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