Headon Warren

Quick walk today as I needed a blast of fresh air. I parked at The Needles Park (I got a free parking pass this year), headed through the park and back to the road, where I picked up the coastal path after a couple of minutes. Turning left off the main road I followed a lane towards the pitch and putt course, with woodland on my left and a field of cattle on my right. One rather frisky cow, quite young, with horns, decided to follow me and made a couple of mock charges before running up the hill. Good job there was a hedge in the way!

 

Just before the pitch and putt course, the path turned to the right through a wooden fence, and headed uphill. The path was stony to begin with and later turned sandy in places. It followed the boundary of the field and was bordered with brambles, gorse bushes and stinging nettles. Stout trousers required! After a little while the path turned sharply right; however, straight ahead was a clear space so I investigated as there wasn't a no entry sign. The space was a large turfed area, sprinkled with yellow trefoil flowers, with the grass kept short by rabbits. At the far side was the remains of a battery installation. I climbed the concrete steps to the top, sat by the remains of a gun emplacement, and admired the view across Alum Bay to the Needles. The sea sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine. Glorious view.

 

I made my way back to the coastal path and continued steeply uphill to the top of Headon Warren, past flowering yellow gorse, purple heather and wild honeysuckle. The wildflowers were abundant and the view from the top magnificent. The Needles were dead head, Tennyson Down to my left, and Hurst Castle to my right. Gulls and buzzards were swooping through the sky and there was barely a human being to be seen. I followed the path round until it began to descend towards Totland, and followed a track back round the other side of the Warren, coming to a Barrow after a few minutes. This was about 3500 years old and a site of national importance apparently. I made my way back to the coastal path and headed downhill. When I was back in the lane, I took the footpath to Alum Bay Chine which went through pretty woodland, then walked up the wooden steps to the Needles Park and went home. A lovely walk for lifting the spirits.

 

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4105762.html

Distance: 2.2 miles

Footpaths: coastal path, T17, T22, T23

The Needles from Headon Warren

Alum Bay Chine

 

Ventnor to Orchard Bay

Gorgeous day so a walk was called for. I drove to Ventnor and parked in town, then made my way down the main street towards the beach, passing the Winter Gardens on my left and walking down the slope past some formal gardens. The view across Ventnor Bay was stunning in the June afternoon sunlight; the sea was a glorious shade of blue, contrasting nicely with the golden brown shingle of the beach. The coastal path took me along the esplanade, past cafes and beach huts, and then up past the Spyglass Inn. I continued on up hill to the La Falais car park. The path carried on across turf, and I detoured uphill as I saw a sign for the 'La Falais Outdoor Theatre'; this was a raised patch of turf with a lovely view of the English Channel.

The path continued on, up and down hill, then down a set of wooden steps leading to Flower's Brook. This was a large lawned area, with a small pond and two brooks and lots of flowers. It used to be overlooked by the Victorian Steephill Castle, but this was demolished in the 1960s and all that remains is a wall and parapet around a housing estate.  From here, the path led on Castle Cove, with excellent sea defences but not much beach, and then to the lovely Steephill Cove. This is a beach owned and run by the residents, and is one of the Island's nicest beaches. Not easy to get to so rarely overcrowded. There are several cottages near the beach, all of different styles, one thatched, and all seemingly plonked down at random. Gorgeous!

The path led sharply to the right and uphill at the final ice cream shop, then took a sharp left, then right up a set of concrete steps. Turning left at the top of the steps, the path continued with Ventnor Cricket club behind hedges on the right, and shortly after past Ventnor Botanic Garden, also on the right behind a paling fence. The path at this point was under trees so was nice and shaded from the heat of the sun, which was a bit of a relief. The cliff edge was not far from the path, but was hidden by undergrowth, although there was the occasional gap that gave a vertiginous view to the rocks below! 

I continued along the path as far as Orchard Bay; the path to the bay was temporarily closed, presumably due to landslip, but the view down from the cliff was lovely, and also gave a great view of Orchard Bay House, which was mostly hidden from the main path. There is a house I could live in! I turned back at this point as there wasn't an awful lot of time left on my parking ticket, but instead of going back the way I came I cut across a field, on a footpath, and eventually came out on a farm track which led to the main road, past another thatched cottage and farmhouse. The track came out at the entrance to the village of St Lawrence, so I turned right and headed back to Ventnor. When I came to a turning down footpath V91, I headed down it and came out at Flower's Brook, so followed the coastal path back to Ventnor, stopping for a delicious ice cream on the way. Lovely walk!

Ventnor Bay

Orchard Bay

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4101227.html  

Distance: 3.6 miles
Footpaths: Coastal Path, V91, V84