This weekend sees the Summer Festival of Football as we welcome fans from Altrincham, Fleetwood Town and Radcliffe to our glorious island.
While some of you may be familiar with the island, for many this may be your first time here.
To help with that, we thought this handy guide may help with all things including getting to The Bowl, places to visit and getting around the island.
Fixtures
The festival will get underway on Friday July 18 at 3pm with Altrincham v Radcliffe before FC Isle of Man v Fleetwood Town at 7pm.
Saturday will be a rest day allowing clubs time to train and the players and their fans time to explore our amazing island.
Sunday will see the beaten sides from Friday play each other in a 3rd v 4th play playoff at 11am before the final between the two winning sides at 3pm.
FC Isle of Man is also hosting a Race Night in the British pub starting at 7pm on Saturday July 19, all are welcome and free tickets are available here.
The Bowl
The Isle of Man’s national stadium is located on the outskirts of the capital, Douglas.
Bus services 1/1A/1H/2/2A/11/11A/12,12A/21/21B and 21H all stop outside the entrance to the stadium. Ask the driver for Pulrose Bridge.
Alternative you can to get to Peel Road on services number 5/6.
If you get off on Pulrose Bridge, the ground is on the opposite side of the road, if you go to Peel Road, go back past KFC, turn right onto the bridge and the stadium is on your right.
Alternatively, if you prefer the short walk, head out of Douglas along Peel Road and turn left onto Pulrose Bridge opposite the Escape Rooms. What3Words: ///tools.extend.length
There is also a car park on site with free parking.
FC Isle of Man would like to remind supporters that flares, smoke bombs and pyrotechnics are illegal and prohibited.
Food and Drink
Sadly the Bowl does not have a license and as such no alcohol is allowed in the ground. However, food and soft drinks are available throughout the festival.
If you fancy a drink before or after the game, Douglas has plenty of options including local brewery pubs and bars and free houses.
The Isle of Man
While we hope all of our visitors enjoy the football, the weekend also allows plenty of time to get out and explore our island.
The island is jam packed with a range of activities for visitors including a ride on the Steam Train to the ancient capital of Castletown or go through to enjoy the crown in the jewel of Manx beaches that is Port Erin.
Alternatively, you can head north on the Manx Electric Railway, which boasts the oldest tramcars in operation on their original line anywhere in the world.
Getting off at Laxey you can visit the world’s largest water wheel, The Great Laxey Wheel or climb aboard the Snaefell Mountain Railway to take a tram to the island’s highest peak where, on a good day, you’ll get views of England, the island of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and our own beautiful island.
For fans of motorbike racing, the Manx Museum, located just back from the sea front in Douglas, boasts an exhibit detailing the history of the world famous Isle of Man TT.
Alternatively, you can head west on the bus and visit the sunset city of Peel for an ice. cream, kipper bap or even our unofficial national dish of chips, cheese and gravy.
The island also has a wide range of walks, outdoor activities for the whole family or even just some brilliant pub gardens to relax and soak up the sunshine.
You can find railway timetables here, you can also find how to buy weekend passes.
You can find bus timetables here.
You can find more on activities across the island via Visit Isle of Man and Manx National Heritage has a list of museums and attractions.
