Dark Lane

Just a quick walk today to get us back into the habit.  We left the car at Carisbrooke Castle, headed along the moat then took a footpath down a steep chalk bank, along a path between two high hedges, across a field and past a chestnut tree then onto Froglands Lane.  We turned left and followed the lane to the end then turned right and followed the footpath.  This was rather muddy and led to Dark Lane; this is a deep, ancient lane cut into the chalk with high, wooded banks showing gnarly roots and stems.  The middle of the lane was clear, with debris washed away by rain from a recent storm.  There was the occasional large fallen branch to clamber round.  The kids had fun running up and down the banks and climbing trees.

Dark Lane emerged into fields and we continued for a while until we came to a junction; we turned left and followed another lane steeply downhill, emerging into the sunlight by a farm. We walked past, admiring rabbits in the fields, and came eventually to Whitcombe Road.  We turned left here and followed the road back to Froglands Lane.  Whitcombe Road was far busier than I expected and cars came down it at high speed.  There are no pavements, and only intermittent verges, so I don't recommend it if you are of a nervous disposition!

Route:  http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3719835.html

Footpaths: N89,  N108

Fairlee Farms

I went for an amble while my daughter had her swimming lesson.  Getting off the bus at Medina Leisure Centre I walked up the road away from Newport. Turning left into Mews Lane I followed the track past Little Fairlee Farm, then on towards another farm, over stiles and along a path ankle deep in wet grass and weeds. At the farm there was a footpath on the right that led to a field of bullocks. They were large and started moving towards me when I opened the gate, so, like the wussie townie I am I beat a retreat, shut the gate and stared at them for a while. I bet the farmers were having a laugh at me!  

I  continued up the farm track and came to a junction of footpaths; the left turn took me towards Wootton (not today thanks), the right took me across another field of cattle, so I went straight on up Mews Lane and joined up with Staplers Road.  I followed this for a while, then turned right into the estate and wended my way among the streets until I found a small cemetery which I explored.  This cemetery was obviously a haven for wildlife, being unkempt though clearly looked after, and was a pleasant ocean of calm yards from the main Newport to Ryde road. Leaving the cemetery, I turned right and after a few yards  found another footpath, possibly the old railway line, going towards the Leisure Centre so I followed this until I found the turning  back to the main road. A pleasant walk!

View towards Fairlee Road from Mew Lane

Cemetery

Distance: 3 miles
Footpaths used:  N118, N117, N208, N208c

Adgestone Circle

This wasn't quite the walk we set out to do, but as the kids were fractious we changed plans.  Starting at Brading Down viewpoint we walked back along the road towards Knighton, aiming initially for a footpath heading into Knighton Village.  However, it was quite a long walk along a fast road with overgrown verges and no pavements so we changed our minds and took a left turn down the hill as soon as we could.  This footpath came out in the small village of Alverstone (pretty), and we then turned left and headed along the quiet Adgestone Lower Road, which went through some woodland and what appeared to be an old landslip.  This was really rather nice and calming.  We then walked past a farmhouse and came to a split in the road; at this point there was a cobbled area and some wooden gates which could be used to close the road - unusual, and left us wondering what they were for.  Shortly after we took a footpath on the left and headed up a steep hill, through a little copse, past a paddock and out onto the Upper Road.  We followed this to Adgestone Vineyard (must stop there and have a tasting session sometime!), then took a steep footpath through the woods to the top of Brading Down and found the car.

View from Brading Down

Distance: 3.6miles
Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3468154.hI tml

Northcourt

I didn't go on a walk as such here.  Yesterday afternoon my mother and I went to Shorwell Midsummer Fair, held at Northcourt.  The fair was pleasant; old fashioned English summer fete really, with coconut shies, bric-a-brac, tea tent etc.  However, for an extra £1.50 you could explore the gardens.  My word! That was the best £1.50 I've spent this year! The gardens are lovely, a mixture of relatively formal flower and kitchen gardens, to rambling woodland.

The woods were full of shrubs such as Magnolias, Crinodendron, Azaleas and Leptospermum, as well as wonderful conifers and ferns.  There were footpaths that led all over the place, and around every corner was a plant that made me gasp.  The formal gardens were just the way I liked them; not manicured, with flowers bursting forth and overspilling their space.  There were lawned areas with flower borders that you could imagine at home, a lily pond, a knot garden, a stream with a lovely hump-backed bridge over it, a bamboo grove with a muddy path winding through it, topiary, a tennis lawn, beautiful beehives, ancient roses, a tiny grotto, old wrought iron gates leading to yet more mysterious pathways, and steps all over the place.

This garden was heavenly and I want to go back! 

Geranium

Beehives

Digitalis

Allium

Arreton

Well, we picked a glorious day for a walk! We parked at Arreton Barns, then headed down the road and turned left by the White Lion pub.  The lane took us up past the church and carp pond and then up to the downs.  We were surrounded by wheat fields and wildflowers, blue butterflies, damselflies and, at one point, a buzzard which got mobbed by crows shortly afterwards.  We turned left before the top of the down, heading towards a disused chalk pit (hidden by undergrowth), then followed the path back towards the village gathering scraped knees, stings from nettles and prickles from thistles along the way. 

Before we got to the village we turned left along another footpath, this one rather more regularly used, until we reached Shepherd's Lane.  At the junction was a vary large pond, a glorious shade of blue; it was a mystery - this pond was not marked on my map, nor was it on either GPS system we had. Curious!  Anyway, we continued down the lane, gawped through the gates of Haseley Manor and beat a hasty retreat when we realised there was a wedding taking place!  Reaching the main road, we crossed and picked up the footpath that went straight through somebody's garden! A dog in the garden next door growled and barked at us until we had climbed over the gate and headed off across the field. We crossed the stile and found ourselves in a large meadow full of buttercups and yellow iris.  This led to even more meadows with even more wild flowers! Heaven! There was even a stream with little wooden-plank footbridges across it.

The path rose upwards again and we followed the path along the edge of a copse, turned right at the end down a little hill then climbed into a sheep paddock and up a steep hill to another stile, a path through fields of potatoes and wheat, across the main road and back to Arreton Barns.  We went in search of ice cream for the children, but it was after 5pm so the kiosks were closed, and the glorious Farmer Jack's Farm Shop only sold large tubs. Shame.  

Route:  http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3241263.html

Distance:  3.7 miles

Footpaths: A12, A13, A9, A17, A15, A1, A2, A5b

Mottistone

I had a day out with my Mum today, and we drove to Mottistone hoping to visit the gardens at Mottistone Manor. They were closed, sadly, but we did peep over the wall and what we could see looked lovely.  Instead we went for a walk; we crossed the road and visited the Church, which was apparently having a flower festival but the arrangements inside looked rather faded and droopy.  The church itself was lovely, with mediaeval features, a Jacobean pulpit and altar chairs and lovely Victorian tiles in the chancel.  Outside, the churchyard was a feast for the eyes, with masses of wildflowers amid the long grass and ancient gravestones and flowering lilac trees.

We crossed the village green and made our way down a lane, vaguely thinking that the garden of a friend of a long-dead relative was down there; sadly not, but the lane itself was bordered each side with masses of cow parsley, buttercups, scarlet pimpernel, ragged robin and numerous other wildflowers.

We made our way back to the village then followed a footpath through the woods (MASSES of bluebells!) and up to the Longstone; this is actually two prehistoric longstones thought to have made the entrance to a barrow. We stopped and admired the view across the heath to the downs, had a picnic, bumped into a couple of chums, then headed round the corner and up the hill to the top of Castle Hill, an ancient earthwork, and were suitably stunned by the magnificent view along the coast from Tennyson Down in the north to Blackgang Chine in the south. One of the best views on the Island I think.

The Longstone, Mottistone

Next we headed back the way we had come, with a slight detour in the woods via some magnificent flowering gorse bushes, wandered through the National Trust car park and over the road to Mottistone Manor Farm Shop.  We were the only customers, and bought some fresh eggs, local asparagus, and 'Oil of Wight' rapeseed oil. Classy name!  We headed home via Chessell Pottery where we stopped for a magnificent cream tea.

http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3206548.html

Schools Walk the Wight 2013

We tagged along on this walk as we needed some fresh air (and had sponsored someone doing the whole of Walk the Wight!). We left the car in a field near Alum Bay, and waited with many other families for the free bus to Freshwater Bay, where our part of the walk started. Walk the Wight itself begins in either Bembridge or Carisbrooke and involves walking or running along the spine of the Island, 26.5 miles in total, in aid of the Earl Mountbatten Hospice). We met our friends and off we went! The walk starts at Freshwater Bay, heads up Tennyson Down to the Tennyson Monument, where everyone sits down for a drink and a nibble as it's quite a steep climb, then headed across the down towards the Needles Battery.  The downs were covered in flowering gorse bushes, and the occasional purple flower (vetch, possibly). However the wind was howling and rain was heading our way so we didn't hang about. We came off the downs at the Battery, and headed downhill to the finish at Alum Bay.  This, unfortunately, now has a horrible 'pleasure park' full of over-priced attractions, which rather spoils the end of the walk. Ah well, we weren't forced to spend any money, and got away with giving the children one ride on the carousel (£2 for a couple of minutes...). Walked back through the woods to the car, warmed up a bit then drove home. 

View towards the Needles Battery

Flowering Gorse

View towards Alum Bay

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3126963.html

Distance: 4.3 miles

Bonchurch

Today we went on a Bank Holiday expedition to Bonchurch, in the south of the Isle of Wight.  When we arrived I couldn't believe that I had never been there before! A beautiful village.  We parked by the pond, which was full of large carp and hundreds of tiny fish, not to mention ducks and moorhens, then wandered up a lane in search of Bonchurch Pottery; this turned out to be right at the end (beyond a car park), right next to the beach.  And what a beach! There was a revetment that carried on to Ventnor, with wave-breaker steps leading to the beach itself. This was sandy, with large rocks, rockpools and not many people. Just a few dog-walkers. Bliss! As it was so sunny we paddled in the sea for a bit, and felt the sand between our toes.  We also poked our heads into the pottery and discovered lots of reasonably priced treasures. Must go back and buy something! After a while we wandered back up the hill to the village, discovered that the cafe was closed so went in search of the Norman Church; this dates back to about 1070AD.  It is located down a lane at the end of the village (lower Bonchurch) and is a fine example of its kind.  Tiny, simple and calm. Bliss. Everything I want from a church really.  We then headed back to the car, and drove up Bonchurch Shute (very steep) and stopped at the Smuggler's Haven Tea Rooms for a cuppa and an ice cream.  Fantastic view across the calm, blue English Channel from here.  We drove back across the Island via Shanklin Old Village to Cowes, deeply delighted with our discovery and determined to visit again.  Soon.

Quick! It's Spring (for now at least)...

We took advantage of the sunshine, bundled two children into the car and set off for the National Trust car park on the downs above Brighstone. Once there we toddled off down Strawberry Lane, passing the remains of a lime kiln on our right and admiring primroses on our left. After a  while we found a footpath and headed across the heath to the Longstone; this is a 6000 year old pair of monoliths which were once part of a neolithic burial mound. I was told, when at primary school, that the one lying down was an altar where human sacrifices took place. Clearly wrong!  We took a detour to the top of a nearby hill, where there were also earthworks, to take advantage of a spectacular view along the west coast of the Island; we could see from the cliffs of Tennyson Down almost to St Catherine's Point. Wonderful.  We then headed inland, up the downs and eventually into Brighstone Forest where the kids romped among the trees (and found a bivouac made of big sticks), got stuck in brambles, and generally had a wonderful time whooping and exploring.  The adults nattered and followed the path back to the car park. Flapjacks and hot chocolate were then consumed and we headed back towards home, having a wee detour to Winkle Street on the way. Very pretty.

Route:  http://gb.mapometer.com/account
Distance:  3.75 miles

Snow Day!

Woke up on Friday morning to find the town had been sprinkled with a layer of snow. Hurray! Shortly afterwards I found out that school was closed, so my daughter and I wolfed a bacon sandwich down (well, it was snowing! Energy needed....), donned scarves, hats, gloves, boots and warm coats and ventured outside.  There were few people about apart from a few hardy commuters so we strolled along the High Street pelting each other with snowballs and headed for the seafront.  Here, the jetties and beach were transformed by snow and looked beautiful.  We didn't stay out long, just enough to enjoy the snow before it got trampled to slush and to admire the scenery.  When we got home it was time for hot chocolate and radiator hugging.  My daughter then went out for the rest of the day, building snowmen with friends, having snowball fights and sledging, making the most of the weather before the inevitable thaw.

Wet Winter Walks

As the weather has been so awful this winter we haven't wanted to take the kids on country walks where their boots are likely to get sucked off and we'd all get cold and wet.  Instead, we have been walking along the promenades of Cowes and Ryde.  

On Boxing Day I joined up with a different friend, left my child with her Granny, and set off into the cold and rain and headed to Gurnard. The wind howled and the rain lashed, but we eventually arrived at the door of The Woodvale hotel; we leapt inside and slurped coffee until we felt warmer and drier. We reluctantly left a while later, and headed back into the rainstorm.  Luckily, the rain didn't last too long and the wind was behind us so it didn't take too long to get back to Cowes.  Christmas cake and hot tea awaited us!

Between Boxing Day and New Year the usual crew headed for Puckpool Park on the outskirts of Ryde. I'd never been here before and was amazed to see the remains of a Victorian Battery - lots of gun emplacements. We walked across the top of some fortifications then joined the coastal path and strolled towards Appley Beach, avoiding splashes from large waves.  The weather was cold and damp, but not raining for once.  We headed for Appley Tower, a Victorian folly on the seafront, and discovered it was open.  As we hadn't been before we assumed it was just a tower and we could have a look around.  However, the one room open contained a shop selling crystals and ammonites. As we had three children with us who love these things, we failed to escape without buying something. Ah well, I should learn to say 'No' more firmly!  Afterwards the kids played on the beach while the adults sat on the sea wall and got cold bottoms, then we walked back to Puckpool, played in the playground for a bit then went home.

On New Year's Day we had a family walk from the top of Cowes along the seafront to Gurnard and back.  It was a cold day with a blustery wind, but the sun was shining most of the time. More tea and cake when we got home!