Brandywell, Isle of Man ( gv, Chibbyr-y-Phunch) or ( gv, Chibbyr Slieau Maggle) is an area of Mountain Lands of heath

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...

and coniferous woodland plantations situated in the Northern Upland Massif in the parish of

Kirk Michael Michael ( gv, Maayl) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the three historic parishes of Ballaugh, Jurby and Michael. Histo ...

in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. The area was previously used by local shepherds due to a local stream and a nearby former venerated

water well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. Th ...

which was known for its distinctive quality and "''brandy''" colour of the water.

Location and Description

The area of Brandywell is open moorland situated in the Northern Uplands of the Isle of Man including the commons grazing land of Slieau-ny-Maggle ''Intack'' ( archaic ''North Park'') and Injerbreck Hill close to the private residence of ‘''Brandywell Cottage''’ a former Mountain Shepherd's Cottage. The area of Brandywell includes the secondary B10 Beinn-y-Phott Road, the B25 West Baldwin Road, B10 Brandywell / Sartfell Road with the junction with the B26 Ballaugh Glen (Druidale) Road at ‘Brandywell Cottage.’ The area is dominated by the nearby

Snaefell Snaefell ( on, snjœ-fjall/snjó-fall – snow mountain) – ( gv, Sniaull) is the highest mountain and the only summit higher than on the Isle of Man, at above sea level. The summit is crowned by a railway station, cafe and several communic ...

Mountain with an elevation of 621m (2,036 feet) above sea level and the nearby summits of

Beinn-y-Phott Beinn-y-Phott, ( gv, turf summit) (colloquial pronunciation 'penny pot' pɛni fot/ �ə 'pɛni pɔt is a peak of 546 metres (1,791 feet) on the Isle of Man, about 2 km SW of Snaefell. It is at the southern end of the parish of Kirk Lezayr ...

, Sartfell , Slieau Maggle and nearby Injerbreck Hill . The Sulby river has its source here, which flows into the nearby Sulby Reservoir (capacity 4,837 million litres), built in 1983.

Area of Specific Scientific Interest

The mountain moorland of the Beinn-y-Phot uplands including Brandywell, Injebreck Hill, Slieau Maggle mountain and part of Druidale adjacent to the Sulby reservoir is an Area of Specific Scientific Interest (ASSI) and upland conservation "''hot-spot''." The area of Brandywell and the adjacent Brandywell junction with A18 Snaefell Mountain Road, the Beinn-y-Phott uplands, Snaefell, Mullagh Ouhr and Clagh Ouhr mountains is the largest continuous area of grassland moorland of 2,654.60 ha (6,559.66 acres) found on the Isle of Man.

Origin of Name

The name ''Brandywell'' originates from a nearby water-well. For the adjacent property of ‘Brandywell Cottage,’ the publication, ''A Gazetteer of the Isle of Man'' writes about a local story: Brandywell in the parish of Kirk Michael was also a place where local mountain shepherds would gather to celebrate Forester's Day and to brand and sort flocks of mountain sheep including the castration of male lambs.

Brandywell Corner, A18 Snaefell Mountain Road

The Brandywell Corner, previously the 'Mountain Gate,' ''Iron Gate,'' or 'Brandywell Gate' is the site of a former parish boundary marker cairn and gates for the Crown Commons land of Beinn-y-Phott mountain. It is located between the 6th Milestone and 7th Milestone road-side markers on the primary A18 Snaefell Mountain Road and with the road junction with the secondary B10 Beinn-y-Phott road or ''Brandywell Road'' in the parish of Kirk Lonan with the adjoining boundary-line for the parishes of Kirk Braddan and Christ Kirk Lezayre in the

. The Brandywell Road junction with the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road is the site of an Isle of Man TT Marshal communication shelter. The publication, ''A Gazetteer of the Isle of Man'' writes:

A18 Snaefell Mountain Road

The A18 Snaefell Mountain Road was developed in the mid-nineteenth century from a number of pre-existing roads, carting-tracks and horse-paths. This included installation of a number of sheep-gates including the Beinn-y-Phott sheep-gate near the Brandywell Corner road junction. This section of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road from the Keppel Gate northwards to (North Barrule) was built following a recommendation in a report to

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...

made by the Disafforesting Commission of 1860. The A18 road was built on crown commoners grazing land that transferred to the UK Crown following the sale of the Islands feudal rights by

John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, KT, PC, FRS (30 June 1755 – 29 September 1830), styled Marquess of Tullibardine from 1764 to 1774, was a Scottish peer. Life and career Murray was the eldest son of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, and his ...

in 1824. The Brandywell Corner was subject to road widening with the removal of the Beinn-y-Phott sheep-gate on the A18 Mountain Road for the

1935 Isle of Man TT For the 1935 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, Stanley Woods provided another surprise by moving again, from Husqvarna to Moto Guzzi. The 1935 Junior TT Race provided a Junior TT double win for Jimmie Guthrie at an average race speed of and Norton wi ...

Races.

Via Regia footpath and the Millennium Way

The footpath at Brandywell Corner is an ancient ridge-way or pathway part of the ''Via Regia'' (Royal Way) of the Kings of Mann and now part of the Isle of Man ''Millennium Way'' public footpath.

Motor-sport heritage

The ''Iron Gate'' section of A18 Snaefell Mountain Road near to the Brandywell road junction was part of the 52.15 mile

Highland Course Highroads Course was a road-racing circuit used for the Gordon Bennett British Eliminating Trial held in the Isle of Man for the 1904 and 1905 Tourist Trophy Race involving touring automobiles and cars. The events were held on public roads clos ...

(revised to 40.38 miles in 1906) used for automobile racing including the 1904 Gordon Bennett Trial and the

RAC Tourist Trophy The RAC Tourist Trophy (sometimes called the International Tourist Trophy) is a motor racing award presented by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) to the overall victor of a motor race in the United Kingdom. Established in 1905, it is the world's ol ...

automobile races held between 1905 and 1907. The course was modified again in 1908 as the 37.50 Mile

Four Inch Course The Four Inch Course was a road-racing circuit first used for the 1908 Tourist Trophy Race for cars, held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald (the parliament of the Isle of Man). The name of the course derives from the regu ...

for the RAC Tourist Trophy automobile races held in the Isle of Man between 1908 and 1922. In

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

the Four Inch Course for automobiles was first used by the Auto-Cycling Union for the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

motorcycle races. This included the revised Brandywell Corner and the course later became known as the 37.73 mile

Isle of Man TT Mountain Course The Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or ''TT Course'' is a street and public rural road circuit located in the Isle of Man, used for motorcycle racing. The motorcycle ''TT Course'' is used principally for the Isle of Man TT Races and also the sep ...

which has been used since 1911 for the

Races and from 1923 for the

Manx Grand Prix The Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races are held on the Isle of Man TT Course (or 'Snaefell Mountain Course, Mountain Circuit') every year for a two-week period, usually spanning the end of August and early September. New for 2022 is a period re ...

races.

Brandywell Cottage and Brandywell Jumps

For timed special stages for the

Rally Isle of Man Rally Isle of Man (previously the ''Manx International Rally'' and formerly the ''Manx Trophy Rally'') is a car rally competition held in the Isle of Man. It was first held in 1963, and later became a well-known event in the British Open Rally ...

and Manx Rally including the former Manx International Rally and Manx Trophy Rally the area of Brandywell and Brandywell Cottage for motor-sport spectators is described as "….a ''natural amphitheatre''." This includes the B10 Brandywell Road/ C37 Druidale double hairpin at Brandywell Cottage, the B22 West Baldwin ‘link road’ and the adjoining ".....famous ''Brandywell ‘Jumps’.....''." The B10 Brandywell Road with its junction with the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road at the Brandywell Corner has also been used as part of a special timed stages for the Rally Isle of Man.

Mountain bikes

The B10 Beinn-y-Phott road section near to the 'Brandywell Cottage' forms the first official manned check-point of ''Brandywell'' at for the Isle of Man End-to-End Mountain Bike Challenge. The largest single day mountain bike race in Europe, the route races from the

Point of Ayre The Point of Ayre ( gv, Kione ny Hayrey)''Place Names of The Isle of Man – Da Ny Manninee Dooie Volume Three. Sheading of Ayre: (Kirk Andreas, Kirk Bride and Kirk Christ Lezayre)'' page 258 ''Kirk Bride'' by George Broderick – Turbingen ...

in the north of the Isle of Man to

Port Erin Port Erin ( gv, Purt Çhiarn, meaning ''lord's port'') is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it ...

in the south of the Island

The Isle of Man Cyclefest Gran Fondo cycling event consists of an figure of eight course. The cross-over point for the northern and southern loops for the Cycling and Mountain Bike section of the cycling race is at Brandywell Cottage. The southern loop of the Gran Frodo event from Baldwin Bridge to Brandywell Cottage contains the ‘''Injebreck Hill''’ climb (average gradient 6%) as featured in the cycling publication "Another 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs." 003brandywell

The Brandywell Corner road junction forms part of two official mountain bike routes. The first ''A Grand Day Out'' (cross country loop) a mountain bike trail of 18.5 miles follows the B10 Brandywell Road and the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road and is classified as a ''Red'' difficult route. The second official route is the ''St Luke's & Windy Corner'' (cross country loop) a mountain bike trail of 17 miles and is also classified as a ''Red'' difficult route.

Weather

There is a small automated Weather Station located to the side of the Isle of Man TT Marshall station at the Brandywell Road Junction, along with a similar weather station at the ''Mountain Box'' near to the East Snaefell Mountain Gate. It is currently being used by the Isle of Man Department of Infrastructure and the Brandywell weather station is above sea level near the highest point of the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road. The automated weather station utilises the TT Marshal's telephone line for digital transmission of weather data and due to the absence of an electricity supply is powered by solar panels and a

small wind turbine Small wind turbines, also known as micro wind turbines, are used for microgeneration of electricity, as opposed to large commercial wind turbines, such as those found in wind farms. Small wind turbines often have passive yaw systems as opposed ...

. In 2005, the Brandywell Junction weather station recorded a wind speed gusts of and in 2017 during the

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of ...

of ex-Hurricane

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...

, recorded a gust of .Manx Independent – ''Manninagh Seyr'' page 6 Thursday 19 October 2017 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2017) Tindle Press Publishing Newsprint (Knowsley) Ltd ISSN 1358-4391

Gallery

Sources

External links

Prohibited and Restricted Areas for the Isle of Man TT Races, Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix, Hailwood Heights, Brandywell Junction and the 32nd Milestone.
{{Isle of Man Racing Circuits

Brandywell The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and (temporari ...