Ward & Lock's descriptive and pictorial guide to the Isle of Man ...

DOUGLAS BhIDGB,THE TOWN OF DOUGLASwe approach the island, the dim outline of rocks crownedAs with a lighthouse, the lines which indicate the piers,the club buildings, the wooded heights which markthe broad sweep of the bay, and the grey mountains beyond,grow into distinctness, and there is revealed to us a pictureof remarkable beauty. On the left is Douglas Head, a loftyand rugged projection of laminated shale, against which thewaves dash and seem to dissolve in spray. Near the foot ofthe projecting mass is the Battery Pier, Avith a lighthouse atthe extremity, and between that and the curved pier, atwhich we shall land, is the mouth of the harbour, in whichare fishing boats and barques of larger size. Handsomehotels aucl long terraces of showy houses stretch to theright, overlooking the sands, and from the hills, thick withfoliage, skirting the bay, peep out towers and turrets, whichwe shall know more aboat before we have been long in theplace. The northern limit of the bay is Ouchan Point,closing the view in that direction.We shall presently wander along the shore of this charmingbay, noting, step by step as we go, the various points ofattraction. Now we are content to glance at the noblesea-wall of the Loch Parade, the broad sands, the exquisitelyclear water, and, as a central figure of the picture, the castellatedTower of Refuge on a little island of rock.As the Bcn-my-Chrce, or the Manxman, or any othersteamer of the fine fleet engaged in the service, discharges