The Three Legs of Mann artwork on the face of North Barrule has become loved by many since it was created in 2019.

Local builder Bryan Callister created the 30m diameter ’art installation’ in using nearby stones and can be seen for miles around.

Last weekend, there was anger when an anonymous person posted on online to say they had painted the stones of the triskelion from white to a ‘natural colour’ which effectively made the landmark disappear from distance.

Reporter James Campbell decided to head out to the landmark to see what had happened for himself.

Having written so much about the three legs at North Barrule over the last week or so I felt compelled to head to the artwork myself.

Dragging a friend along – as I really wasn’t sure how to get there – we headed off to climb the island’s second highest peak.

On a fairly warm and breezy but, thankfully, dry day, we parked up on the Hibernia Road, just off the Gooseneck. As we passed through the gate I just looked up and blew out my cheeks. It looked a long way.

We could not really see a discernible path so our subtle plan was just to head directly up as the crow flies. We traipsed through long grass, heather and boggy marsh. We also had to jump over water-filled ditches.

It seemed like we had walked miles (about a kilometre in real terms) and we still hadn’t reached the beginning of the ascent. At this point, the three legs was not in sight but we knew it was somewhere to our right.

At one point, my foot went straight down a hidden hole filled with water which left me a little shaken. It could have resulted in a pretty serious injury but I was left with just a wet boot.

Sheep were scattered around and looked at us with disdain mixed with a smattering of sympathy.

The climb began in earnest. I’m no hardened hiker so this was a pretty knackering experience but we glanced back from time to time to admire the stunning views with Ramsey below us with Queen’s Pier and Albert Tower.

After resting on a dilapidated wall, we made a push towards the site. I clocked a pile of stones further to the right and headed there.

It became obvious this was the triskelion as there was a metal rod sticking out in the centre. But you could not make it out very well at ground level

On closer inspection I saw a number of stones had been painted grey. To my surprise, they had been done using a paint brush and proper paint rather than spray-painted which would have been easier.

After looking around and taking a few poor shots and video, we headed to the top of North Barrule. On the photos, the three legs looks like it is halfway down the peak but in reality, it was only short push to the top.

Once there, we admired the view and met a couple of people. One woman told me she had helped Bryan move some of the stones to create the artwork so was very aggrieved by the decision to paint the stones grey.

After admiring the stunning panoramic views we decided to get away from the strong blustery conditions and head back down. We took the sensible decision to use the actual path which took you down to the left. We eventually came out further up the Hibernia Road and headed back to the car.

When we got there, I noticed three SUVs parked up with a number of people milling around.

I did wonder if this might be a group looking to repaint the three legs but I thought that was just me being fanciful as it was on my mind.

Once I returned home, however, there were social media posts saying it had been repainted white. I dismissed this after only being up there a couple of hours earlier.

But, indeed, it turns out they had been repainted. Not only that but it became apparent the group in the SUVs were indeed responsible for bringing the three legs back to its white magnificence.

The four friends I saw turned out to be Jacob Kelly, Paddy O’Neil, Jake Mayers and Nic Tinnion. Had we gone an hour later we would have seen the guys in action.

Having struggled up the hill empty-handed, I have admiration for these guys who each carried two extra-large tins of white paint on their backs during the journey.

Once at the site, they spent around four hours painting the rocks a shade of white - literally leaving no stone unturned in their quest to restore the 100ft landmark.

It turns out, me and my mate, along with the two people we met at the top, were probably the last people to see the three legs in its grey state. I may have to go up again and see it all painted white – once I’ve recovered!