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