Coordinates: 54°05′06″N 4°45′18″W / 54.085°N 4.755°W
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Port Erin (Manx: Purt Çhiarn) is a town in the south of the Isle of Man. Its population is 3,369 according to the 2001 census.
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History
The name means either "iron port" or "lord's port". The outer breakwater, visible at low tide only, was an abandoned project constructed in 1863 using the Port Erin Breakwater Railway and saw the first steam locomotive used on the island; a severe storm of 1884 later destroyed the breakwater and it was never rebuilt. Today, a marker buoy shows the extent of the breakwater and the land end is still clearly discernible.
The contemporary town
Port Erin is a friendly seaside resort with a harbour.
The beach is sandy and bounded by two headlands which funnel the prevailing westerly wind towards the village. One, Bradda Head, has a memorial tower called Milner's Tower. The promenade, which is somewhat higher than the seafront, primarily consists of hotels - mostly built in the Victorian era, although due to changes in taste among tourists, many of these are being converted into flats and apartments. The town is famed for its views including spectacular sunsets over Port Erin Bay and Bradda Head as well as frequent glimpses of the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland in the distance.
The town is home to an arts centre, the Erin Arts Centre, which hosts the biggest international viola competition in the world and runs over 200 events a year. There is a railway museum. The museum is attached to the Port Erin railway station, the western terminus of the Isle of Man steam railway.
One of the more famous residents in recent years was racing driver Nigel Mansell who lived at Bradda, above the village.
The 2006 film Stormbreaker (starring Ewan McGregor) was filmed on Port Erin beach.
The harbour was home to a University of Liverpool Marine Biology department. The Marine Biology lab, however, was closed down in 2006 due to funding shortages and the building's future is as yet undecided.
See also
External links
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
