Organisers of this Saturday’s walk out to the Tower of Refuge, sponsored by Tower Insurance, say they have been ‘overwhelmed’ by the enthusiastic response, which has prompted a call from the Isle of Man Coastguard for people to be aware that given the numbers expected and the cold weather forecast, in the interests of safety participants must follow the marshals’ instructions and that warm clothing and appropriate footwear must be worn.

In addition, owing to remedial work, access to the interior of the Tower of Refuge will not be possible.

The walk has been organised by Douglas Development Partnership whose town centre manager Gill Anderson explained: ‘Interest in the walk has been phenomenal and far exceeded expectations. While we’re delighted that so many people want to take part our prime concern – and that of the Isle of Man Coastguard - is safety. With this in mind we’re asking that people do as instructed by the marshals and that when they’ve finished their visit, they leave the Conister Rock to allow the next group access. 

‘We don’t want to disappoint anyone as there’s clearly a fascination with the tower but if there are too many people wishing to visit this time there’s every likelihood we’ll be organising other opportunities to visit Conister Rock in the future.  In the meantime, for this event, extreme caution is the watchword.’