Chessell Pottery

My Mum won a prize of 'tea for two' at Chessell Pottery and invited me along. We opted for the savoury tea, and had homemade cheese scones with butter, homemade chutney, cheddar and Gallybagger cheese. And a large pot of tea. Delicious! Afterwards we pottered in the gift shop and admired the pottery, bought some bits and pieces then left. As we were in the vicinity we went to Winkle Street, parking just up the road by Calbourne Church. The church was open so we went in, as neither of us had visited before. This is a very old church, around 800 years in places, and in desperate need of renovation. This is being done, but there were obvious signs of age and deterioration. That being said, it was a lovely church, quiet and peaceful with plenty of history and interesting architecture.

 

We wondered down the road to Winkle Street, which has a stream, the Caul Bourne, running down one side with little private bridges crossing it, and a row of (mostly) thatched cottages opposite. I think that is what people have in mind when they say picturesque! Very pleasant.

 

Calbourne Church 

Winkle Street

 

Staycation Summary

I recommend Staycation! We had a lovely week, and my daughter had great fun planning what we were going to do, telling me off when I interfered and things went wrong, as well as being in charge of the budget.

Buying Freedom tickets for the bus made sure that we went out every day so that we got good value. We went on 22 bus journeys in total so this works out at about 50p a journey. Bargain! Never thought I'd say that about Southern Vectis. A budget of £20 a day was sufficient for two people, considering main meals and bus journeys were generally not included. We came in under budget by about £8, after spending quite a lot getting in to Blackgang Chine, and having a meal at The Bugle. Worth every penny for the latter at least.

 

We both enjoyed the hiking in the countryside; we do quite a lot anyway but the two walks we did really reminded us just how beautiful this Island of ours is. Dimbola Lodge definitely gets the award for best tea and cake on the Island. Absolute value for money, and the cake was scrumptious.

 

Doing a Staycation made us look more closely at the Isle of Wight, and had the benefit of getting us out of the house every day, doing something interesting, and spending time together without the distractions of housework, television and computers. Everyone should do it, and get the kids to plan it!

Staycation Day 5

We had a lazy day today, starting after lunch and doing minimal walking. We caught the bus to Newport then caught another to Freshwater Bay. This was a double decker and gave us views we had never seen before. The first magnificent view was of Carisbrooke Castle as we sped along the middle road; we could see it in all its glory as it stood upon the hill. After this we drove through the countryside, speeding through the villages of Shorwell, Brighstone, Mottistone and Brook and getting to gaze over hedges and see fields, gardens and allotments that you can't see from a car. The bus then turned along the Military Road and headed for Freshwater. There were good views along the coast and over the sea.

 

We hopped off at Freshwater Bay and headed for Dimbola Lodge, home of the Victorian photography pioneer Julia Margaret Cameron. There were several exhibitions on, all of which were interesting. The permanent exhibitions were of Mrs Cameron's life and work, which was quite interesting, and one about the Isle of Wight Festivals. The main visiting exhibition was by TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham, and was stunning. The pictures of elephants were particularly good, but all were eye-catching. There was also a small exhibition by Chris Jones featuring landscape shots, as well as an exhibition by students from Medina College which was interesting. Afterwards we browsed in the gift shop then went to the tea room. Oh my! I had a pot of tea for one, which yielded three cups of tea before refilling with hot water, and the most enormous slice of delicious homemade chocolate cake. Sod the diet! My daughter had a refined packet of crisps and a coke. No taste!

 

Our next jaunt took us on the Needles Breezer, an open top bus tour, which we joined at Freshwater Bay. The tour took us through Totland then on to the Needles Park at Alum Bay, then up the cliff road to the Needles Batteries and rocket testing site. Sitting at the front of the top deck of a double decker bus, driving along a narrow road on the edge of a cliff is possibly one of the most nerve wracking journeys you can do in the UK. The bus had a commentary which was mostly along the lines of 'Just to your right, behind the hedge where you can't see it, is....' which was amusing, and only ruined when a couple of very loud chaps got on at Colwell and talked over it. They didn't respond to raised eyebrows or 'tuts' unfortunately. We got off at Yarmouth, which was the end of the line.

 

As it was a beautiful evening, and we had a while until the Newport bus arrived, we went for a stroll around the town. Yarmouth is very small but has a variety of shops, delis and pubs and consequently smelled scrumptious. We decided to stay for tea. First though we went for a walk up Yarmouth Pier; this wasn't a very long pier but it was pretty and had lots of people fishing off the end. Every plank on the pier had been sponsored by local people and organisations too. We had tea at The Bugle, in the town square. I had a delicious homemade fish pie, with bread and salad while my daughter had scampi, chips and salad. They were good sized portions and we were absolutely stuffed by the end. Might go there again!

 

We caught the bus back to Newport, via Shalfleet, then another bus back to Cowes and waddled home. A good day out.

 

Buses: 1, 12, Needles Breezer, 7

 

Tea and cake at Dimbola Lodge

Jimi Hendrix statue at Dimbola Lodge 

 

Staycation Day 4

Today we went to Blackgang Chine, on the south coast of the Island. I'd been trying to avoid it, but was given a voucher which let kids in free so I had no excuse. We blew most of the budget just getting me in however. Nearly £20!!! Not sure how they justify that. However...

 

We started off in the new 'Restricted Area 5' which was full of animated dinosaur models which groaned and snarled, and, in the case of the T-rex, roared loudly enough to make the viewing platform vibrate. Clever. I quite enjoyed that. We then pootled round the rest of the site and saw Nursery Land, Fairy Land, Cowboy Land, the Mouth of Hell, the Crooked House, Giant Insects, the Pirate Adventure Playground, Rumpus Mansion, the Triassic Club etc. We had our picnic in Cowboy Land then played on the slides at Snakes and Ladders. That was fun. I still fit on the slides. Just. We then went to the water gardens and the maze. The maze was fun too, and the water gardens were peaceful. They had big carp in the ponds.

 

Next we headed for the rides; we began with the spinning barrels, which my daughter insisted on spinning fast. I wasn't sick! Afterwards we queued briefly for 'The Cliffhanger' rollercoaster; this is a short ride, but you get to do it twice. It is quite exciting enough for me, but probably a little tame if you are used to Alton Towers and the like. My daughter went on a second time while I looked round 'World of Woodcraft', which was a mini-museum detailing how wood was, well, crafted in days of yore. A little more interesting than it sounds. The last ride was a water slide. Long queue, so my daughter went on it while I held our bags. She shrieked with enjoyment, as did everyone else on there. I shrieked with enjoyment last time I visited.

 

Blackgang Chine is a pleasant, if overpriced, day out. Many of the displays look a little worn and in need of some TLC, but nearly all the kids, and most of the parents, were having a great time which is what counts at the end of the day. The majority of the displays haven't changed for decades, but that is nice because you kept hearing parents saying, happily, 'I remember that from when I was a kid!'. The views along the west coast of the Island are magnificent; we could see all the way to Tennyson Down and the Needles today. The park is slowly falling into the sea due to landslip. This was obvious every time you looked at the coast, and by the fenced off area near cliff edges. However, it has been doing that for most of its existence (150 years?) and is gradually being moved further inland. Worth a visit at least once in your lifetime, preferably with smallish children.

 

View to the Needles

Smuggler at the entrance

 

Staycation Day 3

So, today was Staycation Day three, and we decided to do the Rookley ramble suggested by Southern Vectis buses. As ever, we got the number 1 to Newport and then caught the number 3, hopping off at Blackwater Hollow. The directions said to ignore the first footpath and take the second but we missed the signpost as it was hidden beneath some luxurious foliage, and stomped off up the main road. This was rather dangerous as there was no pavement or verge and there was lots of traffic. We turned round fairly quickly and found where we were meant to go.

 

The path went past some houses and paddocks, and then fields before joining up with the Newport - Sandown cycle track (which used to be the railway line I believe). We came to a fork in the road, took the left towards Stenbury House and continued on, managing to miss our next turning. My map reading skills are impressive! The path went past three houses, the last of which had a garden full of carved tree stumps by local craftsman Paul Sivell. When we realised we had gone too far, we turned back and found we had walked past a gateway sale of produce, so I picked up some runner beans and rhubarb for a donation to the local donkey sanctuary.

 

Once we were on the right path, everything became straight forward (I read the map and instructions very carefully) and we had a pleasant walk through arable fields, sheep pasture, and woodland. We picnicked on the side of a harvested potato field and found a beautiful hawk moth caterpillar. Towards the end we detoured, as suggested, to the Chequers Inn and had a cold drink and shared a bowl of chips. Lovely! We then retraced our steps past Rookley Farm, across another field and somebody's garden and into Rookley Village. We only had to wait a few minutes for the bus and then went home, tired and happy.

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3921360.html
Distance: official 4.81 miles.  Actual 5.96 miles
Footpaths: A36, A37, GL1, GL5, GL5a, GL6,
Buses: 1 & 3
Budget: pub £6.35, roadside produce £3.10 (which I have to pay back into the kitty apparently...)

Hawk moth caterpillar

View towards Blackwater

Hedgerow and farm-gate produce

Staycation Day 2

Day two started reasonably early, with me making the picnic. We then headed into Cowes, pausing for a photo outside Hurst's (we have been challenged to visit every branch on the Island this week!), then caught the number 1 bus to Newport. We hopped off at the bottom of Hunnyhill, dashed down Lugley Street and I posed for a photo outside Hurst's. Off to the bus station next where we caught the number 9 to Ryde. We hopped off in Union Street and, guess what, snapped a photo of Hurst's and also popped in to buy forks for our picnic as I had forgotten to pack any. We strolled down to the bus station, found we still had quite a wait so wandered over to admire the hovercraft that had just come in. Finally we caught the number 8 bus and alighted at the Wishing Well pub in Pondwell.

From here we joined the Barnsley Trail and spent a pleasant couple of hours tramping through fields and along footpaths, picking sloes and blackberries as we went, and having picnic lunch on Seagrove beach. I'd never been to this beach before and found it was lovely. The beach was mostly sandy and sloped shallowly. Perfect for children. We walked through Seaview to rejoin the trail, stopping briefly for a cup of tea and an ice cream. We then realised that we only had about twenty minutes until the bus left (or we'd be stranded for an hour), so we walked uphill at high speed until we got there! We were in time and spent a pleasant few minutes sitting on a rickety bench in the sunshine at the bus stop.

Buses: 1, 9, & 8

Footpaths: R61, R62, R71, R74, R105, R91, R95

Budget: drinks and ice cream £4.30

Staycation Day 1

For the penultimate week of the summer holidays we have decided to be tourists at home. My daughter is organising it. The rules are simple; I shall buy each of us a weekly rover ticket for the local bus and provide picnics, and she will have a budget of £20 per day to pay for entry tickets etc. She has been advised to come in under budget each day! We will explore this beautiful Island of ours with renewed eyes hopefully.

 

Day 1: Cowes

We struggled initially to find anything to do as the local museum was closed and we didn't want to go shopping or spend the day in a pub. However, we found the 'Boat Trail' which took us from the floating bridge and through the town pointing out interesting things along the way. For instance, we started off admiring the Ratsey and Lapthorne building, noted the crane in the old shipyard, found the building where the old headmaster of Rugby school lived, saw an old jewellers, wandered past a pub where smugglers reputedly hung out, pootled past the Royal Yacht Squadron, then up the hill and up Nunnery Steps and into Northwood Park.

 

We stopped in the old putting green and had a picnic. This was pleasant as it wasn't too warm, and we were surrounded by wildflowers. There was lots of insect life too. After lunch we wandered over to St Mary's Church and searched around for a couple of geocache's and completely failed to find them! We had tried this at the floating bridge too (East Cowes side), and failed there also. To be fair we had no idea what to look for or even how to do it really. It was fun trying however.

 

In the park we bumped into some chums so the kids went and climbed trees and shrieked a lot for half an hour, then we finished the boat trail. Last on the list was St Thomas of Canterbury church, one of the earliest Catholic churches to be built after the reformation apparently. We did a little shopping then popped home for a cuppa, walked to the doctor's, then had a quick stroll in Northwood Cemetery. Very pleasant. Back home, a high speed tea then we caught the bus to Newport and watched 'Hercules' at the cinema. The storyline might make Greek mythologists wince, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of action, dry humour and one or two chaps wandering around rippling their muscles!

 

Budget:
Two cinema tickets £12.20
Snacks £5.38
Change £2.42

Bus fare: two half price (I get student discount) 7 day freedom tickets at £12 each.

Cropredy Festival 2014

We're back from our annual jaunt to Fairport's Cropredy Convention in the glorious Oxfordshire countryside. As usual we met up with a crowd of chums from around the country. There were three newbies this year and a couple of absentees, but in all there were nineteen of us.

 

The music was mixed this year, as ever, but some of the headliners didn't really do it for me. The Genesis set went on and on, and Marillion didn't rouse anything in me. Australian Pink Floyd sounded very good and their light show was superb. I enjoyed The Wonderstuff too. The Waterboys did sound amazing, but I'd gone back to my tent so don't know what their set was like to look at. Oh, and Chas and Dave. Hmm. The less well known bands were often very good though. My highlights were Joe Broughton's Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, Capercaillie, The Mischa MacPherson Trio, Deborah Rose, Edwina Hayes, and Blackbeard's Tea Party (awesome!).  I think that I can conclude that I like folk and folk-rock, but am not so keen on prog rock!

 

Richard Digance opened proceedings on the Saturday with a fun set. This year we had 'Strictly Come Cropredy' where he got as much of the crowd as possible to waltz. Hilarious! Of course, he finished with the Morris dance; nearly twenty thousand people spontaneously stood up and waved white hankies in the air for five minutes. He didn't even announce it this year, misplayed a couple of chords and off we went. Fabulous! We were surrounded by confused Cropredy virgins and dished out white tissues accordingly.

 

The food was good as usual. We breakfasted every day at the Church breakfast, having sausage, bacon and egg inna bun, with large mugs of coffee for a very reasonable price. Yum! For lunches and tea I had falafel and salad in pitta (too much salad, not enough falafel, and fell apart, but tasty), organic beef burgers with stilton, salad and onion relish (delicious), Leon's vegetarian curries and rice (has to be done. My favourite curry was nettle and lentil), and slow-roast pulled pork in a wrap. Lots of tea and coffee, not so much booze, lots of freshly cooked doughnuts.

 

The weather was variable, with rain on Friday night and sunny spells most of the rest of the time. On Sunday morning we were lashed with torrential rain as we took down the tents, and had to paddle through the village to get to the bus stop. This was the tail end of hurricane Bertha apparently. We dried out at Banbury train station, listening to a group of lads playing jolly folk music in the cafe. Every large train station should have an ensemble!

Bonchurch

Lovely walk today. It was quite short but made up for it in terrain. We started off following a route by the Ramblers, but as usual went wrong! Anyway, here is our route and I'll put the link to the other below.

 

We parked near Bonchurch pond on St Boniface Road, then headed along the road towards Bonchurch Shute. We turned right and found ourselves outside East Dene, the home of the Victorian poet Algernon Swinburne (never heard of him!). Slightly further down the road was a house where Charles Dickens stayed, as did various other Victorian literati. Continuing down the road we came to the old church, nearly a thousand years old and the second smallest on the Island. We didn't stop, but I've been inside before and it is very tranquil. Worth a visit. Further down the lane was a proper babbling brook with very cold water. The path descended to the beach; we turned left here and walked along the shingle, via nice toilets which are looked after by volunteers, until we found The Boathouse. We turned left up a steep path, followed it up past some cottages and continued on across old landslip and into woods. This is where I took the wrong path. Instead of going up V65c as instructed, we went up V65d. This was signposted. We should have followed the Coastal Path. However, we followed the path up through the woods coming out near the top of Bonchurch Shute.  The kids were grumpy and hot so we followed the road around until we found The Smuggler's Tearoom. Cold drinks and ice creams followed while we admired the view across the channel.

 

We found the top of V65c by the car park so plunged down it, quickly arriving at the top of the Devil's Chimney (or Heaven's Banana as the ten year old renamed it, to make it less scary). This is a narrow path between high rocks, reputedly used by smugglers in the distant past. We emerged into lovely woodland and followed the path onwards, travelling down several flights of wooden steps, some more rickety than others, then along the cliff top until we found the junction with V65d! We carried on past this, back towards the beach, detouring along the coastal path at the bottom of East Dene, then back up past the church and back into the village. We finished by watching the ducks and carp in the village pond for five minutes then went home. Glorious afternoon!

Distance: 2.1miles
Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3909348.html
Footpaths: V69, V65d, V66, V65c
Ramblers: http://iowramblers.com/page7.htm

Babbling brook

Entrance to Devil's Chimney

Woodland steps

Bembridge Windmill

It was a boiling hot day today so what better than to take three fractious children for a stomp? We parked in a layby near Bembridge Windmill and headed towards the mill then strode confidently down the lane. We came to a fork in the path and I realised we were not where I intended to be, so back up the lane (quite steep) we toddled. We turned left at the windmill and headed across the fields towards Bembridge Airfield. The fields were full of wildflowers and alive with the sound of crickets and grasshoppers -we saw several - as well as butterflies and ladybird. The kids gambolled along the path having a wonderful time. We crossed the airfield and had several aircraft fly low above us several minutes later. Exciting!

 

We passed into Centurions Copse, following the path to a fork and taking the left path. We followed this until we came to the main Sandown Road. There was no footpath so we took our lives in our hands and walked along towards Bembridge, stopping at the Propeller Inn for a cold drink. We continued along the road, picking up a short footpath briefly, wandered along a lane, crossed back across the main road and onto Steynes Wood where we picked up the path back to the windmill. We stopped at the mill for an ice cream then went home.

Footpaths used: BB20, BB23, BB18, BB36
Distance: 3.86 miles
http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3903756.html

Totland Beach

Totland is fast becoming one of my favourite Island beaches. It is mostly shingly, with parts that are predominantly made up of rounded flint. There is a seawall, and an old lifeboat station, both slowly becoming dilapidated, wooden groynes holding the beach in place, and the shattered remains of a Victorian pier. By the road entrance is a toilet block, two blocks of flats that have seen better days but are being renovated, and slightly further on is a restaurant. At the start of the pier is a recently built wooden building, presumably to be a cafe but it looks unoccupied. Beyond this, the seawall continues towards Colwell Bay but comes to a sudden stop where a recent landslip rendered it unsafe. 

Every time I have been here there have been few people around, and those that were there were either locals or more plucky tourists. The atmosphere is relaxed. On our visit yesterday we discovered a large barrel jellyfish in the surf, which was gradually washed up onto the shore. It was beautiful, with a blue dome with violet edging, and violet tentacles. We got utterly over-excited about it as we'd never seen a jellyfish like it.

Barton Manor Gardens

Barton Manor Gardens were open today in aid of Age UK IOW and Challenge & Adventure. Three of us went. We took a picnic and sat on the grass near the lake, having walked down a slightly overgrown pathway near the converted stables. The weather was perfect; hot June sunshine with blue skies and hints of wispy clouds overhead. After lunch we fed the carp in the pond with some pellets we had been sold by a confident young lady from the Challenge and Adventure team, then winded our way around the edge of the lake in search of the Japanese Garden. We didn't find it. However, we walked through some lovely woodland, loosely managed, with the occasional Rhododendron in full bloom and surrounded by the smell of wild garlic.

 

When we got back to where we started we headed up a gravel path, with some lovely stone steps, to the formal garden by the manor house. We weren't allowed in there, but could see it well enough from a nearby path. There was a long border full of lavender-blue Nepeta. Below it, by a public path, was a long herbaceous border full of Alchemilla mollis, ornamental grasses, ornamental thistles, foxgloves and other lovely plants. We carried on past the manor garden, past a neglected pond and statue, and emerged near a meadow of wildflowers and grasses. We saw a buzzard circling overhead, then continued our walk back towards the lake and found the Japanese garden.

 

The Japanese garden was somewhat disappointing; a small stream ran through it, bordered by a lot of weeds and the occasional Primula. There was a nice wooden walkway, a wooden deck by a pond full of water lilies and a boggy area full of Arum lilies. The walkway ended by a gravelled area next to a shallow pond choked with algae and a dilapidated summer house that was in desperate need of replacing.

 

We made our way back to the courtyard where there were a variety of stalls, and purchased a burger for my child and tea for the adults, followed by ice cream from the omnipresent Plaza Ices van. There were more stalls in the converted barn so we had a look around there before leaving.

 

I would like to go back there, but left feeling in desperate need to take the garden in hand. It has much potential and a beautiful boathouse!

Boat House interior



Tree trunks by the lake

Barton Manor

Nepeta border

 

London

Met my sister at Waterloo Station, then we wandered around the embankment until we found Waterloo Bridge. As we hadn't decided what to do or where to go, we paused at this point and looked around. I saw St Paul's Cathedral in the distance and thought it would be nice to go there as I hadn't been since I was a small child. We crossed the bridge and turned left, heading along The Strand towards Fleet Street. We saw the Royal Courts of Justice, then got over-excited by the fanciest bank lobby I've ever seen; this was Lloyd's Bank, opposite the courts. The lobby had beautiful tiling on the floor and walls as well as stunning columns.

 

Further along we found the original Twining's tea shop, so we had to go in and sniff all their samples. It was quite, quite delicious and lovely, but we resisted buying a teapot for £49 as well as their more exotic, but quite scrumptious, teas. Self control! We peeked into an alley and were confronted with St Bride's church. Stunning spire! I should imagine many girls want to get married there.

 

We needed lunch so we headed for the International Salvation Army HQ on Queen Victoria Street, and into the basement where Café 101 is located. This café serves delicious food at very reasonable prices. We each had a toasted brie and tomato baguette and a cup of tea. We then gave in to temptation and shared a slice of the most sinful chocolate cake I have eaten in ages!

 

After lunch we went to the Millennium Bridge as it was right next to the cafe. I was somewhat disappointed that it no longer wobbled. I took some photos for an American tourist, then we headed for the cathedral, passing through Knightrider Terrace and Sermon Lane; we discovered there was an entry fee if you weren't attending service of £16.50 for adults. Once we'd got over the shock we decided we didn't need to see the inside particularly. We popped into the main entrance and peeped at Earl Kitchener's tomb then left before we had to pay. I understand that the cathedral has massive maintenance costs, but that entrance charge is steep!

 

We pottered on, passing through Paternoster Square which has the most ornate ventilation shaft I've seen. It was an ornate column with water trickling down its lower sides, and was topped with a gilded pineapple. There was no information about it anywhere to be seen. Opposite this was a sculpture of a shepherd and sheep by Dame Elizabeth Frink. Good, but I'm not that keen on her work. I'm not entirely sure where our route went after this, but we did get to Threadneedle Street and saw the Bank of England, and wandered up random alleyways which either looked interesting or had peculiar names.  We ended up in Brick Lane. This was full of curry houses, sari shops and Asian sweet shops. We stopped for a cuppa in a lovely little cafe which had shelving made of copper pipes and scaffolding planks. And a rocking chair which I sat on.

 

At some stage we went to Old Spitalfields Market, which is now full of clothing stalls and shops full of trendy knickknacks. We found some vintage clothes shops too and got excited about retro Docs Martins and silly hats. We also went to Hope Square by Liverpool Street Station to see the Kindertransport memorial as we had both seen the corresponding one on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin.

  

We finished the outing by catching the no. 40 bus back to my sister's house, sitting right at the front on the top deck. We spent the evening watching the DVD of 'As Good as it Gets', which was a very pleasant way to end the day.

 

I can highly recommend just wandering around and going wherever your whims take you!

Chocolate cake at Café 101

Twining's tea shop

Kindertransport Memorial

Quarr Abbey and Ryde

I decided to go for a stroll, alone, and sort my head out a bit. I parked at Quarr Abbey, walked past the piggery (gorgeous pigs!), and into the Art Exhibition. This was a show of pottery and paintings from local artists. All rather pleasant but nothing that made me go 'Wow!'. I continued on, past the tea gardens, and followed the path to the ruins of the mediaeval abbey. I paused for a few minutes then continued along the path towards Binstead; the lane passed through a wooded area with lovely houses on one side and every so often there were tiles embedded in the road surface with poems engraved on them. Unusual, but lovely.

 

I followed the coastal path, and after a little while there was a side path leading down to the shore. I followed it, getting quite muddy in the process, and eventually came down some wooden steps to the shingled Binstead Hard. The tide was high so there wasn't much beach, but I was able to sit on a patch by a fallen, but still living, birch tree and eat my sausage sandwiches. Bliss. There was nobody else about. I returned to the main coastal path, followed it a bit further, along Ladies Walk, and turned left at a bridge. This semi-paved footpath came out at another beach, sandy this time, with a boatyard and the remains of a pier or jetty.

 

Back to Ladies Walk and I  followed the path past Ryde Golf Course until it came out near the main road. The coastal path turned left here and went down into Ryde along the back streets. I wandered along and was amazed at some of the architecture; there was a large stone archway with a stag on top and lions to either side, clearly the remains of an entrance to a large house, but now surrounded by bungalows. I walked on until I reached the esplanade then turned round and walked back to Quarr.

 

A lovely walk, and one to do again!

 

Distance: c. 5.5 miles

Footpaths: R45, R46, R48, R94

 

Quarr Abbey pig

View of the Abbey ruins

Derelict jetty near Binstead.

 

Wolverton Folk and Blues Fair

We decided to go to this at the last minute, as it was a lovely sunny day and we had nothing better to do. Good choice! The fair was set in a sloping sheep paddock overlooking the Jacobean Wolverton Manor on the outskirts of Shorwell, and overlooked by chalk downs on two sides. At the bottom of the slope was the main stage, with a dancing area in front. To the left was a tea tent and on the right hand slope were food vans and Plaza Ices. There was also a beer tent with additional music.

 

We set out our picnic blanket, and proceeded to scoff our picnic while listening to some fantastic local folk and blues bands. The only one I recall the name of is Brighstone Barnacles, who were a group of chaps singing local sea shanties. Very good. Kiddo found some friends and went off to play while I sat and soaked up the sun listening to the music and people-watching.

 

A lovely afternoon and evening was had in the sunshine, in a beautiful setting, and we shall definitely go again next year. 

 

 

IW Cantata Choir

The Cantata Choir were performing Mendohlssohn's Elijah at Medina Theatre last night, and I decided to go, with child, at the last (ish) minute. Good decision.  The choir put in a good performance, ably supported by members of the IW Symphony Orchestra. There were four soloists who also put in a good performance. I particularly liked the alto and the baritone. Definitely worth going to another of their concerts!

Easter Holidays

We're having a quiet holiday at home as we're both tired. The weather has mostly been lovely so far, and we've pottered about doing housework jobs, a bit of gardening and tootling around the Island.  Last week we went for a wander around Newtown with chums (see previous post), and now we are doing things to add to our Challenge 2014 list.

On Saturday we drove out to Shorwell for the annual Mammoth Jumble Sale in aid of the Hospice. I have been meaning to go for years. I was rather disappointed to be honest. Nothing at all that I wanted to buy, and I'm usually a sucker for some old tat at a church/ village sale. I bought a fairy cake for 20p then we wandered back to the village, buying some eggs from the farm gate on the way, and visiting the village shop so we could get some sweets. Shorwell village is pretty and needs investigating further; there are several footpaths leading off it so I suspect walks will commence soon.

Today we ventured to the tip to get rid of the garden rubbish, then drove to Briddlesford Farm. While there we stopped for tea, cake, coke and ice cream at Bluebells Cafe. This came to £8, which I thought was a bit steep, but the chocolate brownie that I had was to die for so I forgave them their prices.  Afterwards we popped in to the farm shop, but saw nothing that we wanted to buy. We then drove to Arreton Barns and pootled along to the Carp Pond. We bought some fish food from the Maritime Museum and spent quarter of an hour throwing it at frenzied carp and some deft ducks. Very pleasant. We carried on along the path and came to the parish church. This was open so we went in and had a look around; there were medieval tombstones, 17th century chests, the remains of an ancient font, some nice tiling by the altar, and bells.  I found it very calming and interesting, but my companion was not particularly interested, apart from by the organ. She could not work out how anyone could play it! The church is about 1000 years old, and is very weathered on the outside but appears to be in good condition inside.  To finish off, we went into Farmer Jack's Farm Shop where we found a few interesting things we wanted to buy, and lots of things we wanted to buy but couldn't really justify. My favourite was frozen, ready to bake danish pastries. Yummmmm!

Newtown Woods

As we had lots of children with us today we decided on a relatively gentle walk and headed for Newtown. Once in the car park we collected a walking guide from the visitor centre and headed off. Coming out of the car park we turned left then shortly after turned right along a footpath (CB13a) towards Walter's Copse. This was VERY muddy; the kids didn't mind in the slightest and splashed on through while us adults squelched from one vaguely solid patch to another getting caught up in brambles on the way. After what seemed ages, but in truth was about 500 yards, we came across the remains of an oak tree that seemed to have been blasted by lightening in the distant past. Well, we liked to think that anyway. It had several limbs that touched the ground so it seemed a sensible point to stop for our picnic.

 

Once refreshed we continued along the bowling green towards the road. Here we turned right and followed the road past the old vicarage woods then found a gate on our left leading into Walter's Copse. This was lovely. Fresh green rides through the woods, carpeted with primrose, wood anemones and bluebells. The kids were oblivious to the beauty and charged ahead pretending they were orcs, goblins and hobbits. We squelched through the mud behind them. The path we were following eventually led over a stile and into a meadow by the creek. We walked along the edge of the meadow and then along a causeway to reach a lonely bird hide with magnificent views across the mud flats. There were few birds around so it was a peaceful vista. We could go no further, so we headed back to the woods, followed a path through Town Copse then back along the road until we reached the car park.

 

This was a short walk, but seemed much longer because of the mud. However, it was lovely; I've rarely seen such bountiful displays of wild spring woodland flowers, and the fresh air and sunshine did everyone good.

 

Distance: approx.. 2miles.

Footpaths: CB13a, CB9  

 

 

Brighton Graduation

Yesterday I travelled to Brighton with my Mum and daughter to attend my Open University graduation ceremony. Mum picked us up at 6.50am and we drove to Ryde and caught the Island Line train to the end of Ryder Pier; I love this train! It is a retired London Underground train and is rather old with modernish upgrades cobbled on to it. We then caught a Wightlink catamaran across the Solent to Portsmouth Harbour, where we caught a train to Brighton. We arrived in said city about an hour and a half later and walked at high speed through the town (downhill, luckily) in search of The Dome. We found it, behind the Pavilion, with gardens full of tourists and bemoaned OU students.

 

Once we had found the way in I collected our tickets, then went in search of my robes. These were provided by Ede and Ravenscroft, who were jolly good. The chap who helped me don my robes was suitably soothing, told me I looked lovely and congratulated me on my success. Bless him! Mum and daughter were seated upstairs, and I was downstairs with the graduates.

 

The ceremony started with a procession of University dignitaries, followed by a speech by the pro Vice Chancellor. Research students were awarded first, followed by an honorary degree for Ewart Wooldridge (who gave a speech), then Masters degrees, Bachelors degrees (Arts, Engineering, Law, Science), then foundation degrees and certificates. Another speech by the pro Vice Chancellor, then the dignitaries recessed followed by the graduates. Free fizz was provided in the bar, photos were taken, robes handed back, then off into Brighton for the rest of the day.

 

We had  lunch at a delightful restaurant called Pinocchio's; I had spaghetti with anchovies and black olives on a tomato sauce, followed by lemon sorbet. Very nice. We then had a mooch around North Laines and found some interesting shops. We had an encounter with a silver seller who started to rant about his year long holiday on the Island at her Majesty's pleasure, due to criminal activity with cannabis ("It's not like there's any victims, so the law's all wrong!"), at which point we moved swiftly on. We were all tired so we headed back to the station and back to the Island. A good day.

Headon Warren and Totland Bay

What a glorious day for a walk! We headed across the Island to Totland, getting diverted on the way as the Yarmouth road was closed for repairs. We parked next to the Broadway Inn on Madeira Road, asked for directions from a passing elderly lady, and headed off up the hill towards Alum Bay.

On the right hand side, after about half a mile, was a footpath heading onto the Warren. We followed this bumpy, sandy path between high scrubby hedges until we came out into bright sunshine on top of the Warren.  Headon Warren is sandy, flinty soil and covered in heather and gorse, with the odd stunted tree. The gorse was flowering today, but the heather looked as though it was dead; I expect that it will be covered in purple  flowers if we go back in a month. Part of the route was closed as there had been a landslip earlier in the month. We had a peek, and there was a sheer drop where the land had fallen away by about ten feet. Further along our path the land had slipped by about two feet. We didn't go much further! From this point there was a magnificent view across Alum Bay to The Needles. I don't think I've ever seen such a good view of them.

The Needles from Headon Warren

We headed back towards Totland, staying on footpaths rather than the main road. We were planning on going straight back to the car but detoured along a couple of footpaths we found and ended up on Totland Beach. the tide was right out so the kids went and played on the sandy beach for a bit, then we walked along to the pier (disintegrating), found another footpath and discovered we were back on Madeira Road. We admired the lovely houses then hopped in the car and went home.  Lovely afternoon.

Totland Bay 

Route:  http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3807832.html

Distance: 3.7miles

Footpaths:  T20, T17, T14, T2, T33

Cowes Cows

It was beautifully sunny this afternoon, so we went for a late walk. When we got to the bandstand we poked around in the flower beds (not vandalising them you understand) and found a Cowes Cow that we thought was hidden there. Much whooping and gleeful jigging about ensued! Next we had to find a new hiding place, so we set off along the parade and poked the cow into all kinds of crevices and cracks until we found somewhere suitable, which was hopefully, but probably not, original. We took a photo for the Facebook page then headed back to town.

As we walked back, the light mist over the sea deepened rapidly into a thick fog and within ten minutes we could not see the ferry that we knew to be just a couple of hundred yards offshore. We could however hear the foghorn. Loud.  We stopped at Tottie's chip shop and had sausage and chips for tea in front of out telly. Perfect end to a pleasant afternoon.

Challenge 2014

Right, we have decided on a challenge for 2014! As well as continuing to collect footpaths on walking expeditions around the Island, we shall be tourists in our own back yard visiting local attractions, be they free or otherwise, drinking tea in local cafes and listening to live music down the pub or marina or seafront, or wherever it happens to be playing. Not planning on going to the major music festivals though as that is somewhat out of our budget.

East Cowes Boat Trail

Well it was a beautiful day so we decided to go for a walk. I downloaded the Cowes -East Cowes Boat Trail guide from the council website and we set off. First stop was the floating bridge; this runs across the River Medina between Cowes and East Cowes and is currently free to foot passengers. We got off in East Cowes, found the first knot sign of the trail and set off around the town. The trail led us past the site of the Grid Iron Shed, where the first seaplane was launched in 1913, then on to Trinity Wharf which used to be the dot for lighthouses and buoys. It was also Queen Victoria's choice of landing stage when she came to visit Osborne House. Next we saw the back of Columbine Yard where the hovercraft was developed. On the front of this is the world's largest Union Jack but we couldn't see that from this side of the river.

Around the corner were barracks and coastguard cottages and a giant propeller. There was also a plaque commemorating a local boy who had a fight with Prince Albert, son of Queen Victoria, and who was rewarded by the Queen in return! We didn't get a good look because there were road works and we couldn't get close.  We followed the seafront to Castle Point then had a muddy walk back through the woods, stopped off briefly at the playground (great for munchkins!), and then walked up Cambridge Road to see the shell house; this is an ordinary semi-detached house which has a mosaic on the side of a large sailing ship made entirely of cockle shells. Lovely. My daughter was tired by this time so we pottered back to the town centre hoping for a cup of tea and a sit down. We went into a cafe near the Co-op and were told that drinks were take out only. We left empty-handed and grumpy and went back to Cowes.

We ended a pleasant afternoon having a swift drink in Cowes Ale House listening to 2nd Time Around, a local folk band. We will continue the rest of the boat trail another day.

 

Distance walked: 4.5km

Spent: £2.20

The Table

My friend took me to the Quay Arts Centre last night to watch 'The Table' as a birthday treat.  This was a production by a company called Blind Summit and consisted of a trio of puppeteers operating a two foot high puppet called Moses.  He had a rag doll body and an intricately crafted cardboard head.  I spent much time pondering how to create it using mathematical nets! Moses performed on, and sometimes above or under, the table. The purpose of the show was apparently to tell the story of the last few hours in the life of the biblical Moses; this was interspersed with much improvisation and general hilarity. I laughed until I cried at points! The puppetry was superb and the puppeteers clearly knew their craft. One disappeared for a while and was temporarily replaced by a very able young man from the audience. An old man sat next to my friend, and as far as we coined tell he didn't crack a smile all the way through the show.

After the main performance the audience were invited back to view a performance that was in the early stages of production; this was a life-sized puppet of a man called Patrick. Patrick was a failed bass guitarist and somewhat dilapidated and .... odd. Yes. He started off as a young man giving au monologue about cancer being caused and cured by water and gradually aged.  This became gradually evident as the monologue progressed (increasing age was mentioned), and then his hand went back to rub his head and his hair fell back revealing a sparsely thatched scalp. Patrick's position on his chair became more upright and less lounge, but stooped like a tired old man.  I thought it was good, but rather disturbing. Not sure I would pay to see it.

After the theatre we headed for the pub, imbibed some booze and had a jolly good catch up! A good night out.