A18 · Isle of Man

Snaefell Mountain Road

The A18 from Ramsey over the shoulder of Snaefell to Douglas is the Mountain section of the Isle of Man TT course: the stretch of public road that riders cross flat out at the end of every lap.

12.3 miLength

66Pace-note calls

1Hairpin

4Tight corners (1–2)

↑410 ↓300Climb and drop, m

≈430 mHighest point

Counts are from Turini’s pace-note engine on this route. Heights come from terrain data and can differ from signposted figures by a few tens of metres.

Where is the Snaefell Mountain Road?

The Snaefell Mountain Road is in the Isle of Man, on the A18. Also known as A18 Mountain Road, Isle of Man TT Mountain Course or TT course. The route on this page: Ramsey to Hillberry on the A18, the Mountain section of the TT course, 12.3 miles.

Why the Snaefell Mountain Road is famous

The TT has been run on the 37.73-mile Snaefell Mountain Course since 1911, and the A18 is its most famous part, climbing from the Ramsey Hairpin past the Gooseneck, the Bungalow and Windy Corner to Creg-ny-Baa. Much of the Mountain Road has no speed limit, which the island is well known for.

Snaefell Mountain Road corners

Over 19.8 km Turini calls 1 hairpins and 53 corners graded 1 to 6, plus 1 crest and 2 dips. That is 66 calls in all, one every 300 metres on average. Grade 1 is the tightest, 6 is nearly straight (how to read pace notes). On Turini’s ranking of the twistiest famous roads it comes 51st of 61.

HP1

411

512

620

Snaefell Mountain Road elevation profile

From 5 m at the start to 125 m at the finish, with a highest point of about 430 m. Red marks are the hairpins.

500 m0 m

0 km9.9 km19.8 km

Snaefell Mountain Road pace notes, first few miles

The first 25 calls, exactly as Turini reads them, with the distance from the start.

64 mLights

215 mRight 3 long in dip

365 mBig crest

525 mLeft 2

760 mDip

765 mRight 3

1.00 kmHairpin left

1.07 kmRight 6

1.25 kmRight 5 opens

1.40 kmLeft 6

1.51 kmRight 3 opens

1.64 kmRight 2

1.89 kmRight 4

1.96 kmLeft 4

2.35 kmRight 5

2.44 kmLeft 4

2.61 kmRight 1

3.01 kmLeft 5

3.25 kmLeft 5

3.63 kmRight 5

4.08 kmBridge

4.38 kmLeft 6

4.55 kmLeft 6

4.66 kmBridge

4.67 kmLeft 6

That takes you to 4.67 km. 41 more calls follow over the remaining 15.2 km.

Before you drive the Snaefell Mountain Road

Open all year. It closes for practice and racing during the TT in late May and June and the Manx Grand Prix in August, and outside the closures part of it usually runs one way, from Ramsey towards Douglas, during those weeks.

No speed limit does not mean no rules: the police deal with careless and dangerous driving, and the road is open moorland with sheep, sudden hill fog and strong crosswinds. In TT fortnight it is full of motorcycles, so expect heavy traffic and check the road closure times.

How to drive the Snaefell Mountain Road with Turini

Set the route before you leave and Turini saves its notes on the phone, so it works with the screen off and no signal. On the road it reads each call about 4.5 seconds before the corner, timed to your speed, and you never touch the phone. It plays through the phone or the car speakers. If pace notes are new to you, start in Simple mode (Easy, Medium, Hard) and switch to the 1–6 scale once it feels natural.

Always drive within the law, the conditions and what you can see. Turini tells you what the map says; the road is what counts.

The Snaefell Mountain Road: questions

Is the Snaefell Mountain Road open all year?

Where is the Snaefell Mountain Road?

How long is the Snaefell Mountain Road?

The route on this page, Ramsey to Hillberry on the A18, the Mountain section of the TT course, is 12.3 miles (19.8 km) long, with about 1,350 ft (410 m) of climbing.

How many corners does the Snaefell Mountain Road have?

On this route Turini calls 53 corners graded 1 to 6 and 1 hairpin: 66 pace-note calls in all, about 4.4 corners a mile.

How high does the Snaefell Mountain Road go?

The highest point on this route is about 1,410 ft (430 m), from terrain data, so it can differ from the signposted height by a few tens of metres. It starts at 20 ft and finishes at 410 ft.

More roads like the Snaefell Mountain Road

Evo TriangleWales20.1 km · 99 calls

Hardknott PassEngland15.9 km · 184 calls · 3 hairpins

GlencoeScotland19.0 km · 61 calls

Best driving roads in Europe · The twistiest famous roads, ranked · All famous roads · How to read pace notes · How to find twisty roads near you

Sources: Wikipedia: Snaefell Mountain Course, Wikipedia: A18 road (Isle of Man).

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