Journey to The Tower of Refuge

Most people who have been to Douglas will have seen the castellated structure in the bay built on Conister Rock or St Mary's Isle as it also known.

The scheme to construct it was orchestrated by William Hillary who moved the the Isle of Man in 1808, later founding the RNLI whose very first boat was housed at Douglas in 1824. He had witnessed some ships lost on the rocks and following the wreck of the St.George* in 1830 when despite being washed overboard, he helped rescue the entire crew with no loss of life.

< Sir William reasoned that the Tower of Refuge would give sailors shelter while they waited for help, so fresh water and food was provided and the building was completed in 1832 and almost 200 years later it is still standing firm, welcoming all sea visitors to the Island .

We've had the shocking weather with huge waves and high tides earlier in the year but at around this of the season, there are also very low tides and a handful of times in the calendar, it is actually possible to walk the Tower of Refuge is built.

Quite different from the last time I was there, a brat looking for adventure one morning having stayed out all night some 33 years ago, on Wednesday there was an organised walk, sponsored by local company, Tower Insurance in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Apparently, some 3400 people took the opportunity and one gentleman even proposed to his girlfriend.

* The St George was the flagship of The St.George Company, the earliest rivals to the present Steam Packet.