Groudle Glen and Drive along Douglas Prom - March 2020 - Isle of Man

Описание: Groudle Glen and Drive along Douglas Prom - March 2020 - Isle of Man

Groudle Glen and Sea Lion Rock

The terminus is situated some three-quarters of a mile away from the other end of the line. It opened as the outer terminus of the line in 1896, at which point the building was erected including tea rooms, bake house, fish store and seasonal living quarters for the staff. The zoo, created in the adjacent cove, had been a feature from 1893 and was the reason for the building of the line. The station closed at the outbreak of the Second World War; although the railway reopened in 1950, a landslip during the war years prevented the line being re-opened this far, and it was not until the restored line was extended in 1992 that the station re-opened, later receiving a replica station building in 2000

The zoo that the station was built to serve pre-dates the railway by three years, having been established in 1893. A rocky inlet was dammed off to create a living environment for sea lions, and cages were constructed to house polar bears; and it was these attractions that gave the railway's locomotives their names. The zoo remained popular until the outbreak of the First World War when the zoo closed for the duration. When reopened in 1920 the polar bears were no longer a feature, but the sea lions survived until the complex closed at the end of the 1939 season, never to reopen.

Sea Lion Cove
At various points during the zoo's life there were also brown bear cubs (which for a small fee could be taken for a walk around the cliffs), and an aviary with tropical birds, and it has also been reported that there were penguins, though no evidence has come to light to support this. The remains of the complex are still visible today. The site was used during the filming of an episode from the first series of the popular television drama Lovejoy in 1986 entitled Friends, Romans & Enemies. Today there are several images and displays in the nearby visitor centre and tea rooms which illustrate the zoo when it was open.