Ferry departure from Heysham to Douglas was at 11:45 so we arrived at the terminal the required 2 hours prior only to wait in line with all the other bikes. This was not a problem as there is always bikes to look at and people to talk to. Lined up behind us were Craig and Marg who we had met in Morecambe the night before. Chris, however was waving to us from the terminal as he would travel to Douglas on the next ferry leaving at 2:15, we arranged to meet him at the terminal.

Our accommodation is a delightful B&B in Onchan, about 3km from the Start/Finish Grandstand. Greg decided to take the downstairs room and let Craig and Marg carry their gear upstairs as they are younger than us. Little did he know that the upstairs room had a bath and TV and ours only had a shower and no TV - b*****! Our Hosts, Gary and Katie are a young couple who have been married for 2 months and have made us feel very welcome, giving us the run of the house and use of their kitchen and laundry.

We set our early on Saturday having decided to watch the day's racing from Bradden Church. We set ourselves up on the supplied chairs, got our cake and coffee from the ladies inside the church hall and waited for racing to begin. The scheduled time came and went. This was to be the first day of racing but the best laid plans of Manx Men don't always go as planned. The wind was howling over the mountain and this made it impossible for the medical helicopter to proving adequate coverage for the riders. As well as this, a private helicopter crashed by the side of the track so racing for the day was delayed and eventually cancelled. After packing our chairs away we went in to Douglas and wandered around the town for the remainder of the day.

Craig has discovered that his bike has a cracked radiator so it has been taken to the Triumph dealer at Castletown and awaits a solution to the problem. Also, Marg has a very heavy cold and has developed a nasty throat infection so their start to the TT has been anything but exciting! Marg spent Sunday in bed and Craig came and went on foot filling in his day between looking after Marg. A visit to the Triumph dealer on Monday morning and a visit to the doctor for Marg should see them sorted and ready to start race week.

Sunday of race week has always been known as Mad Sunday when riders and pillions dressed up and rode around the track - sometimes not exactly obeying the road rules. We had been told that this tradition was no more! Greg and I decided to ride the circuit anyway. When we rode past Start/Finish we noticed hundreds of bikes forming up - obviously a ride was going to take place. After meeting Chris we returned to the grandstand and lined up on the end of the queue. The ride was a memorial ride for English rider, Simon Andrews who died as a result of a crash at the North West 200 in 2014. The ride is now known as the "legacy lap" and riders stretched out for 15 miles with a full police escort and riders staying in convoy. We felt this was a far better use of Mad Sunday but should be a memorial ride for all 246 competitors who have died since 1907 in all race meets, practice sessions and race categories on the Isle of Man.

The first race was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon so we decided to watch from the cemetery just opposite the pits at the Grandstand. This is a great viewing spot as you can see the bikes zoom past and also come in for refuelling action. Bruce Anstey got the first victory in the Superbike race by overhauling early race leader Ian Hutchinson at the beginning of the fifth lap. Anstey (from New Zealand) won by 10.9 seconds with Hutchinson 2nd and James Hillier 3rd. This was Anstey's 10th TT win much to Craig's delight (also from New Zealand). Only 6 bikes actually crossed the finish line as there was a non-race related incident that red flagged the race on the last lap. Guy Martin's bike just stopped working during the first lap - his first TT win will have to wait a little longer.

Monday saw more delays to the race schedule because there was an incident just before the roads were due to close. These incidents usually involve riders who think they can ride better than they actually can and then crash in to another vehicle or in to one of the stone walls. The delays affect the whole race schedule as each incident involves police and there needs to be an investigation. The rider on Monday was the 5th fatality for race week - one competitor and 4 visitors.

We decided to go for a ride in the afternoon to Laxey and Ramsay along the coast road. We stopped at the Great Laxey Wheel, also known as the Lady Isabella, which was built in 1854 to pump water from the Laxey mines complex. Laxey is also the transit station for the Electric Railway from Douglas to Ramsey and the Snaefell Mountain Railway that goes to the top of Snaefell Mountain. Beside the ralway station is another water wheel known as The Snaefell Wheel, or Lady Evelyn. We then rode on to Ramsey where the Sprint should be held on Tuesday. Returning to town we headed to Start/Finish to watch the frist Supersport race. We tried watching from the cemetery again but were asked to move by a TT official who told us it was a restricted area. Greg, Chris and Craig found a spot to watch by climbing over a fence but I was too short to get over so I watched the race through the fence palings - not very satisfactory but the sound effects were great. The race was won by Ian Hutchinson with Bruce Anstey 2nd and Gary Johnson 3rd. Guy Martin came in 5th.

Wednesday was a full race day. We went to watch from Kirk Bradden again. First was the 1 lap electric bikes won by John McGuiness - this brings his total TT wins to 22. We then watched as the Superbike race 2 got under way. The speed they passed us at made it difficult to see the numbers on the bikes, let alone get a photo of them. Ian Hutchinson won, with Bruce Anstey 2nd and Guy Martin got on to the podium with 3rd. Hopefully he will be on the top step on Friday when we will be in the grandstand to watch the Senior TT race.

After the race we went for a ride around the southern section of the island to Castletown, Port St Mary and Port Erin. The weather was perfect to enjoy the sights and smells of the Isle. We returned to the Paddock after our ride to find that 4 World Superbike riders were in Parc-Ferme. Tom Sykes, Jonathon Rea, Chaz Davis and Sylvane Guintoli were being interviewed. After a quick snap of Jonathon Rea (probably the next World Superbike Champion) we went to check out the team garages (tents). Bruce Anstey's was closed but we spotted Connor Cummins and then found Alex Pickett and his bikes and his dad. Alex's dad, Chris publishes Cycle Torque, the free bikers newspaper that is published monthly at home. We spent about 30 minutes talking to Chris and sympathising with Alex who had come off his bike in the Superstock race and was in an arm and leg cast. Considering his injuries, he was very chatty and cheerful - we put that down to the pain killers he was taking as his injuries were only 24 hours old.

Thursday was a non-race day so we all decided to ride the length of the track. We set off in bright sunshine and rode to Ramsey and were delighted to see the mountain road was open. This part of the road is often closed due to rider incidents - but not today. We stopped at the Bungalow on top of the mountain and took photos of a statue of Joey Dunlop (26 TT wins) and then rode on to Creg Ny Baa for morning tea. After our successful lap Greg and I thought we might need to go home and change our undies as some bikes passed so close to us at such great speed that it frightened the s**t out of us. We spent the rest of the day wandering around Douglas in the sunshine before an early night.

Craig, Marg and Chris left early on Friday morning but Greg and I had one more day - the day of the Senior TT. We will meet the others when we get to Glasgow.

We set out and rode to our favourite parking spot behind the grandstand and found our seats. We were directly in front of the podium in the grandstand, we even had a cushion to sit on. The leaderboard was also right in front of us. The leaderboard has no electronic components-everything is recorded by hand. The longer we sat there the more information we discovered was being recorded. Local scouts take down paper to show what lap each rider is on, then as each lap is completed they hang up the rider's times on a board under their number. While this is going on, men paint the first 6 rider's position, lap time and speed on to another section of the leaderboard. There is also a dial that shows where each rider is on the track - Glen Helen, Ramsey or the Bungalow. A light let's spectators know when each rider is approaching the start/finish straight. We spent the day fascinated by all that was happening and would recommend spending the extra money for a grandstand seat to anyone who has the opportunity to come to the TT.

The Senior TT was red flagged after almost 2 laps as one of the riders came off so it had to be restarted and reduced to a 4 lap race. John McGuiness won the race - his 23rd TT race win. James Hillier finished 2nd with Ian Hutchinson 3rd.

Our second visit to the Isle Of Man TT has come to an end. I wonder if we will return one day - never say never!