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Out of Doors

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Out of Doors: Backbone and Out of Doors on the Isle of Man, Part Two

Backbone and Out of Doors on the Isle of Man, Part Two

BBC Radio Scotland - Out of Doors, Backbone and Out of Doors on the Isle of Man, Part Two

Featuring outdoor adventure organisation Backbone, plus a second look around Isle of Man.

Join Helen Needham as she spends time with outdoor adventure organisation Backbone. Mark Stephen and Euan McIlwraith explore more of the Isle of Man.

In the first half hour Helen Needham attends the Backbone Outdoor Festival for All at Balmaha in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. 150 people from a wide range of backgrounds – including Syrian and Libyan refugees - descended on the Park for a day of fun and activity.  

The founder of Backbone, Pammy Johal, believes that spending time in the outdoors is therapeutic and that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy our wild spaces wherever they come from.  

Helen witnesses a day of extreme fun including one Indian family having an absolute ball submerging themselves – fully clothed – in Loch Lomond.  And another lady from Ghana drumming and dancing with a Capoeira group from Glasgow to ease the grief of losing her son.

On the Isle of Man, Mark and Euan take a trip on an electric railway to reach the top of the island's highest mountain, Snaefell.   Euan finds out about the famous Manx cat, both fact and fiction and discovers John Wayne, the artist Turner and the Queen Mother were all owners of the iconic breed.   Tynwald hill in St John's is an historic site where the first Manx parliaments assembled and is still used as a gathering place  on Manx National Day in July.  

Close Sartfield is the flagship reserve of the Manx Wildlife Trust.  It's a meadow which contains at least six varieties of orchid and is an area of special scientific interest.  Mark and Euan discover the history of the meadow.   They also get an insight into how Douglas, the island's capital became a very popular holiday destination from the late 1800s onwards.  

Mark and Euan take to three wheels on a motorbike trike tour of the TT course.    They take a spin up to Kate's Cottage and drop in past the Creg Ny Baa pub.   They finish their trip to the island with a visit to John 'Dog' Callister, a former Manx Bard with whom they compare Manx gaelic and Scottish words and hear a poem form the Bard himself.

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