You’ll often hear it said: on a sunny day, there’s no more beautiful a place than the Isle of Man.

And yet, despite a heat-wave of a summer, the Isle of Man and its near-neighbours have, to put it charitably, consistently changeable weather.

The west of the British Isles, including the Isle of Man, gets significantly more rainfall than the east.

So whilst warm sunny days might show the island in a good light, in truth there’s nothing more Manx than a good old rainy day. So whilst warm sunny days might show the island in a good light, in truth there’s nothing more Manx than a good old rainy day.

But a rainy day should never be seen as a wasted day!

The changeable weather is one of the many charming characteristics about life in the Isle of Man.

The waves breaking over the rocks at Fenella beach in Peel during a squall is just as invigorating as a calm and tranquil sunset in Port Erin.

Our weather, both ’good’ and ’bad’, is part of our culture. It carves our landscape, has shaped our heritage, and impacts on our traditions and on our way of life.

So as the weather gets wetter and chillier, Year of Our Island continues to celebrate the range of activities everyone can enjoy both indoors and outdoors, come rain or shine.

From showcasing our vast range of clubs, societies and hobby groups to encouraging you to explore a new part of our island at your own pace, this month is about proving that’s there is lots to do regardless of the weather.

Speaking about what’s planned for this month, Year of Our Island committee member Kerry Sharpe MLC, said: ’We have our fair share of rainy days but that doesn’t mean that there is nothing to do.

’One of our primary aims with Year of Our Island is to highlight the wide range of activities that people of all ages can take part in come rain or shine.’

Throughout the month the Year of Our Island team is calling on clubs, societies and hobby groups to get in touch and share details about how potential new members can get involved.

Nick Hawkes, Year of Our Island project coordinator said: ’We are spoilt for choice on the island when it comes to hobby groups, sports clubs and societies.

’Through our celebration of rainy days we want to help those groups reach a new audience.’

To let the team know about you club or society and to find out more about 2018 Year of Our Island, visit our Facebook page, go online to ourisland.im, call 687007 or email [email protected]

by the Year of Our Island Project team

www.ourisland.im