Ayres National Nature Reserve

An eight-kilometre run of shingle beach, dune and lichen heath along the island's north coast, the Ayres is the Isle of Man's only National Nature Reserve and is managed jointly by the Isle of Man Government and Manx National Heritage, with the Manx Wildlife Trust running the Ayres Nature Discovery Centre at Ballaghennie. It's an internationally significant stretch of dune coastline for nesting terns and other ground-nesting birds, and for summer wildflowers including several orchid species that thrive on the thin, lime-rich soil over the shingle. Flat grass and gravel paths make it an easy walk rather than a strenuous one.