Douglas Head and Marine Drive

Douglas Head closes the southern side of Douglas Bay, with a lighthouse on the point, a view back across the whole town and a Victorian camera obscura built in 1892 that still projects the surrounding coast onto a table using mirrors and lenses. Marine Drive runs south from it along the cliffs on the bed of a former electric tramway, now closed to through traffic after landslips and used as a walking and cycling route.

What you actually see

• The camera obscura - the 1892 apparatus projecting the coast onto a table.
• The lighthouse - the light on the point at the entrance to Douglas Bay.
• Marine Drive - the clifftop route on a former tramway alignment.
• The town view - Douglas Bay and the promenade seen from the head.

When to go

April to October for the camera obscura, which opens seasonally and in reasonable weather. The clifftop walk works year round. Winds on the head are strong.

Honest expectations

The camera obscura opens only in season and only when the light is good enough. Marine Drive is closed to cars after landslips and sections have been unstable. The head is exposed and windy.

Nearby

Douglas promenade is north, and the Fairy Bridge is southwest.