Walk the Wight 2012

Well, we did it! We 'Walked the Wight' for Earl Mountbatten Hospice - nearly 15 miles across the Island from Carisbrooke Castle to Alum Bay in glorious sunshine.  We started at 9.30am, joining a large crowd of walkers, human and canine, to tramp round the castle moat and on towards the Tennyson Trail.  The walk was slow going for the first few miles as there were so many people and the paths were relatively narrow. However, the crowds thinned out as Brighstone Forest was reached and the path widened - much easier from here!  Brighstone Forest was beautiful - full of Beech trees emerging into leaf, and with lovely glimpses through the trees of the countryside beyond.

Brighstone Forest

We made the checkpoint at Mottistone car-park after 2 hours and continued towards Brook Down, reaching the next checkpoint after 40 minutes.  Here the going got tough! The climb up the hill past the chalk-pit was steep; we put our heads down, our best foot forward and staggered up there in silence. Once we reached the top we were rewarded with stunning views all along the west coast of the Island.  We stopped here for a brief picnic, then continued on along the relatively flat ridge towards Freshwater.  

View towards the south

View towards Freshwater

After some time we reached Freshwater Golf Course and were delighted to see an Adder wriggling along the path - this caused much comment and excitement among all the walkers present.  We reached Freshwater Bay, aching and tired and wondered if we would make it to the end.  We stopped briefly for an ice-cream at the Plaza Ices van, made use of the facilities in the nearby hotel then trudged up the steep start of Tennyson Down with grim determination.  We kept going until we reached the Tennyson Monument, stopped for a swift cup of tea, then set off for Alum Bay.  We made it after 5 hours and 23 minutes!

At the finish line we were presented with medals by Andrew Turner (MP for the Island) and headed straight for the bus to Newport, where we had a swift half of Old Speckled Hen in The George pub before catching the bus to Cowes.  All in all a fantastic day, despite the blisters, and we may well try it again next year!

Distance: approx 14.5 miles
Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_1982877.html

Medina Loop

A damp, cold day in May, not ideal for walking but at least it wasn't raining hard. We met at the entrance to the Cowes-Newport cycle track and proceeded along it. There was an abundance of spring wildlife and we spotted wrens (at least that was what we think they were!), blue tits, robins and pigeons, a large thrush, and a small flock of swallows wheeling above the water below a bridge.  I'd never seen swallows so close up before and they were rather gorgeous. There was an abundance of plant-life too and we saw a rather lovely swathe of primroses and early purple orchids.

Once we'd left the cycle track we headed along the river to Newport Quay then back along the opposite bank to Seaclose Park, full of footballers at this time of year instead of Festival goers.  The path here was somewhat muddier and full of stones and roots than the Cowes side, and as we approached Island Harbour became very boggy indeed! We got wet feet. Boo. At Island Harbour is a rusting hulk that was a paddle steamer, lots of yachts and some very nice houses.  The footpath through isn't terribly obvious; you have to go across lock gates that cross the harbour entrance, and may need to ask the Harbour Master to close them for you. On the other side  there is more marsh (wetter feet) but after a mile you come to the Folly Inn. We stopped here for a bite to eat and a cup of tea before continuing. The food was scrumptious.

After the Folly, we headed up the road before turning off onto a footpath that led across fields to St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham and from there along the road to East Cowes. We caught the floating bridge back across the Medina and into Cowes; this was only open to foot passengers and cyclists today for some reason, and had rather a party atmosphere as there was a large party of pirates on board.

Distance: 9.9 miles
Route: http://www.mapometer.com/walking/route_1967013.html