Peel is one of the larger towns on the Isle of Man, and the largest on the west coast. It is also the seat of the Bishop of Sodor and Mann, with the historic ruinous Cathedral standing in the castle on St Patrick's Isle just off the shore. The island is now connected to the town via a causeway, forming part of the harbour wall. The Victorian Cathedral stands up the hill from the historic town centre, which is a maze of narrow twisty streets and lanes, with many one-way routes which are difficult to navigate (this was made worse by several road closures in early 2023 as a variety of works were carried out. The town has an extensive marina area in the old harbour at the mouth of the River Neb, and appears to be a thriving town with many new houses around the edge.
The A4 running into Peel
Four A roads run into the town, the A1 enters from the east, having crossed through the islands central valley from the island capital of Douglas on the east coast. It meets the A27 in the market square, which heads south along the coast towards Port Erin. On the other side of the town centre, the A4 comes in from the north, having forked off the A3 at Kirk Michael. The A3 then curves across to the east coast at Ramsey. This meets the A20 at a small one-way system around the town hall, with the A20 also heading east inland, to reach the A3 north of St Johns.
For some strange reason, these two pairs of A roads do not appear to be connected by any other A or B roads, according to the Isle of Man Governments GIS system. However, in the past a B road (number unknown) did connect them, using Church Street, Albany Street and Queens Drive. Indeed, the OS currently suggests that Albany Road is an A road, although again the number is not known, and the other two routes are still a B road. The GIS system gives these roads a series of C road numbers.
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