‘Making Ramsey Less Sexy’

A Ramsey business says repeated closures of the A18 Mountain Road are making the town ‘less sexy’ for visitors.

Shipyard Road-based Ramsey Shipping Services has called for a ‘constructive’ discussion about the impact of periodic closures on northern firms.

Sharing a graph of the past seven years, the company said verified data showed 68 weather or maintenance-related closure days in 2025 – 39 full and 29 partial.

It added that TT and Manx Grand Prix session closures account for a further estimated 16 to 20 days each year.

‘This post is not a criticism, absolutely not,’ it said. ‘This post is a food for thoughts, hoping for constructive brain storming discussion… We cannot manage something which is not measured.’

The firm argued the trend is a rising number of closure days, adding: ‘That is making us in Ramsey less “sexy” for visitors.’

When shut, diversion routes can add 25 to 40 minutes to journeys between Douglas and Ramsey, the firm said.

One name that always pops up whenever the Mountain Road saga kicks off is the Victory Café at the Bungalow, arguably the most windswept brew stop on the island.

Owners Vicky and Ben Quirk recently revealed they’re drastically cutting back their opening hours, pointing to ‘huge’ challenges in the hospitality trade and the number of closures last year, which they say almost doubled compared with 2024.

Instead of being open through the week, the café will now trade on Sundays only, with a sharper focus on events, including motorsport functions and weddings, rather than relying on passing traffic that may or may not make it up the Mountain.

Ramsey MHK Alex Allinson is due to question Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall in the House of Keys next week about the criteria for closing the Mountain Road due to snow and ice.

Gef has approached the Department of Infrastructure for comment.