It's a warm day in August and I'm underwater in Port Erin Bay. Snorkelling round the kelp-fringed edges, I drift above wary ballan wrasse and grapefruit-sized urchins and watch a school of pale mullet loom out of the blue.
I pop my head up and scan around. My son is playing with his friends in the shallows. They've been in and out of the water all day, swimming, rockpooling, and exploring on the beach. Nearby on his paddleboard, my husband can survey the seabed mapped out below him through gin-clear waters. Out in the middle of the bay a tall ship has been anchored for a few days, giving a pirate backdrop to all our adventures. It has been a magical week of holiday - and all the better because our staycation has been less than an hour away from home.
For the past three years, lockdowns and travel restrictions have meant that we've rarely ventured off the Isle of Man, which has given us an opportunity to rediscover our home as a nature holiday destination.
ALL ABOUT THE ISLE
In case you didn't know, the Isle of Man (or Mann) is a small island right in the middle of the Irish Sea. Some 50km long and 20km wide, it's just over half the size of the Isle of Wight. As a Crown Dependency of the UK, it has its own government and laws, but it also has a close relationship with the UK.
It is often said that the Isle of Man is the British Isles in miniature, and one of the best things about the island as a wildlife destination is the diversity of landscapes, above and below water. Wherever you stay, you're never far from high slate cliffs, sandy beaches, upland heath, sheltered glens, estuaries, saltmarsh and grasslands. There are rich marine habitats offshore, protected in 10 Marine Nature Reserves, and the shores are rockpooling heaven, with cushion star starfish, shore crabs and jewel anemones easily accessible to young explorers.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
We Are an Island Nation - So Let's Protect Our Seas - Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it.
Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it. We live inside thousands of miles of coastline, in a nation whose borders were created by nature and made us what we are.
Discover Jurassic Coast - With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular.
With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular. Jo Caird fossicks for fossils and dramatic rock formations. It's an auspicious start to my journey along the Jurassic Coast. This 95-mile stretch of shore mostly in Dorset, but nudging just into east Devon - is blessed with awe-inspiring geological formations and fossil deposits that have garnered it recognition as England's only natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. Snaking east from Orcombe Point near Exmouth to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage, it's studded with monumental rock arches, seemingly endless shingle beaches and fossil beds from which treasures were prised that altered our understanding of prehistory.
Viking shores
We picture Vikings marauding coastal settlements, looting and raiding. But what was life really like in the Viking Age? Historian Eleanor Barraclough reveals what the ancient artefacts found on Britain's shores tell us about our formidable forebears
Sea horses
On Cornwall's coastal clifftops, Melanie O'Shea meets the hardy grazing ponies that are helping to restore the land, so nature can flourish once more
A wing and a prayer
From their desks at Boulmer, 1,000 RAF personnel watch the skies for airborne threats to the country. Yet beyond the concrete of the base, vulnerable birdlife flourishes - thanks to the hard work of a small team
Cast in bone
Cuttlefish bones washed up on our shores have been used to make jewellery since ancient times. Jo Caird meets a craftswoman who's keeping the art alive on the Kent coast
EDIBLE SEAWEEDS
An ancient food harvested by humans for millennia, seaweeds bring an intense and rich flavour of the sea to a wide range of dishes, as well as essential mind-and-body-boosting nutrients
Spines and sulky faces
Watch where you put your feet at the beach - a weever fish could be lurking
Sea stars
The playful performances of Britain's bottlenose dolphins attract avid fans - but they deserve personal space
Harris's wildly beautiful beach
Cornwall may pull in the crowds, but one Hebridean strand stuns visitors
