When is the ordinary, extraordinary? Take our very own island for example.

Sure, many of us visit our beautiful glens, head to the beach now and again, or take a trek over the fells. That’s nothing out of the ordinary for those of us lucky enough to call the Isle of Man home.

But for people from other shores, these amenities are remarkable treasures to be enjoyed and savoured, as our island’s history shows.

Visitors have been coming to the Isle of Man for more than 200 years for a variety of different reasons.

Some have come to explore somewhere new, some have come for health reasons, and the majority have come simply to have a rest. But whatever the reason, all of them have found the island to be a very special place.

By the early 1800s, as Europe became an international battleground during the Napoleonic Wars, British tourists needed to discover new destinations which were far closer to home than mainland Europe.

Visitors were attracted to the island by its mild climate and the many opportunities for sea-bathing and long healthy walks.

Guidebooks of the time encouraged visitors to take the opportunities available to improve their minds as well as their bodies by discovering more about the island’s rich history and heritage.

As mass tourism began to develop from the 1880s onwards, the island developed into one of the leading tourist destinations in the British Isles.

There were brand new hotels with all the latest facilities, a rapidly expanding and innovative transport system and tourist attractions to cater for every desire and need.

But one thing remained the same - the attraction and beauty of the island itself.

Manx guidebooks have always talked of the island as a microcosm of the British Isles.

In a matter of a few days, a visitor can explore and discover a multitude of landscapes from a patchwork of fields amongst the rolling hills that rise up to mountain peaks and moors or descend through the various glens to long sandy beaches or coastal footpaths along rugged sea cliffs.

The very things that make the island so special - things many of us take for granted - are still sought-after as an escape from modern-day towns and cities.

We have a fantastic range of natural amenities that contribute to our remarkable quality of life. They may seem ordinary to us, but we must never forget that our home, the Isle of Man, is a special and extraordinary place.

by Yvonne Cresswell

Curator of social history, manx national Heritage

www.ourisland.im