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