Raad ny Foillan — walking the Isle of Man coastal path, stage by stage

The Raad ny Foillan, Manx for “Way of the Gull”, is the coastal path round the whole Isle of Man. It’s about 100 miles of cliffs, coves, shingle and a few awkward road sections, and it opened in 1986 for the island’s Heritage Year. This page is for anyone planning to walk all of it or a few days of it. It covers the stages, where to stay, how to get back to your bed each night, and the current closures. For shorter walks, including the best single days on this path, see our Isle of Man walks guide.

How long is it, really?

It depends who you ask. The Isle of Man Government (opens in a new tab) says about 95 miles. Visit Isle of Man (opens in a new tab) says almost 100, and Wikipedia says 102. Add Visit Isle of Man’s stage lengths together and you get just under 100. Plan for 100 miles, because you’ll walk into a town for dinner, detour to a view, or follow a diversion at some point.

The stages

These are Visit Isle of Man’s 12 sections (opens in a new tab), walked clockwise from Douglas, with their distances and grades (checked September 2026). Visit Isle of Man doesn’t give a figure for the last stage. The 10 miles shown is the usual published figure for Laxey to Douglas.

Stage	Miles	Grade	Getting back or on
1. Douglas – Derbyhaven	12.5	Moderate	Buses on the Castletown road; the airport is near
2. Derbyhaven – Port St Mary	12	Leisurely	Steam railway and buses
3. Port St Mary – Port Erin	7	Moderate	Steam railway and buses
4. Port Erin – Niarbyl	9.5	Strenuous	Nothing at Niarbyl itself. Arrange a lift
5. Niarbyl – Peel	6	Moderate	Buses from Peel
6. Peel – Kirk Michael	7	Moderate	Buses on the west coast road
7. Kirk Michael – Jurby	7	Moderate	Limited buses. Check first
8. Jurby – Point of Ayre	8.5	Leisurely	Very limited. Plan a pick-up
9. Point of Ayre – Ramsey	5.5	Leisurely	Buses and the electric tram from Ramsey
10. Ramsey – Maughold	4.5	Moderate	Limited. Or carry on to Laxey
11. Maughold – Laxey	8.5	Moderate	Electric tram and buses
12. Laxey – Douglas	About 10	Moderate	Electric tram and buses

The public transport column is our summary, not a timetable. Bus Vannin timetables change, and services in the north and west are thin, especially on Sundays. Check the exact buses for your day on Bus Vannin’s timetables (opens in a new tab) before you set off, not when you arrive.

The stretches, in brief

• Douglas to Castletown (stages 1–2). Out over Douglas Head along the old Marine Drive, past Port Soderick and Port Grenaugh, then round Langness. Some of stage 2 is on roads and the edge of the airport. It’s pleasant, but it isn’t why you came.
• Port St Mary to Peel (stages 3–5). The best three days on the path. First the Chasms and Spanish Head to the Sound, facing the Calf of Man. Then Bradda Head and the high, empty cliffs to Niarbyl, and finally Glen Maye and Peel Hill down into Peel. Stage 4 is the toughest on the route, with big climbs and nowhere to buy anything.
• Peel to the Point of Ayre (stages 6–8). Flat and wild. Part of it runs on the old railway line near Kirk Michael, then along low sandy cliffs and the shingle of the Ayres. Long stretches have no shelter and no shop.
• Point of Ayre to Douglas (stages 9–12). Along Ramsey’s beach, out to Maughold Head, then an up-and-down east coast via Port Cornaa, Dhoon and Laxey, back to Douglas along Onchan’s cliffs.

Planning

When to go

From May to September you’ll get the longest days and the steam railway and electric tram to take you home. The railways’ 2026 season ends on 1 November. Spring brings gorse, bluebells on the east coast and nesting seabirds. Late summer turns the heather on the south-west cliffs purple. Avoid TT fortnight (31 May to 12 June in 2027) unless you’ve already booked, because every bed on the island goes and the roads you’ll cross are closed for racing. See best time to visit.

Maps and navigation

The waymarks are blue signs with a white gull. They’re good around towns and thinner on open cliff. The Isle of Man Government publishes stage maps and a downloadable 1:25,000 map on its coastal walk page (opens in a new tab). It says plainly that the path is for experienced walkers and that its own sketch maps aren’t for navigation. Carry the full map or a GPS track. Cicerone publishes a guidebook to the path (opens in a new tab) if you want route notes in your pocket.

Where to stay

There are two ways to do it:

• Stay in two or three bases and use transport. Douglas, Port Erin or Port St Mary, Peel and Ramsey cover most stages. Each morning you catch a bus, train or tram to where you left off. It’s the easiest option, and your bag stays in the room.
• Move every night. You get more of the feel of a proper long-distance walk. But beds are sparse in the north-west (Kirk Michael to the Point of Ayre) and around Niarbyl, so book those nights first.

Visit Isle of Man keeps a list of places to stay along the route (opens in a new tab). Our where to stay guide says which town suits whom.

Bags

We couldn’t find a scheduled baggage-transfer service for the path in 2026. That’s the main reason the base-and-transport approach works best here. If you’re moving every night, a taxi between towns is the fallback. Ask your accommodation whether they’ll arrange one.

Closures and diversions

Coastal paths fall into the sea. As of September 2026:

• Port Erin. Two short sections in Port Erin were shut by landslips in late 2023 and early 2024. In October 2024 Port Erin Commissioners said the repair quotes were “cost prohibitive” and the sections would stay closed for the foreseeable future (Manx Radio (opens in a new tab)). We couldn’t find confirmation that they’ve reopened since. Follow the signed diversion on the ground.
• Orrisdale, north of Kirk Michael. The path follows the old railway line here. The Department of Infrastructure closed it from 9 February 2026 to replace two bridge decks, with a diversion in place. The closure was later extended to 22 May (3FM (opens in a new tab)). We couldn’t find a reopening notice, so check the Department of Infrastructure’s updates (opens in a new tab) before you walk stage 7.
• The Sound to the Chasms. This stretch was taped off on 27 August 2026 after ordnance was found, then reopened the same morning once it was made safe (Manx Radio (opens in a new tab)).

If you find a blocked path, fallen sign or new landslip, report it at reportaproblem.im (opens in a new tab).

Doing it fast

The path is also a running challenge. The fastest known time is 21 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds, set by Orran Smith in October 2020. That’s a useful number to have in mind on day seven, when your blisters want to know why you’re taking a fortnight.