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