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Rhencullen ( gv, ‘holly ridge’) () including
Birkin's Bend is adjacent to the 17th milestone of the TT course, on the primary
A3 Castletown to
Ramsey road in the
Isle of Man
)
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in Europ ...
.
Location
Rhencullen (
archaic
Archaic is a period of time preceding a designated classical period, or something from an older period of time that is also not found or used currently:
*List of archaeological periods
**Archaic Sumerian language, spoken between 31st - 26th cent ...
Balla-ny-Rhenney beg) is a former quarterland district located between Kirk Michael village and
Bishopscourt with the road junction of the tertiary C19 Orrisdale Loop road, in the
parish of Michael. The area is dominated by the farmland at Ballarhenny and the Bishop's Demesne of Bishopscourt, including Birkin's Bend, 'Cloudy Lane' and Rhencullen Hill.
The disused Peel to Ramsey line of the former
Manx Northern Railway
The Manx Northern Railway (MNR) was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905.
History
When the people in the town of Ramsey realised their town was not going to ...
runs parallel to the A3 road at Rhencullen in a cutting, now part of the
Raad ny Foillan
' ( en, The Way of the Gull) is a coastal long distance footpath in the Isle of Man. Because it is a closed loop around the coast, it can be walked in either a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction.
Route and history
The ' starts and finishe ...
long-distance footpath.
Motor-sport heritage
The Rhencullen section was part of the 37.50 Mile
Four Inch Course 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 race for the South Pole.
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia.
* Ja ...
, 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 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing ...
motorcycle races. This included Rhencullen (previously Orrisdale South) and the course later became known as the 37.73 mile
Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, which has been used since 1911 for the Isle of Man TT 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 ' Mountain Circuit') every year for a two-week period, usually spanning the end of August and early September. New for 2022 is a period reduction from 14 to 9 days ...
races.
Birkin’s bend
During an early morning practice session for the
1927 Isle of Man TT
The 1927 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy saw more changes occur with a fatal accident during practice to Archie Birkin, a brother to Tim Birkin of the Bentley Boys fame. The corner in Kirk Michael where the accident occurred was renamed Birkins Ben ...
races,
Archie Birkin, riding a 500 cc McEvoy motor-cycle, crashed fatally at Rhencullen after swerving to avoid a collision with a fish-van being driven on open public roads. The corner at Rhencullen on the A3 road where the accident occurred was named as 'Birkin's Bend'. From 1928 onward, practice sessions for the TT Races and Manx Grand Prix were held on closed public roads.
Road improvements
The Rhencullen complex of bends including Birkin's Bend was subjected to extensive road widening and reprofiling by the Isle of Man Highway and Transport Board during the winter of 1953/1954 for the
1954 Isle of Man TT
The 1954 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy was the second race in the 1954 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season and proved highly controversial for TT Course and race changes. The 1954 Junior TT was the first race where the official race distance was ...
races.
[''Isle of Man Weekly Times'' page 6 Saturday 29 May 1954]
Gallery
File:Sidecar at Rhencullen, Isle of Man.jpg, Sidecar crew approaching Rhencullen 3 in 2003
File:John McGuinness at Rhencullen - geograph.org.uk - 461512.jpg, John McGuinness midway through Rhencullen in 2011
References
Rhencullen
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