Rushen Heritage Trust will start a new season of talks next week.

The series of six talks will run from November 7 to April 3 and explores a range of topics.

The first will be run by Dave Martin, a past president of the Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society and will cover the ‘Bridges in the landscape’.

It will take place at the Erin Arts Centre, in Port Erin, on Monday, November 7, at 7.30pm until 9pm.

The trust said: ‘It will take the audience on a tour of bridges around the Isle of Man, looking at how they evolved, the threats they have faced (including residents armed with explosives!) and the links they provide to the past and future.’

Mr Martin is also a trustee of the Manx Museum and National Trust.

Rushen Heritage Trust coordinator John Quirk said: ‘We have a first-rate line-up of speakers and topics for this season, with Dave Martin getting us underway next week.

‘Dave delivered a superb talk for us earlier in the year, about LiDAR (light detection and ranging) surveying and other digital archaeology used in the Isle of Man. I’m sure that anyone who was in the audience that night will want to hear Dave talk again.

‘In December, John Wright will recount the tragic story of the brig Lily disaster.’

This was when a ship wrecked in a storm on December 28, 1852, in which five people died. A further 29 Manxmen died following an explosion during the salvage operation.

Mr Wright has written a book to mark the 170th anniversary of the incident, which the Rushen Heritage Trust will be publishing later this month.

January will see Elizabeth Corlett, from the Isle of Man Public Record Office, hold a talk called ‘Southern travels through the archives’.

In February, Culture Vannin’s James Franklin will explore the folklore of Port Erin.

Pete Geddes, from the Laxey Mines Research group, will host the March talk, which will go into the Bradda mines.

The final talk of the series will be held in April and will be ran by Yvonne Cresswell, former curator of social history at Manx National Heritage.

She will talk about renowned Manx artist William Hoggatt in a talk titled ‘A passion for the Manx landscape’.

Tickets are £5 – or £4 for Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust – and are available at www.ticketsource.co.uk/erinartscentre or from Erin Arts Centre and the Rushen Heritage Centre on Bridson Street, Port Erin.