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The Albert Tower was built to commemorate the royal visit of Prince Albert on the 20th of September, 1847. Prince Albert climbed to the top of the hill where he viewed the surrounding town of Ramsey and the northern plain. The hill was renamed Albert Mount and a year later the tower's foundation was laid. The tower is made of granite and rises 45 ft (13.7 m) high, and stands as a landmark not only for the town of Ramsey, but also for the Isle of Man. The name of the town derives from the Old Norse for 'Garlic River' or 'Garlic Island'. Despite the origins of the name, there is no island currently in the River Sulby. The town hosts the northern terminus for the Manx Electric Railway and is the start of the mountain section of the Snaefell Mountain Course used for the Isle of Man TT and Manx Grand Prix motorcycle races held annually on the island. A popular vantage point is "Ramsey Hairpin" where many enthusiasts gather to watch the racers. The Millennium Way footpath ends a mile from the centre of the town on the A3 road at the foot of Sky Hill. The town boasts several sports clubs including Ramsey Rugby Club, Ramsey Football Club and Ramsey Youth Centre Football Club as well as a hockey team, a Gaelic football team, Ramsey Ravens swimming team and a golf club. A distinctive landmark of the town is the Queen's Pier, an iron pier which was built in 1886. Now having been closed for many years due to health and safety issues (but subject to many re-opening appeals), it was served by its own tramway. Queen Victoria landed here in 1847, when heavy seas made it impossible to enter Douglas Harbour. Recovering from seasickness Victoria remained on the Royal Yacht, leaving Prince Albert to venture ashore. In 2007 the Council of Ministers Working Group, considering the future of Queen’s Pier, issued a questionnaire to the public as the first stage of its consultation on the issue of the future of the pier. The questionnaire was mailed to 3,200 randomly selected addresses, 1,800 in Ramsey and 1,400 in the rest of the island. It sought respondents’ views on a range of possible options, from doing nothing to restoration funded by commercial development. Analysis of the results is ongoing. The local authority is the Commissioners. Ramsey is also a House of Keys constituency electing 2 MHKs. |