" was placed further out in 1899, repositioned in 1950, but switched off in 2010. Grey seals haul out on the beach, and the gorse and heather coast is a nature reserve. Access via Cranstal Road, which turns off A10 at the village of Bride; there's a photogenic old cottage halfway along.
• 7 Jurby is a hamlet at the junction of A10 and A14 (the latter closed between Sandygate and Jurby until Aug 2023, to lay a new water main). It has two transport museums, cheek by jowl and pointedly not collaborating. From 1939 to 1963 Jurby was an RAF base, primarily as a flight training school - the 12th century St Patrick's Church graveyard holds many of those who flunked training. As the airbase heathland was never ploughed, it's a wildlife reserve, while the hard-standing aprons host the rival museums, a kart racetrack and the Isle of Man Prison.
• Jurby Transport Museum mostly displays buses. It's usually open April-Sept Sunday 11:00-18:00 but remains closed in 2023.
• 8 Jurby Transport Museum, Hangar 230, Jurby Industrial Estate, Jurby, IM7 3BD. April-Sept Sunday 11:00-16:00. Mostly displays buses. (updated May 2024)
• Isle of Man Motor Museum, Ballamenagh Rd, Jurby IM7 3BZ, ☏ +44 1624 888333, info@isleofmanmotormuseum.com. Apr-Sept Th-Tu 10:00-17:00. Large collection mainly of cars and motorbikes. Adult £19.50, child £9.50. (updated May 2024)
• 9 Curraghs Wildlife Park, Ballaugh IM7 5EA, ☏ +44 1624 697323. Apr-Oct daily 09:30-17:00, Nov-Mar W-Su 09:30-16:00. Zoo collection of smaller animals and birds. Adult £12, conc £10, child £9. (updated Apr 2023)
• Ballaugh Curraghs are the wetland surrounds of the wildlife park. They formed as a "kettle lake" - a great blob of ice left at the end of the Ice Age depressed the terrain. It melted into a lake that infilled as marshes. Prize examples of its biodiversity are the wallabies, who escaped from the wildlife park and established a wild breeding colony.

Do

Jurby Transport Museum

• Beach: the main strand is north of the harbour, sandy and stretching for miles. Another small sandy beach lies just south of the harbour: dogs are banned here year-round.
• Energy FM Bowling Alley is on South Promenade, open F Su 11:00-17:00, Sa 11:00-21:00, M 11:00-14:00.
• Northern Swimming Pool is on Mooragh Promenade, open M-F 09:00-17:00, Sa 10:00-13:00, Su 10:00-17:00.
• Golf: Ramsey GC is southwest side of town on Brookfield Ave. The original 12 holes by Old Tom Morris have been replaced by a parkland 18 holes, white tees 5934 yards, par 70, visitor round £30.

Buy

• Shoprite is the main store. It's on Parliament Square, open M-Sa 08:00-21:00, Su 09:00-18:00.
• Co-op Food on Christian St is open M-Sa 08:00-22:00, Su 09:00-18:00.

Eat

Eating places are along the south bank of the harbour.

• Harbour View Bistro, East Quay IM8 1BG, ☏ +44 1624 814182. W-Sa 12:00-14:00, 18:00-21:00, Su 12:00-16:00. Friendly spot for good seafood. (updated Apr 2023)
• Chingan's Asian Kitchen, Court Row IM8 1JS, ☏ +44 1624 817412. Tu-Su 17:00-22:30. Delightful Indian cuisine. (updated Apr 2023)
• Golden Phoenix, 13 Parliament St IM8 1AS, ☏ +44 1624 813288. Tu-Su 17:00-22:30. Good Cantonese food, slick service. (updated Apr 2023)
• Ravioli House, 44 Parliament St IM8 1AN, ☏ +44 1624 818238. Tu-F, Su 17:00-21:00, Sa 12:00-22:00. Pleasant trattoria by the swing bridge. (updated Apr 2023)
• The Other Place on Parliament Square serves trad food, not licensed so byob. It's open W-Sa 11:00-14:30, 18:00-21:30, Su 12:00-15:00.
• Vellika's is an Indian restaurant on Parliament Square getting mixed reviews. It's open Tu-Su 17:00-23:00.
• Goodstuff serves trad British fare at 6 Peel St by the railway station. This is one of the few dine-in options on a Monday, as it's open M-Th 11:30-22:00, F Sa 11:30-23:30, Su 11:30-16:00.

Drink

The pubs are along the same strip as the restaurants, south of the harbour.

• The Royal George at 10 Market Place is open Tu-Th 12:00-22:00, F Sa 12:00-01:00, Su 12:00-18:00. No food but there's a pizza takeaway opposite.
• Mitre Hotel at 16 Parliament St has good food and harbour views. It's open Su-Th 10:00-23:00, F Sa 10:00-01:00.
• Trafalgar Hotel, West Quay IM8 1DW, ☏ +44 1624 814601. Su-Th 11:00-23:00, F Sa 11:00-00:00. Grand atmospheric old pub. (updated Apr 2023)
• Plough Hotel, 46 Parliament St IM8 1AN, ☏ +44 1624 813323. M-F 16:30-23:00, Sa 12:00-00:0, Su 12:00-23:00. Small friendly pub with TV sport. (updated Apr 2023)
• Distillery: Fyondee make Manx whisky and other spirits. They're on Parsonage Rd just south of the railway station, tours by arrangement.

Sleep

Queen's Pier Tram in 1961

• 1 Silly Moos Campsite, Ballakillingan Farm, Churchtown IM7 2AL, ☏ +44 1624 812368. Friendly well-run site on a dairy farm, open late May to mid Sept. 40 pitches, limited hook-ups, covered parking for motorbikes. (updated Apr 2023)
• 2 Ramsey Park Hotel, Park Rd IM8 3AR, ☏ +44 1624 818123. Light airy modern hotel with sea views, good comfort and service. B&B double £125. (updated Apr 2023)
• 3 Hillingford B&B, Jurby Rd IM8 3PL, ☏ +44 7624 305308. Comfy small B&B half a mile west of town centre. Adults only, two nights minimum. B&B double £135. (updated Apr 2023)
• Baie Mooar guesthouse remains closed in 2023.
• Kilmuir on Ballure Promenade is nowadays a 3-bedroom self-catering let and no longer a B&B.

Connect

Ramsey and its approach roads have 4G from Sure and Manx. As of April 2023, 5G has not rolled out on the Isle of Man.

Go next

• On the west coast is Peel, with an island castle and good museums.
• South via A18 leads over the shoulder of Snaefell, the island's highest peak.
• Take the coast road south for Laxey, where the giant waterwheel was used to pump out the lead mines.