Ronaldsway

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ronaldsway (Manx: Roonysvaie) is a place in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown.

Features

It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, together with the adjoining customs free zone and industrial estate.

IMR steam train from Douglas arriving at Ronaldsway Halt in 2006

The place name is derived from the

Chronicle of Mann, which documents an instance when Rǫgnvaldr's half-brother, Óláfr (died 1237), landed on the island in 1224, and confronted him for a share of the kingdom
.

Ronaldsway is the site of the Battle of Ronaldsway, fought in October 1275, in which a Manx revolt led by Guðrøðr Magnússon (fl. 1275) was crushed by Scottish royal forces.

Ronaldsway is one of the 22

coastal weather stations whose conditions are reported in the BBC Shipping Forecast
.

There is a

Isle of Man railway located just west of the Ronaldsway Industrial Estate on the Silverburn river
.

BA Connect (BA CitiExpress) had an engineering base in Ronaldsway, employing 110 people. After Flybe acquired BA Connect, Flybe announced that it would discontinue the base.[1]

Archaeology

While the airfield

Ronaldsway Airport was being extended during the Second World War, a sunken-floored structure was uncovered dating from the third millennium BC in the late Neolithic era. The distinctive nature of the finds, including pots and stone tools, gave rise to the name Ronaldsway culture, and similar artefacts have been found elsewhere.[2]

Climate

Ronaldsway has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with short, mild summers and long, cool winters. Ronaldsway has very cloudy and rainy winters.

Climate data for Ronaldsway, elevation: 16m (1981-2010) Extremes (1960 - present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 8.2
(46.8)
7.9
(46.2)
9.2
(48.6)
11.1
(52.0)
14.1
(57.4)
16.3
(61.3)
18.1
(64.6)
18.1
(64.6)
16.3
(61.3)
13.6
(56.5)
10.9
(51.6)
8.9
(48.0)
12.8
(55.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.1
(43.0)
5.7
(42.3)
6.8
(44.2)
8.3
(46.9)
10.9
(51.6)
13.3
(55.9)
15.2
(59.4)
15.3
(59.5)
13.7
(56.7)
11.3
(52.3)
8.6
(47.5)
6.7
(44.1)
10.2
(50.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 3.9
(39.0)
3.4
(38.1)
4.4
(39.9)
5.4
(41.7)
7.7
(45.9)
10.2
(50.4)
12.2
(54.0)
12.4
(54.3)
11.1
(52.0)
8.9
(48.0)
6.3
(43.3)
4.5
(40.1)
7.6
(45.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 82.6
(3.25)
57.5
(2.26)
65.5
(2.58)
55.7
(2.19)
50.9
(2.00)
58.1
(2.29)
56.2
(2.21)
65.3
(2.57)
75.3
(2.96)
102.5
(4.04)
103.1
(4.06)
91.8
(3.61)
864.4
(34.03)
Average precipitation days 14.0 10.6 11.8 9.9 9.7 9.8 9.0 10.8 11.1 14.1 15.2 13.9 140.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours 54.1 77.9 115.9 171.2 227.6 203.4 197.4 184.9 138.9 103.6 63.5 46.0 1,584.6
Source: Met Office[3]

References

  1. Isle of Man Today
    . 9 March 2007. Retrieved on 12 March 2010.
  2. ^ Timothy Darvill, Ronaldsway Culture in Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology, (Oxford University Press, 2002)
  3. ^ "Ronaldsway 1981–2010 averages". Met Office. Retrieved 4 November 2012.