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Douglas Outdoor Pursuits
Stuck for ideas for a birthday celebration or stag weekend? Or perhaps just looking for something fun to do for the whole family. You've found the right place with Ufindus Entertainment and Outdoor Pursuits. Paint ball is an increasingly popular activity for men and women, try your hand at one of the UK centres listed here, including both outdoor and indoor paint ball! Or for less strenuous days out, make an historical visit to Great British Gardens. Find Great British days out here with Ufindus. Not forgetting the smaller members of the family, there is a separate days out listing for children?s activities. Keeping the kids amused during school holidays couldn't be easier with our comprehensive register of holidays and camps.
About Douglas - show infohide info
Douglas is the capital city of the Isle of Man, an autonomous island in the United Kingdom. It is the islands most important town, and is a hub for shipping, transport, shopping, finance and entertainment, as well as being home of the islands government. Douglas has a population of 25,347 inhabitants as of 2001. Douglas is situated in a bay on the east coast of the island, on the confluence of two rivers, the Dhoo and the Glass. The bay acts as a natural port, and thus made Douglas the focus of much of the Isle of Man's early development. The towns stimulus to expand came from 1670, with the burgeoning 'Running Trade' (smuggling). The town went through later stages of prosperity thanks to its low cost of living, and favourable legal status enjoyed by English debtors. From 1870, Douglas developed into a holiday resort, and today retains much of its charm. Douglas is also home to the Offshore Financial Services industry. The Manx parliament meets in Douglas, except on Tynwald Day (usually July 5th). On this day, the parliament meet on Tynwald Hill in the village of St John's. Douglas is still a popular tourist destination, and has a number of attractions which still draw tourists today. These include the Tower of Refuge, a small castle built as a sanctuary for sailors. The tower was built by Sir William Hillary, founder of the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). Also, the Douglas horse-drawn tramway, one of the few horse drawn tramways still in regular public service. The tramway connects to the northern terminus of the Isle of Man Electric Tramway at Darby Castle (which in turn connects to the Snaefell Mountain Railway at Laxey). Additionally, the Isle of Man Steam Railway links Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin. A number of theatres, hotels and resturants are also in Douglas, many renowned for their architecture. Douglas is also the start and end point of the world famous Isle of Man TT races; the grandstand for the races being in the town. The races see thousands of tourists, particularly bikers for the annual two week series. Even when the TT races are not being held, Douglas is a popular destination for bikers as many of it's roads have no speed limits. The port at Douglas is the main port on the island, and sees a number of ferries to the UK and Ireland, operated mainly by the Isle of Man Steam Packet company to Liverpool, Heysham, Belfast, Dublin and Larne. Douglas (and he rest of the Isle of Man) is served by the Isle of Man Airport, which sees mainly domestic services. Airports served are Manchester (British Airways, Euromanx, Aer Arran), Liverpool (Euromanx, Aer Arran), Blackpool (British NorthWest), Newcastle (Eastern Airways), Glasgow (Loganair), Birmingham (Eastern Airways, FlyBE), Bristol (Eastern Airways), London Luton (British Airways, Aer Arran), London Gatwick (British Airways), London City (Euromanx, VLM), Dublin (Aer Arran, Euromanx) and Belfast (Euromanx).
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