Castletown

Castletown (in Manx Balley Chashtal) is a fishing port in the south of the Isle of Man. For some 800 years it was the island's capital, but in the 19th century government functions moved away to Douglas. Last to migrate was Tynwald, the parliament, in 1874. In 2021 Castletown had a population of about 3000.

Understand

Local information

• Castletown community website

Get in

1 Isle of Man Airport is at Ronaldsway, two miles north of Castletown, with year-round flights from the UK and Dublin.

Buses 1, 2 and 11 each run hourly from Douglas to the airport, Castletown (30 min), Port Erin and Port St Mary, so collectively the service is every 20 min. The last bus is around 9PM, with a night bus N1 just after Friday midnight.

2 Castletown railway station is on the IOM Steam Railway, which operates mid-March to end of October. Four trains a day take 40 min from Douglas, and continue to Colby, Port St Mary and Port Erin.

Get around

Town is compact and walkable. The buses run past the motorcycle museum, aviation museum, Ballasalla (for Rushden Abbey and Silverdale Glen) and Balladoole. You need your own wheels for Langness Peninsula.

Taxis are based at the airport; the town operator has folded.

See

• 1 Rushen Castle (Cashtal Rosien), Castle St IM9 1LD, ☏ +44 1624 648000. Apr-Oct: daily 9:30AM-4:30PM. A well-restored medieval castle. It was founded in the 10th century for the Kings and Lords of Mann, and further fortified between the 13th and 16th. Its last military role was in the Civil War, then it variously became a mint, seat of government, prison and asylum for the insane. It was handed over to Manx National Heritage in 1988 and converted to a museum, though it still serves as a court house. Adult £13, child free, NT / NTS free. (updated Mar 2023)
• Old town around the castle is Georgian / Victorian. Old St Mary's, the original Anglican church on Market Square, is nowadays offices.
• St Mary's on the Harbour is the replacement church, at 9 Hope St. It was opened in 1838 as a school. By 1980 it was the parish hall and in 1989 it was consecrated.
• Old House of Keys (Shenn-thie y Chiare as Feed), Parliament Lane IM9 1LA (facing castle), ☏ +44 1624 648000. Apr-Oct: Sa 1:45PM. This was the lower house of Tynwald until 1874, when parliament moved to Douglas. You attend debates on 19th-century issues such as votes for women, booking essential. Adult £9, child free. (updated Mar 2023)
• 2 Old Grammar School (Yn Chenn Scoill Ghrammeyoys), Castle St IM9 1LE, ☏ +44 1624 648000. Apr-Oct: Sa 10AM. The oldest roofed structure on the island, this was built as a church in 1200 AD then became a boys' school. Visit by guided tour, booking essential. (updated Mar 2023)

Castle Rushen

• Nautical Museum, Bridge Street IM9 1AX, ☏ +44 1624 648000. Closed. This is centred on Peggy, an 18th-century yacht. It was removed for restoration in 2016 and the re-opening date is not known. (updated Mar 2023)
• 3 Knock Rushen Mound is about 45 ft in diameter and 6 ft high. It's not been excavated but is probably a Viking pagan burial mound of the 9th and 10th century.
• St Mary's & St Columba's is the Roman Catholic church, at 24 Bowling Green Rd. It's small and plain.
• 4 Manx Aviation and Military Museum, Ballasalla IM9 2AT, ☏ +44 1624 829294. mid-May to Sep: daily 10AM-4:30PM; Oct to mid-May: Sa Su 10AM-4:30PM. A museum of the island's aviation and military history, including the Manx Regiment. Free. (updated Mar 2023)
• Derbyhaven is tucked away on the coast east of the airport. It was a significant port into the 18th century, with guns on Fort Island to protect it. It's nowadays just a neighbourhood of Castletown and you only come this way to join the road onto Langness Peninsula.

Old Grammar School

• 5 Herring Tower is a daymark near the south tip of the peninsula. Dreswick Point, with a lighthouse, is the most southerly point on IOM main island.
• 6 Fort Island or St Michael's Island is a bird sanctuary connected by road to Langness Peninsula. Ruins here are Derby Fort (an artillery position built in 1645), and St Michael's Chapel from the 12th century.
• 7 Balladoole is an archaeological site on a hilltop west of Castletown with millennia of use. It was first excavated in 1944 and 1945 by Gerhard Bersu, a German archaeologist interned on IOM during wartime. Elements include a Bronze Age cist, an Iron Age hillfort, Keeill Vael an early Celtic chapel, and a Viking boat burial. The area is free to explore 24 hours.
• 8 Rushen Abbey, Mill Road, Ballasalla IM9 3DB, ☏ +44 1624 648000. Apr-Oct Th-M 11:00-15:00. Founded in 1134 and initially a Savignac monastery; they merged with the Cistercians in 1147 and so the place remained until the Dissolution. The Manx Chronicle was written here in 1261 or 1262. The monastery ruins became a tourist spot in the early 1900s — you came for strawberries and cream tea — but the site fell into disuse by the 1950s. It was acquired by Manx Heritage in 1988 and restored. 200 yards upriver is Monks Bridge, a packhorse bridge of 1350. Adult £9, student £4.50, child free. (updated Mar 2023)
• 9 Silverdale Glen is a genteel parkland and recreational area above Rushen Abbey, owned by the Manx National Trust. There's a boating lake and bosky footpaths.
• 10 Murray's Motorcycle Museum, Main Road IM4 1EN (by Santon railway station), ☏ +44 1624 823223. Daily. Large collection of motorbikes, and displays of the history of the races. (updated Mar 2023)

Do

St Michael's Chapel

• Golf: Castletown Golf Links are on Langness Peninsula near the causeway to St Michael's Island. White tees 6431 yards, par 72.
• Southern Agricultural Show is late July, half a mile south of Fairy Bridge.

Buy

The town only has a couple of convenience stores, Coop Food on The Parade by the castle, and Shoprite at 11 Arbory St.

Eat

• Leonardo's, Stanley House, Castle St IM9 1LF (by castle), ☏ +44 7624 222799. Daily 10:30AM-3PM, 5:30-9PM. Decent food, service erratic. (updated Mar 2023)
• Kizuna, Parliament Sq IM9 1LF (by castle), ☏ +44 1624 870000. Daily 9:30AM-1:30PM. Great reviews for this Japanese restaurant. (updated Mar 2023)
• Garrison, 5 Castle St IM9 1LF (by castle), ☏ +44 1624 824885. Daily 10:30AM-3PM, 5:30-9PM. Central place for a quick bite. (updated Mar 2023)
• Curry Club, 20 Arbory St IM9 1LJ, ☏ +44 1624 822226. Daily 5PM-midnight. Long established Indian, nothing special. (updated Mar 2023)

Drink

Balladoole

• Castle Arms (The Glue Pot), Quayside IM9 1LD, ☏ +44 1624 824673. M 4-10PM, Tu-Th 4-11PM, F Sa noon-midnight, Su noon-10PM. Good trad pub, no TV, open mic night is last Thursday of the month. (updated Mar 2023)
• The Sidings is at the railway station, open Su-Th 11:30AM-11PM, F Sa 11:30AM-midnight.

Sleep

• 1 George Hotel, The Parade IM9 1LG, ☏ +44 1624 822533. Comfy central hotel. B&B double £160. (updated Mar 2023)
• Knock Rushen House is a B&B south edge of town near the mound.

Stay safe

Usual caution over traffic and safeguarding valuables.

Connect

Castletown 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

• Douglas the capital is the island's transport hub and has the main concentration of sights.
• Port St Mary is a small harbour. Boat trips sail to the Calf of Man.