Lonan3 1,790 Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 That does sound like a very 'manx' rumour! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diomed 0 Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 In view of the present controversy at Langness the following historic information may be of interest to some. During 1975 a strange Scottish Light Keeper arrived at Langness. His previous postings must have been at very remote lighthouses because he obviously could not cope with people around him. In those days the few people who ventured out Langness, mainly for beachcoming, parked their cars between the lighthouse and Dreswick Harbour. With help of the tenant farmer and the then landowner along with the Northern Lighthouse Board in Edinburgh he tried to ban everyone [and I mean EVERYONE] from driving, cycling, and walking out at Langness. The public, mainly Castletown residents, were up in arms and several demos were organised. The best one being on the 15th July 1975 when 30 people led by MHK Mrs Quayle made the excursion for the purpose of establishing a right claimed for many years of driving out to the lighthouse. The situation got quite unpleasant at times due to confrontations between the light keeper and the public. The poor farmer who was a real gentleman and a nice guy got a lot of flack. After many meetings between Mrs Quayle and interested parties, including various Government departments a compromise was agreed by all parties. The Government bought a plot of land and turned it into a carpark for the public to use. People could ramble at the farmer and landowner's discretion depending on how many of the native wild bullocks were roaming the peninsular at the time. Accesss around the lighthouse was not permitted as that was hallowed light house land, and the foghorn area was definately off limits. DOGS WERE PERMITTED BUT ON A LEAD ONLY At that time the landowner owned the road as far as the gateway at the landward side of the ruined farmhouse, the Govt owned the land between that gateway and the carpark, and the Northern Lighthouse Board owned the land between the car park and the lighthouse. This may be changed now since land and lighthouse cottages have changed hands. There is no right of way around Langness peninsular and never has been. The public has no right to ramble on the land which is private except at the discretion of the present owner of the lighthouse cottages. As soon as agreement was reached Langness was swamped by dog owners piling out there in their cars taking their damn animals to evacuate their bowels. A walk out on these fields in the summer would lift your hat off with the stink of dog poo. I personally gave up walking out Langness many years ago for this reason, and I understand this is still the case. At the time neither the dog owners or the xxxxx bird watchers would help with the demos but soon took advantage of what was achieved. I have a newspaper clipping of that demo which also quotes an aged Castletown resident, aged 85 at the time remembering when he was a boy there was a demo which involved most of the residents of Castletown led by the town band who tore down barricades errected to keep out the public. The reason ? to stop the public gaining access to the peninsular as the hotel owners intended to build the golf course. KEEP YOUR DOGS ON A LEAD AS THE PRESENT OWNER OF LANGNESS HAS EVERY RIGHT TO ENFORCE THIS RULING. In conclusion Mrs Elspeth Quayle has been the only Castletown MHK of any credibility since Sir Joseph Qualtrough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
integer 2 Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 Did I just see a well-informed and factual post? Now there's a trend worth starting Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frances 363 Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 The demo remembered by the old resident was probably that which resulted in the court case of 1896/7 - I remember reading that Sir James Gell was in favour of public access but the case went against the public right of using the old racecourse as a recreation ground.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alex 12 Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 Hey - get off your high horse. It's his land, he can do what he wants. I've never been down Langness, but the situation with JC right now seems to me to be a clear case of someone not wanting someone on his land and making up an excuse for the plebs as to why. Blaming fictional dog owners who run about letting their dogs terrorise sheep - I walk about on many fields in my area that are full of sheep and have public rights of way through them - I've never heard or seen of any dog owners letting their dogs off-lead, or of any dogs terrorising/killing the sheep. Sure, it has been known for dogs to get into fields of sheep and chase or even kill some, but these incidents are few and far between? I remember a few years ago one got into some fields near Ballanard Rd - it was pretty big news (hey, it is the IOM). The dog was shot in the end. Far as it looks like, there was one incident of some sheep falling down a cliff, this was blamed, with no evidence whatsoever, on dogs. The farmer said something along the lines of "oh, well it must have been a dog got in and chased the sheep sometime last week". I don't know if I'm barking (ho ho ho) up the wrong tree here, but so far no-one's corrected anything about the facts of the sheep killed, just taken Clarkson's word for it about there being seven. Wouldn't you normally report something like that? Wouldn't there have been other stories in the news about a sheep being killed by a dog on JCs land? Find it hard to believe really, that's all. And everyone seems a little too quick to believe every word he says - he's not the first person to buy land with permissive ways on them then decide to ban everyone you know. People get upset about that sort of thing - whether you're a posh English bloke from the TV or a Horsthuis. (I like JC too, Top Gear's one of my favourite programmes. Just wonder if he's being entirely honest about why he wants people off his land.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Educa 2 Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 Well personally i think he is doing the right thing stopping people trespassing, isnt the fella allowed a bit of privacy ? There are plenty of places to walk your dog or ramble, why go down there just to stare in at the guys house bit sad if you ask me. I bet if it was just a normal man of the street living in there nobody would even bother going down there. Good luck to you jezza i can understand 100% why you are doing it and anyone with a bit of sense can too. Lots of people walk out there, it is a scenic spot - nothing to do with who lives in the house! It is a beautiful spot, and it is a shame that it appears there is a push on to stop people rambling there - by the way the building work has resulted in the removal of part of wall....and a building - to provide better scenic view from said house...wait until the manx gales start lashing - time to rebuild wall again... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spanna 66 Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 A sign saying "Any dogs off the lead will be shot" will do. Ive seen signs like this up near Baldwin. Theres no need to ban everyone just cus of some stupid dog owners. I go up there all the time and there are some real p***ks that walk dogs. Especially one old fool who thinks its hilarious when his Boxer tries to attack you. The best solution would be for people to put there dogs on the lead and then Clarkson cant whinge. Isn't there a law that dogs should be under control in public places anyway? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Celt 85 Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 (edited) I'm Manks and I'm with Clarkson. He's only doing what any Local Farmer would do. Who do these people think they are when they think they have a God given right to walk over someone elses land?. The man has publicly stated that he doesn't have a problem with people or dogs on his land but at least be a responsible dog owner and keep control of the said dog. The best thing was this. but he can't really do a thing about it. Can he? Yes he can, he can shoot the dog. I personally would prefer to shoot the owner but you tend to go to jail for that. Leave the guy alone before he tells everyone to bog off. Edited October 16, 2005 by Celt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dreemskerry 0 Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 Surely, if there is building work going on you need to warn people not to go on to the site. If you don't and somebody falls and hurts themself you are liable and they can sue you. Also, if a dog had been worrying sheep on any other farm on the Island it would be the farmer that would be getting the sympathy not the dog owner. Surely the question should not be what is Jeremy Clarkson doing now but, what will he do when the building work is complete. Angry shouts and abuse only build barriers, resentment and distrust. Jeremy Clarkson has moved to the Island because he, his MANX wife and his children love it here. He appears to be genuinely trying to build a life here and if he is true to his word, he will acually improve the recreational use of the land at Langness. Give the man a chance. Write to him and ask permission to walk on the land. Get a group of people together and ask for public access once the building work has been completed. If he doesn't write back or he says no, that is the time to organise protests. If he says yes then respect the privilege that has been granted, keep your pets suitably restrained and clean up after them. The Manx pride ourselves on the friendliness of our Island and the welcome we give to strangers. This is some welcome! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
girl89 0 Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 It's his land in the end, and he can do what he wants with it. I haven't read the paper yet but if people are treating him badly because of his decision then they should just grow up to be honest! The previous owner chose to let people through. As the some people say, 'The Manx don't like change!' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FCMR 0 Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 But its OK for Clarkson to say put a wire accross the roads to catch the bikers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TerryMcCann 1 Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 But its OK for Clarkson to say put a wire accross the roads to catch the bikers If all bikers are moaning twats like you then I'd have to say yes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geo 0 Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 But its OK for Clarkson to say put a wire accross the roads to catch the bikers If it was a private road and owned by him and there was no rights of vehicular access by others, then yes it would be OK for him to put what he wants across the road. So long as he ensures adequate signage is visible warning others of the wire and also advising them that it is private land. Back to the point though, it is after all his land and all he wants is his privacy, not too much to ask is it. Geo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FCMR 0 Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 But its OK for Clarkson to say put a wire accross the roads to catch the bikers If all bikers are moaning twats like you then I'd have to say yes Better to moan than to sit on you fat a** getting shafted Quote Link to post Share on other sites
girl89 0 Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 But its OK for Clarkson to say put a wire accross the roads to catch the bikers If all bikers are moaning twats like you then I'd have to say yes Better to moan than to sit on you fat a** getting shafted Give it up FCMR, do you really think people are going to be offended by your childish comments? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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