Point of Ayre Lighthouse

The Isle of Man's northernmost point, where the island runs out into a long spit of gravel and shingle known locally as the Ayres. The lighthouse here, the oldest on the island, marks the point closest to Scotland and the notoriously fast-moving currents where the Irish Sea meets the North Channel. It's a bleak, low, wide-skied stretch of coast rather than a dramatic cliff — gorse and heather give way to dunes and shingle bank, and grey seals and a wide range of coastal birds use the beaches year-round.