Calf of Man

Calf of Man (Manx: Yn Cholloo) is an island off the southwest tip of the Isle of Man. It measures about one mile by one mile and is a wildlife reserve owned by Manx National Heritage. It has no permanent residents but in summer has a couple of bird wardens.

Understand

Historically it was used for grazing, but "Calf" in this context is from Old Norse kalfr, an islet just off a larger isle.

• Calf of Man visitor information

Get in

Boat trips sail April—September from Port Erin and Port St Mary, conditions permitting, see those pages for boat operators. They usually land at Cow Harbour and you get three hours ashore. But listen carefully to the briefing, because weather or tide might mean a return point different from the landing point.

Only assistance dogs may be carried, by prior arrangement, and visitors with limited mobility should check with the boat operator if it's realistic to go.

You may land here with your own boat, no prior permission needed, but must not obstruct the landing areas for other craft, and must observe all the other commonsense rules for the nature reserve.

Get around

Hike everywhere, you may not bring a bicycle. An unpaved road leads from Cow Harbour across the island to the Observatory and lighthouses, then turns south to South Harbour. A grassy footpath shortcuts from Observatory to South Harbour then follows the coast northeast back to Cow Harbour.

See

• 1 Cow Harbour is the usual landing point. An unpaved lane leads up onto the island.
• Grant's Harbour just east is an alternate landing point at some states of tide.
• 2 Calf of Man Bird Observatory is staffed in season. They monitor, trap-and-release and ring birds, and tally other species such as grey seals, moths and butterflies, and dragonflies. Call in for news of recent "spots". See below for accommodation here.
• 3 Three Legs of Mann are cut into the heather near the observatory, so that migratory birds and flying saucers can recognise their whereabouts.
• 4 Chicken Rock is the reason why lighthouses are needed on the southwest flank of the Calf. It's only above water for two hours in every twelve so it was impractical to build here, and instead the High and Lower lighthouses were built ashore. They formed a transit pair flashing in synch: if they lined up, then you were sailing straight at the rock and needed to holler something salty to the wheelman. But this only worked if both were visible, and they were often swathed in mist, leaving mariners to find the rock the hard and painful way. But when engineering advanced (such as very-quick-drying cement) a lighthouse was built on the rock itself by David and Thomas Stevenson, first lit in 1875. The keepers of the High and Low lights then transferred out here. In 1960 the keepers were marooned for three weeks by foul weather. There was a serious fire in 1961; the keepers were rescued but the lighthouse was then automated, and remains in use.
• 5 Lower Lighthouse was completed along with the High Lighthouse in 1819. Both were switched off once Chicken Rock lighthouse was complete. The keepers' accommodation remained in use as their shore base until 1886, then a new base was established at Port St Mary.
• 6 High Lighthouse its pair was the more likely to be obscured by mist.
• New Lighthouse was built in 1968 between the High and Lower when the fire at Chicken Rock caused that to be downgraded to a minor light. It had a modern accommodation block but was automated in 1995. It was discontinued in 2007 when Chicken Rock was restored as a primary light.
• The Stack is the 400-yard-long islet near the lighthouses. Being so close in, it doesn't need its own warning light.
• 7 South Harbour is the other landing point, with lane access.
• 8 The Drinking Dragon or Burroo is a rock arch on an islet (called The Eye) off the southeast tip of the Calf; it looks as if a dragon is plunging its head into the waters. You can't see it properly from ashore but boat trips come this way. Not to be confused with Burroo Ned, a headland on IOM main island near The Point.
• 9 The Point is the closest spot to the Calf on IOM main island, reached by road but no boats cross from here. Kitterland is the bifurcated islet close to the Point, and Thousla Rock has a lighthouse; both are part of the Calf nature reserve.

Do

Burroo, the Drinking Dragon

• Birdwatching: species to look out for include Manx shearwater, chough, shag, black-backed gull and eider duck.
• Wart Bank is the sea area surrounding the Calf, protected as a nature reserve out to one nautical mile (1.15 land miles or 1.8 km). It's popular with scuba divers for its mix of marine habitats: kelp forests, rocky reefs, sandbanks and sea caves. Shore and boat angling is permitted Aug-March but not trawling or dredging.
• Report a rat: brown or longtail rats are thought to have arrived from a shipwreck in 1761. They've devastated ground-nesting birds such as puffins and Manx shearwaters, and an eradication programme is under way. This is not complete but nests are increasing. If you think you see a rat report it, don't try to whack it yourself, and don't go near traps or bait.
• Do not rock-climb, abseil, dig, metal-detect, or do anything that might disturb the wildlife.

Buy

No shops here.

Eat

Lower lighthouse with Chicken Rock beyond

Bring your own food to the Calf. If it's any good the gulls may try to snatch it.

Don't bring anything that needs heating, you may not light campfires, stoves, barbecues or the like.

Drink

Bring your own liquids. There are freshwater streams, but the sheep have already made use of them.

Sleep

• Bird Observatory bunkhouse sleeps eight but does not offer accommodation in 2023.
• The lighthouses don't offer accommodation in 2023.
• Camping is prohibited.

Connect

As of April 2023, there is a very patchy mobile signal from Sure and Manx.

Go next

The boat trip will return you to Port Erin or Port St Mary.