Calf of Man, Cregneash, Isle of Man

It may be that my first sighting of the Calf of Man may have been from a flight between Manchester and Shannon Airport that travelled north of Dublin on its trajectory. However, the intended destination may have been Dublin and there was a diversion to Shannon because of a snow shower. While I would have liked to disembark at Shannon, it was not a possibility, so I needed to wait for four hours before going to Dublin and then come south again. My next trip to Ireland had me flying to Shannon by design and I hardly have used Dublin airport since then.

That tale of a snow-bound Ireland in 2010 could not be more different from the much closer sun-blessed encounter with the Isle of Man's south-western corner the following summer. Of course, it is from the latter that this photo comes. At the time, I was walking to Port Erin to Castletown via Port St. Mary and had decided against a crossing to the Calf of Man before I ever began the walk. Having looked into the possibility since then, that would have started from Port St. Mary and needed a longer stay on the island, which is owned by Manx National Heritage, in any event. The view across the Calf Sound from the land about Spanish Head was more than satisfying and rather took my fancy though southward photography was tricky given the position of the sun. The Calf of Man and the smaller islet of Kitterland were in full view with some monuments to study on the mainland too.