St Patrick is arguably "as much Manx as Irish". There's a parish called Patrick; the islet that holds aloft Peel Castle is called St Patrick's Isle; and there are lots more Patrick-related phenomena.

Here are two:

1. The Chair

James Franklin offers a nice little list of "magical" Manx folklore sites, one or two of which we've ticked off already.

Up next in our sights was St Patrick's Chair, a set of standing stones, and we headed over there on Monday 15. You catch the magic bus, get off at Garth crossroads, walk down the (quiet) lane, and then head left down a really grassy track till you get to the stones.




There are all sorts of stories about this landmark. Was it the site where Saint Patrick himself first preached Christianity to the island’s inhabitants? Or maybe just sat to rest during his missionary excursions? Was it a prehistoric burial mound, repurposed as a Christian gathering place? Or was it, as Charles Guard suggests, the result of a few local farmers in the Victorian era having a lark?

Ray Moore offers another couple of possibilities. Was it a memorial to holy people, or a prayer-station placed on a pilgrimage route? Was it the site of a spring that modern agriculture has disturbed?And to make things even more confusing, 18th-century sources note another "St Patrick's Chair", which is essentially a rock formation, near St Trinian's on the slopes of Greeba Mountain.

Who knows?

It's fenced off, so you can't, as Franklin suggests, sit down and draw on the power of St Patrick to make sure you'll "never be weary". But it makes a pleasant objective, with good views and glorious quietness all around.




The way back takes you firstly along lanes, where there are plenty of interesting things to see. The area is called Ellerslie, a Scottish name, and there are all sorts of stories about the Dunlop family (who changed the original designation of the estate from Ballakilley, and later fell on hard times), and an adjacent mine, and a huge mill fire in 1933.

I haven't yet ferreted out the history of any of the buildings below, but they're certainly picturesque:





Once you've descended to the valley, you can return to base along the old railway line and back up the hill, calling in at Kirby Garden Centre for a restorative scone on the way.

Good walk.

2. The Well

Today's follow-up Patrick-related activity was Chibbyr Pherick, St Patrick's Well, which is located on the seaward side of Peel Hill.

According to Franklin, the story goes like this:

"This well is said to originate with St Patrick when he rode on horseback across the sea to the Isle of Man from Ireland. The Island’s Celtic god, Manannan, saw him coming and covered the Island in mist, leaving St Patrick lost at sea with a sea beast approaching to devour him (the large rocky outcrop in the sea that is below the well). The saint heard a curlew calling 'Come you, come you, come you!' to its young on the rocks close by, a goat crying 'Beware, beware, beware!' on the side of the hill through the mist, and a cockerel calling 'Come to us, come, come!' St Patrick then realised where he was and leapt up on his horse to land on Peel Hill. When his horse’s hoof first touched the land, the well sprang up. After this, Saint Patrick turned the sea beast to stone and banished Manannan from the Island. He then rewarded the animals for helping him; the curlew with nobody being able to find its nest, the goat with no one seeing the birth of its young, and the cockerel with crying at dawn at that same hour forever more.

"The well was visited from far and wide for its cures. People bringing silver offerings led the well to become known as Chibbyr yn Argid (Silver Well) by some. To others the well was known as Chibbyr Sheeant (Holy Well). The water is said to grant protection from fairies, as well as granting wishes."

Getting here was another job for the magic bus, which this time we rode all the way to Peel. Then you cross the old town, and head up Peel Hill.

Such a beautiful day: Blue and bright, but with wraiths of mist topping all the hills.








It's hard to choose these days among Peel's multiplicity of fine food offerings, but we plumped for more of those excellent scones from Traa dy Liooar on Atholl Place. (Are you spotting a certain St Patrick/scone connection...?)


We ended up in the gardens of St German's Cathedral, which are looking really wonderful in this high summer weather:











It was the Parish Walk today, by the way. An 85-mile circuit, which people complete without stopping. I know... We think we're walkers, but seriously...