no folly inn oop north!

[wavelength]

Whist everyone on the solent wanders off to the folly we have the pub on Piel Island. Not much else on Piel 'cept a 14th century castle (or whats left of it), and the landlords collection of animals amd birds.

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The landlord of the pub is crowned king of Piel for the duration of his tenure. He is also an aux coastguard (call sign Piel bravo) which makes him a very busy chappy in summer as the local yachts use Piel as their weekend overnight stop and watering hole.

[wavelength]

700 years or so of Irish sea gales knocks the brickwork about a bit

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built for the Abbot to take refuge in and to protect the Abbey's Isle of Man trade

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30 ft rise and fall of tide here and a long concrete section ramp. Mooring to the ramp is easier with a bent "T" bar sort of thingie. Just slot it thru the ramp and turn it. otherwise you need to feed the rope thru and then try to find the other end underneath in the water

[wavelength]

and a helpful notice in case the navigation is a bit rusty and youre not sure where you are!

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You can camp here overnight if you are cruising the area. A bit eerie perhaps.

[Mike Garside]

Thanks for something rather more interesting to start off a dull Monday morning in Cornwall, Dave.

I shall be spending my Easter oop north, cruising the tops of Helvelyn, Scafell Pike and supping the odd pint of Old Peculiar in my fave pub - The Old Dungeon Ghyl in Langdale.

Have made a mental note to drop in on the King of Piel before too long.

PS. Hey, I like that T-bar anchoring thingy. Sure I've seen slots in ramps and docks like that before but never thought that's how they can be used.

[DM]

Thanks for the pics Dave. They bring back memories of a glorious day out last summer. Launched at Knott end on a hot sunny day with the sea like a mirror. Over to Piel for a couple of pints outside on the bank. The only downside was on the return trip. I was using my Merc powered Osprey eagle. After jumping the wake of a ferry, the bl**dy engine died and defied all attempts to start it. We had to come back on the 8hp donkey which was no real problem until about two miles off the wrecked tower. The tide was against us in big way by this time reducing the speed to 2.5kn over the ground. Took ages to get in and there was only just enough water to recover the boat. The safety tilt switch had failed on the engine. If I'd snipped the black/yellow wire it would have started. Ah well, another lesson learnt.

DM

[whitingiom]

DM

What are your thoughts on Ospreys?

There is a 5.2m Osprey with 70hp 4 str Suzuki advertised in our local rag tonight.....

Worth a look at £5k?

Jon