Kirk Michael is a small village on the western side of the Isle of Man. Despite being set close to the shore, it is not a coastal village, although modern housing is slowly stretching out to the tops of the low sandy cliffs. The shops and services are nearly all sited along the main road, with housing spreading out behind.
The village lies on the A3, the longest A road on the island, which ultimately connects Ramsey in the north with Castletown in the south, via the west coast. It is also the route of the TT Circuit, a factor which Kirk Michael more than most settlements on the course seems to thrive on. The racing route runs through the village from south to north. On the southern edge of the village, the A4 forks off the A3 to head to Peel further down the coast, while the A3 takes a more inland route through the foothills to St Johns. These two routes have swapped in the past, with the A3 originally running from Ramsey to Peel and the A4 being the onward route to Castletown.
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