All walk enquiries email Elizabeth Corran

  Website content queries: Murray Lambden

Rush hour at Braddan

The top picture was taken by my late father (Bill) in 1958 at Braddan Bridge looking west on a Sunday morning when special trains used to ferry hundreds of people to Braddan Church in the summer months for open air Church services. Remarkably the bottom picture (by me) features exactly the same piece of ground during the early stages of the 2005 Clerical Medical Parish Walk facing in the opposite direction.

Most of the time this quiet bit of former railway line, which Bill was also responsible for closing in 1965 when appointed General Manager of the privately owned Isle of Man Railway Company, is a quiet footpath and cycle lane, but during the TT period it is full of cars (TT access road) and once a year it is now full of walkers.

The second picture has its own history. Pictured at the front with the hat is David Collister who was on his way to a record 22 consecutive finish in the Parish Walk (he will be trying for 23 on Saturday) and also on the front row (looking down) is Dermot O'Toole who just two days earlier published his fascinating book "A Walk Through Time". A few copies of Dermot's book are still available from bookshops on the island.

I've almost forgotten how I stumbled on the top picture today. I was looking for a picture of my elder brother Mike who is travelling from Droitwich in Worcestershire on Friday to assist me with the www.parishwalk.com website. He will be using his Nikon D50 camera from (among other places) the spot where these pictures were taken while I (having taken a year deliberating over a similar purchase) move my trusty pair of HP cameras slightly further down the road.

Murray Lambden - 20 June 2006