Rushen Abbey — Attraction in Malew

Rushen Abbey is very deceptive - in a great way - there is a lot more to it than you think there will be from the outside. When we arrived, I thought we would have covered it in the space of an hour - how wrong I was. We went in and read up on the history of the Abbey (which included it being a popular tourist destination for cream teas and renowned dances). You can also dress up as monks, take on quizzes and - for younger visitors - there is the Jam Factory (another interesting aspect of the venue's history) when preserves were made there. The abbey itself is in ruins and there are a few boards to read about the different sections which help you gauge and understand the scale and layout and how each part of the building would have been used. You can also have a go at writing in the style of how the monks would have copied out texts back in the day. To fully cover Rushen Abbey, definitely give yourselves around two hours. Castle Rushen is also nearby which can give you a day of two very historic sites, although check opening times to ensure you can fit them both in. If you are staying on the island for a few days, it is worth getting the heritage holiday pass which is £30 per adult for ten sites (children go free). You then have 14 days to visit the different attractions, which include Peel Castle, Grove Museum, the Laxey Wheel, Castle Rushen, The House of Manannan and Cragneash...

Took my daughter on a week day thinking it would be nice and quiet as my daughter has learning difficulties and doesn’t like loud or busy. At first it was lovely, we had a good look around inside and she loved it . Unfortunately when we came out to play on the hoppers, have a walk around the gardens and a sit and have a drink we couldn’t as the guy was on his lawnmower cutting the grass. My daughter then wanted to leave and was very upset about it saying it ruined her day. The staff there were lovely don’t get me wrong but maybe you could cut the grass before you open at 10 or after 4...

My mother loves this place so she bought us along whilst we were visiting, we spent an hour here then headed to silver Dale next door. The Abbey wasn't really for me and I love history, I just didn't get that vibe from it. The kids had no interest at all although they did like the little games barn outside in the grounds and other games on route. My favourite part though was the gardens, the wildflower garden was beautiful and we saw a huge dragon fly over the pond! The gardens are a...