Cornish Camping Adventure

This should have been written in August but I lost my notebook until now, and lost most photos when my phone got wet....

The road trip continued. Having got up early at the festival and packed up our tent, we joined the rest of the gang and went for breakfast at the village hall; tasty, delicious and efficient Full English breakfast. We went back and packed up the whole camp then posed for the annual group photo and then departed.

What followed was a LONG journey to Cornwall - six hours or so including breaks. The best part of the journey was Gloucester Services on the M5; this was a huge building built sympathetically into the landscape and reminded me of an enormous hobbit hole. Inside was a giant farm shop and a café selling delicious sandwiches. I had sun-dried tomato and avocado, and teenager had chicken and bacon, and we also had posh sausage rolls (one was boar). All food at usual motorway prices, but was worth every penny for once. Go there!

The M5 ran out at Exeter and we continued for another 80 miles through Devon and Cornwall eventually ending up at Tregunwith Farm campsite near Mylor Bridge. This was ulovely - two green fields with a building containing showers and loos. We set up camp, drove into Mylor Bridge for supplies (nice village shop), then went for a walk recommended by the campsite owner after tea. Hmmmm.

We had been told that the nearby footpath provided a 20 minute walk to the famed Pandora Inn, however it took rather longer.  We walked down a farm track giving fabulous views across Restronguet Creek, passed beautiful houses, an old steam ship, and past private woodland. Got to the Inn but were tired, so decided to follow the lane back to the main road and campsite. The lane was VERY steep so took us a while, but we got back eventually and played cards before going to bed exhausted.

Day 2
Woke up to glorious sunshine, and made breakfast slowly. There's nothing quite like sitting in a field waiting for a kettle to boil. We headed to the Lost Gardens of Heligan today; we had visited about ten years ago and I wanted to see if it had changed much. The gardens had matured, obviously, and were looking well cared for and as lovely as ever. We enjoyed walking through the jungle and crossed the rope bridge there. There were two girls ahead of us in the queue who were not at all sure they would manage it, but they did, with squeals of delight and surprise. We bought sandwiches from the café and ate them in the shade of a tree on the lawn before heading round the formal gardens. I particularly liked the walled vegetable gardens - I aspire to espaliers of apples! Throughout the gardens were information boards about local men who had gone off to fight in the First World War; many of them worked on the estate, and many did not return. Sad, but interesting and showed how connected to the community the estate had been. We left in late afternoon, via the farm shop, and wended our way back to the campsite down a variety of narrow lanes.

Day 3
Another glorious day after initial cloud. This time we elected to go to The Eden Project as we were both keen to see it, and the early cloud made us wary of the beach. When we arrived it wasn't too busy, which was nice! I blanched somewhat at the entrance fee, nearly £40 for both of us, but we did stay there for hours and had a very enjoyable and interesting time. The whole site is well thought out and well laid out, with lots of winding paths and corners you can't see round, nooks among the planting with handy benches, sculptures popping up all over the place, and, today, dinosaurs. There was also a huge sculpture based on the Fibonacci sequence, reminiscent of pine cones and sunflower seeds. Very organic-looking and mesmerising. Lovely!

We had fun exploring, playing, and learning plant and ecological facts. We also had a tasty lunch in the Mediterranean café - pasta carbonara for the teenager, and olives and bread for me - followed later on by a scummy ice cream. I haven't been to Eden Project for eleven years, and was amazed by how it has prospered and changed in that time. Absolutely stunning. We left around 7pm, having meandered along the paths up the side of the clay pit and back to the car, and then went on a grand tour of narrow lanes in order to reach the A30, while avoiding St Austell, courtesy of the satnav. Scary drive.

We stopped in Truro and went in search of a takeaway, pausing to admire the cathedral on the way. Very impressive from outside. Truro appeared to be a pleasant town, and had a nearly full set of trendy coastal shops; just missing 'White Stuff' as far as we could tell. The Chinese takeaway was closed, but we found a Nepalese-Indian restaurant just up the road and ordered some delicious food to take back to camp.

Day 4
After a leisurely breakfast, we headed to the seal sanctuary at Gweek; however, half of Cornwall had had the same idea so there was nowhere to park in the near vertical car park. Rather than burn out my clutch, we decided to give up and go to The Lizard instead. The satnav proved to have a dark sense of humour and sent us up very narrow, steep lanes which looked as though they hadn't been used since the dark ages. I expected King Arthur to be wandering along the road ahead of us. Much swearing occurred due to the route, to the amusement of my passenger. Grrr!

We eventually got to The Lizard and found the rest of the Cornish population were also visiting, but we did find a parking spot on the remains of the village green. We then went to the pub and had lunch and a brew. The lunch was hearty, which suited the foggy weather. Afterwards we went for a foggy walk, strolling along a footpath until we reached the coast, where we stood on the cliff top and admired the rocky outcrops around us, and the waves rolling in from the Atlantic and crashing on the beach below. We turned right and followed the coastal path for a while until we reached steep steps that led to a small patch of shoreline. Teenager declined to go down, so I left her to chill out and went and explored, meeting a party of Orthodox Jews manhandling a buggy down the steps opposite.

When I returned, we  walked back nearly as far as the life boat station, following the doleful drone of the foghorn at the lighthouse, then took a steep narrow path back to the village. The whole walk was strewn with a wide variety of wildflowers, and was lovely in the fog. Once back in the village we stopped at 'Coast Coffee Bar' to have a cream tea. Very nice it was too! We then made our way back to the campsite through the fog, sticking to A-roads as far as possible!

Day 5
I woke just after dawn and lay listening to the hedgerow birds singing lustily. Eventually I crawled out of bed to find the communal part of the tent had puddles in it. Mopped this up, made hot boiled egg sandwiches for breakfast, then managed to drop my phone down the loo, hence no pictures on this entry.

We later headed for St. Erth, having been told to catch the train to St. Ives from here. However, the station was not in the village and we were directed to Lelant Saltings instead. The train ride was a short but picturesque journey along the coast, with spectacular views across the bays and beaches. Once in the town we went in search of a burger joint called 'Blas Burgerworks'. Oh. My. Goodness. We had the best burgers we had ever eaten. Ever. Wow. Blas was near a beach and art gallery, and just below the station. Go there.

After lunch we pottered about town, looked in a few art galleries, found that the Tate was closed for refurbishment, so carried on wandering. We watched a chap balancing beach stones on top of each other to make sculptures - very clever. We walked along the harbour wall to the lighthouse, and found a crowd at the end. Everyone was admiring a big seal swimming lazily in the clear blue water. There was also a jellyfish, but this didn't get quite so much attention. We pootled back to town, stopping for a cream tea on the way, and buying saffron cakes for our expat Cornish chums on the Island. Another potter around the town followed, mostly because we got a little lost, and then we caught the train back to Lelant Saltings and drove home.

The weather was deteriorating, and a big storm was expected overnight; we decided that as the tent had sprung a leak, and we were tired and getting grumpy, that we would pack up and leave the next morning. Good job too really.

Day 6
Tent was packed up - several broken poles after the windy night - and we set off home. We were essentially in a traffic jam through most of Cornwall and Devon, and parts of Dorset, but eventually made it to Lymington and blagged our way onto a ferry two days earlier than our ticket. Drove off the ferry singing disco songs at the tops of our voices and wended our way home having had a lovely holiday.

Shorwell and Chillerton Down

Off for another stomp on a glorious autumn afternoon. We drove along Middle Road to Shorwell and parked near St Peter's Church, changed into our boots and headed to the footpath behind the church. This led past some pleasant houses, and a glorious patch of fungus, and uphill towards the downs. The path led gradually upwards towards Chillerton TV mast, with a steep climb at the end past a disused chalk pit.

Once we reached the fenced off TV mast we hit a problem; we followed the perimeter to the left and came to a barbed wire fence where the path appeared to plunge down the side of the chalk pit. Very steep, so no thank you! There didn't appear to be a way through, even though the map showed a footpath, so we turned round and followed the fence to the other side of the TV mast. This at least gave us some beautiful views of the surrounding downs and coast, and the village of Chillerton, bathed by the light of the late afternoon sun. Gorgeous.

However, when we got to the other end of the fence we could see the path over another never-ending barbed wire fence. Hmm. No way through seemingly, so, I'm not sorry to say, we hopped over a 'No entry' gate and high-tailed it for 100 yards until we found a gate onto the footpath. We were a right pair of nervous Nellies, quite concerned somebody would come out and shout at us, but they didn't, thankfully! Once home I looked at the route online and realised that if we hadn't cut up past the chalk pit the path would have led to where we wanted to be. Nice to know our map reading skills aren't improving...

When back on the path it was a straightforward walk back along a couple of tracks and through a field to Shorwell village and the car. Another nice drive along Middle Road, with a glimpse of this months super moon towards the end. Perfect!

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4438517.html

Distance: 4 miles

Fungus

Lovely landscape

More lovely landscape

St Peter's Church

London Markets and Museum

Needed a change of scene so the teenager and I hopped on a ferry, a bus and several trains and went to London town for a few days to visit family. We arrived at tea time, had my nephew’s delicious pasta carbonara, and watched ‘The Heat’ in the evening; I’d not seen this before, to the shock of the family, and found it hilarious. Good choice.

The next day, the teenager, her cousin and I hopped on a bus and headed to the British Museum for a day of culture. We toured the Greek, Roman and Egyptian galleries, and whizzed through the Assyrian section (seen it before), admiring ancient pottery, coinage, statuary and sarcophagi. I hadn’t been to the Greek pottery section since I was a schoolgirl studying Classics so wanted to go again. It wasn’t quite as exciting as I remembered but was interesting nonetheless. When we got to the Egyptian Mummy section we found it rather crowded; clearly people enjoy looking at dead bodies! The sarcophagi here were impressive, with beautiful decorations. Our final visit was to the Sutton Hoo collection; this was a collection of treasures found in an Anglo-Saxon boat burial in Suffolk (I think that’s right!), and was rather magnificent. I had read about it before, and was excited to view the real thing. We had a lovely day, and didn’t manage to see everything in the Museum so may have to go back.

In the evening we went to Dulwich and had a meal at Jaflong Indian restaurant. This was delicious, and made all of us happy! We had a variety of dishes, and tried each other’s too, and were all stuffed and sated by the end. Highly recommended.

The following day became a market pilgrimage. We began by getting the bus to Borough Market, and wandering around. Oh my goodness, I have never seen so much cheese under one roof! We pottered about, trying free samples of cheese, pickles, and anything else available, bought freshly made cheese and olive bread sticks, and generally got over excited about all the lovely food. Oh, we also found an Isle of Wight Tomato stall  so bought some of those. Very crowded, but good fun. Afterwards we caught a bus to London Bridge and walked across it, past Pudding Lane, and on to Leadenhall Market; the shops were closed over the weekend as most customers are city workers. However, we could wander around inside and admire the architecture. Lots of photographs were taken by the majority of the party. We stopped at the pub there for a drink and then caught a bus towards home. Some of us hopped off at Elephant and Castle to explore the Chinese supermarket there (lots of goodies!), then wandered along the road, ending up at East Street market; this was the polar opposite of Borough Market, and had loads of stalls selling fruit and veg, clothing, accessories, meat, fish, etc. for extremely reasonable prices. I’d definitely go there if I lived locally. In the evening we ate homemade pizza (delish) and chocolate cheesecake (also delish) and watched 'Untouchable' together. This is a magnificent film and I suggest you watch it (I don't say that often!).

We were a bit more laid back on the final day; most people toddled off to Church, teenager remained in bed and I pottered about. This included a stroll around the lovely Ruskin Park. This park is popular with the locals and I spent time dodging children on bikes, joggers and dogs on their morning walk. There was also a community vegetable garden, tennis courts, skateboard ramps, basketball hoops, and a paddling pool, not to mention plenty of  mature Horse Chestnut trees, large expanses of grass, a pond, a flower labyrinth in the making, autumn cyclamen peeping through the leaf litter, a café and a bandstand. Oh, and grey squirrels (very tame). Lots of them. We're not keen on them on the Island as we only have the native red squirrels, but the London greys were tolerable in context! I also got to kick through piles of windblown leaves on the way to and from the park which made me very happy.  We finished the visit with a delicious Sunday roast cooked by my sister, and then travelled home by trains, buses and a ferry. What a lovely time we had!

Roof detail, British Museum

Cheese stall, Borough Market

Entrance to Leadenhall Market

Ruskin Park fungi

Ruskin Park squirrel



Ventnor and the Downs

Well, we had a plan. We were going to follow the National Trust route from Luccombe Down, via the Devil's Chimney, down to the beach and then back up the BIG hill. Hmmm. Sounded good. However, we got a bit lost trying to find the car park and had a grand tour of Upper Bonchurch, the local countryside and Shanklin duck pond before we figured out where it was. By this time it was nearly 3pm on a slightly gloomy autumn afternoon and we were not as keen as we had been.

Onwards and downwards though, but ditching the original route. We parked at the end of a chalk track on top of Luccombe Down and admired the magnificent views across Sandown Bay, and also the English Channel. We marched off down the Down, heading down Nansen Hill and emerging on the road opposite Smugglers Haven tea rooms by Devil's Chimney. We continued along the road for a bit, before finding the footpath on the right. Once through the gate we were confronted with a hill full of feral goats. Now, I'm reasonably sure that they posed no threat, but they had ENORMOUS horns - at least half as big as each goat -  and, quite frankly, we feared for the safety of our kneecaps if we irritated them. Also, they could run faster than us. It's not that we're a pair of big ol' scaredy cats, honest.

Back to the road in search of another footpath heading upwards, which we eventually found just past a bend in the road. On the way we were able to admire the variety of architecture in the area - the locals seem to have a thing for random turrets on their houses, - and the breathtaking, vertigo inducing, views of the town below. We found our path in the woods, but quickly realised it was treacherous so turned back; the path was narrow and steep with a precipitous drop down to the road below. Not only that, it was covered with a slippery layer of evergreen oak leaves, so turning back was really the sensible option.

We followed the path in the other direction, still through the woods but much more level, past tennis courts and grand Victorian Villas and came out on the road near the Bowling Club. We continued on the road until we got to the industrial estate and took the steep footpath there back up the down. Oh. My. Goodness. It was steep. We stopped regularly for a breather - the wind was strong and took our breath away - and eventually got to the top. Phew! The view of the town below and the surrounding hills was incredible.

The final slog took us past WW2 pill boxes and Ventnor Radar Station, which was bombed heavily in the war. I had heard rumours of an underground town under this hill years ago, and found an information board saying that there was in fact a Cold War era nuclear bunker there. I need to see this! Very exciting, but unlikely to be open to the public sadly.

An excellent, invigorating walk, and we'll do the original route another day. When we're fitter. And have warmer clothing.

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4428457.html

Distance: approx. 3.5 - 4 miles.

View to Sandown Bay

Bonchurch

Random turret



Pill box

Blackgang to Hoy Monument

First walk of the autumn today, in glorious sunshine and a stiff breeze. We parked at the Blackgang Viewpoint carpark, above Blackgang Chine theme park, and crossed over the road to steps leading to a field. The path led through a herd of cows, pastel coloured and seemingly kindly, and then upwards towards St Catherine's Oratory, or The Pepperpot as it is known locally. This stone tower was built in the early 1300s, apparently as a penance by a local landowner who stole wine from a shipwreck. It was originally a chapel with a beacon for shipping, but all that remains is the tower. Next to the oratory is a bronze age barrow, excavated, and further along is the 'Salt Pot', which is the stone circular base of an eighteenth century lighthouse that was never completed. We paused on the way up to watch what we thought was a kestrel, hovering above its prey, swooping to catch it, then sailing back up into the sky and swooping effortlessly along the ridge in the breeze. Beautiful.

We continued, through a field of skittish and distinctly less friendly cattle, down a steep slope past what may have been ancient agriculture (hill with lots of mini terraces), then through a gate into National Trust land and a well maintained path that led along the ridge of St Catherine's Down to the Hoy Monument. This was a very pleasant stroll, with glorious views across the Island to either side in the golden autumnal sunshine. The Hoy Monument is huge, and was erected to commemorate a visit to Great Britain by the Tsar of Russia. I don't think he made it to the Island! There is also a commemorative plaque for the troops that died at Sevastopol. Strange place to put it. We continued past the monument to a dead end, then retraced our steps to a side path and descended through woodland to pick up a path at the base of the ridge.

This path led along the edge of the wood and gradually took us back up the hill to the edge of the National Trust land. Wanting to avoid the cattle, we took a path that skirted the base of the ridged hill, only to find the cattle had moved and were ahead of us, so, wimps that we were, we retraced our steps and climbed back up the hill (on the other side of the fence!) to the trig point and the pepperpot. It was extremely windy at this point and we were glad not to have small children with us. We paused inside the pepperpot (no wind here) then plunged back down the hill towards the car park. We felt we had earned refreshment so we each bought an ice-cream from the van in the car park, and wandered along the cliff path to look down on Blackgang Chine. To finish the trip, we blasted up the Military Road to Freshwater Bay before returning home. Gorgeous afternoon!

Route (roughly): http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4412779.html

Distance: 3.6 miles

View along the West coast from the Pepperpot.

Chale mackerel

Ridged hill

Hoy Monument

Maple tree

Wight landscape

St Catherine's Oratory

Arreton

After a lazy summer my hiking buddy and I decided to get back out into the countryside again today. We drove up to Robin Hill to drop her family at Bestival (after we'd driven back to collect the tickets), then pootled down the road to Arreton Barns. We had no map, obviously, but thought we remembered the route of a nice walk. We were mostly right.

We walked through the barns site, past the duckpond and St George's church, and came out on the main road. Here we crossed over the road and entered a cabbage field. We walked all the way up the track to find a wire fence with no way through, so retraced our steps to find a path through the cabbages on our right. This also led to a fence, but we were able to hop over it to an obvious path on the other side. This led in due course over a couple of stiles and brought us onto the main Newport to Sandown cycle path. We headed towards Sandown, and shortly after found a path on our left leading to Haseley Manor; this mostly consisted of boardwalks as the path was rather muddy, and came out right next to the Manor House. Last time we were here the path was closed so it was nice to see the work that had been done.

From Haseley, we walked away from the road, past the outbuildings, and towards the downs. The path led us to a lake, rather low on water after the summer sunshine, and we walked round it, scaring the waterfowl, until we met back up with the main path. From here we continued up the hill on a farm track thinking that if we got to the top we would be able to get a glimpse of Bestival. However. It was a hot day, we were tired and unfit, so when we got to a gateway by the woods we sat down and talked ourselves out of it. Turns out we wouldn't have seen anything anyway! Back down the hill to the lake, turned right and followed the path back to Arreton Barns. Here we made a few purchases at Farmer Jacks farm shop and then had a drink on the terrace at the Dairyman's Daughter, and listened to a trio of musicians who were jolly good. Lovely afternoon!

Hasely Manor

Teasels

View from the gate

St George

Arreton Church

Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2016

Three cars set off in a convoy from deepest West Sussex at 4.15am on Thursday morning heading blearily to Oxfordshire and Fairport's Cropredy Convention. The drive was straightforward (I like the M25 at that hour of day!), with the exception of driving over the corpse of a large badger near Guildford. It made quite a thump. At about 6.15am we stopped at Cherwell Valley Services, got coffee, and added two more cars to the convoy. Shortly after, following a brief pause in a layby, we met the final car of the convoy and proceeded along the road to Cropredy village and Field 5. Tents were erected by about 8.30am, chairs were out and champagne decanted for those that drank alcohol. In all, we were a party of 18 adults and children of various sizes.

Later in the day, once snoozes had happened, we wandered up to the festival entrance and exchanged tickets for wristbands, then went for a mooch around the village as the arena wasn't open yet. We found, to our horror, that the local church were not providing breakfasts in the farmyard this year. Horror! They were instead based at the church providing continental and healthy breakfasts; that did not bode well.

The arena opened at 2pm, so we gathered chairs, flag, tarpaulin and other paraphernalia and headed over, staking out our pitch and then feeding the children, and ourselves, and chilling out. Music began at 4pm with Fairport Acoustic. My favourite track was 'Crudite', a pastiche of another, by Steeleye Span, called 'Gaudete' - very funny. Fairport were followed by 'Gryphon', a mixture of very old and more modern folk music. They were very pleasant but didn't play anything that particularly grabbed my attention. Following Gryphon were 'Coco and the Butterfields' who were full of energy and caprice - I loved their song 'Royston'. The violinist had got over enthusiastic in rehearsal and damaged her violin, but it still played well. The band also had an awesome human beat boxer - quite, quite amazing.

Next up were 'Hayseed Dixie' (I love them!) playing Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Queen, Mozart and German drinking songs in hillbilly style - banjos galore. Headline act of the evening were 'Madness' in all their glory. Fun was had dancing badly but enthusiastically while pausing for an occasional breather. While having a breather, I lay in my chair listening to the music and staring through gaps in the cloud for a glimpse of the Perseid meteor shower (didn't spot any). Glorious way to spend an evening.

On Friday morning I awoke to the sound of loud Northern neighbours and sizzling bacon, and sunshine. We all wandered off to the churchyard to see what their breakfasts would be tis year; sadly no breakfast inna bun, so we wandered round the village to Banbury Canoe Club who were cooking full English breakfasts.. They were run off their feet but we ordered and attempted a dingbats quiz while we waited. The food was edible but I prefer our usual. Anyway, back to camp via the cake stall (lush chocolate brownies), gathered our stuff and went to the arena.

The sun was out with barely a cloud in the sky, and the music was magnificent. In the afternoon the teenager and I went for a mooch through the village and along the canal, back through the caravan park and up through the arena stopping at various stalls along the way. Lovely. The rest of the day was spent sat in the arena or campsite (shady), chatting, reading, knitting and playing cards. Music included the excellent Anthony John Clarke and Dave Pegg, Brighde Ghaimbeul - the Radio 2 Young Folk Musician of the Year; she played pipes very well indeed. Other bands that I noted were 'Willie and the Bandits' who I quite enjoyed, followed by 'Headspace' who I didn't enjoy much as I'm not keen on prog rock. In the evening were 'Steeleye Span' who played well, and luckily included 'All around my Hat' which I knew! Headling the evening were the 'Bootleg Beatles' who played an excellent set of popular Beatles tunes, and mimicked the original band well.

Friday food was beef burger with Stilton from the Organic Beef stall for lunch, and an Ostrich burger for tea - absolutely scrumptious! We also snacked on hot, fresh donuts. Mmmmmmm!

We got up early on Saturday and went for breakfast at the Cricket club - sausage, bacon and egg in a bun - yum!  We sat on the grass to eat, and watched an unfortunate chap drive over the edge of the car park onto the green, and not through the gap indicated. He got stuck, but was eventually set right. After breakfast most of us grabbed our swimming gear and headed to the pool in Banbury for a shower and a swim. Lovely!

On our return we headed straight for the arena for Richard Digance's set - he comes every year. The field was packed and RD did a great set as usual, with songs and bad jokes, and ended with the traditional 20,000 people morris dancing (hanky waving anyway). It is always good fun to watch bewildered newcomers at this point! Richard was followed by a sci-fi folk group called 'Maia' who played interesting tunes. Later in the day were the superb 'Pierce Brothers' form Australia. They got the whole crowd going and received two encores. These guys were followed by the tuneful 'Demon Barbers XL', and then by the incredible 'Babylon Circus', a French ska band who were foot-stompingly incredible. Wow! Double encore, well-deserved, for them too. Wow!

Following Babylon Circus was the legendary Ralph McTell; his music was much calmer and more considered than previous acts, and showed consummate musicianship as expected. Lovely. To round off the festival Fairport Convention returned, with friends, and played some of the better known of their tunes, had a remembrance for Dave Swarbrick, who died earlier this year, and ended the festival with a rousing rendition of 'Matty Groves'. Food today was 'Falafel and goodness salad' for lunch, and chicken and chorizo paella for tea. There may have been more donuts....

This year's festival was one of the best I have attended for years, both for the weather and the music. Roll on next year!

Summer Wedding

Last Saturday I attended the wedding of some friends at New Barn Farm near Calbourne on the Island. Having faffed over frocks, had my hair cut and my nails pampered and painted sparkly dark blue (I'm very impressed with these!), I duly arrived. What a lovely venue! The guests gathered on a lawn that sloped down to a rose bower and was divided from the drive by well clipped yew bushes, and were kept shady by an enormous, and very welcome, holm oak tree. The wedding itself took place inside an old barn, with ancient wooden beams in the roof. The barn had been nicely plastered inside, and the walls decorated with swags of ivy. A large, beautiful flower arrangement was in an alcove at the front, and chairs were laid out in rows.

The bride arrived, looking gorgeous of course, and the groom beamed happily. The ceremony itself was simple and relaxed, with vows and readings. There was also a handfasting ceremony where the happy couple held hands so that their wrists were touching, and their children tied ribbons round them. Lovely.

After the ceremony there were drinks and canapés on the lawn while photos were taken, and then we came in for a delicious wedding breakfast. We had salmon mousse and rustic rolls, followed by chicken breast with a vegetable ragout, accompanied by new potatoes, carrots and green beans, followed by lemon tart with double cream. Yum! Lots of wine too for those that drank. The meal was followed by speeches and gift giving, and then we had some free time.

During the free time the bar opened in the back room of the barn, and we could play croquet on the lawn if we wished. Later on there was a fencing demonstration (the groom is a fencing instructor) which was great fun to watch.

In the evening was cake cutting, a disco and a hog roast (scrumptious). All in all a lovely day, with one of the happiest couples I know. Official photography was by the very capable Holly Cade; my snaps are below.

Summer Strolls

We go for a few short strolls around the place as the fancy takes us, so I thought I'd list them here.

Cowes Seafront

This is always a nice walk at this time of year; the town is bustling with sailors and tourists, there is usually yacht racing on the Solent, and many people are out on the seafront watching the sailing, playing on the beach or strolling along the promenade. We also have the pleasure of fairly regular visits from a common seal who likes to lounge on the old steps by the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Ryde Seafront

We like to stroll from the boating lake to Appley Tower, the café beyond or even Seaview if we're feeling energetic. Often we paddle in the sea as this is a sandy beach, and get an ice cream from one of the vendors along the way. One's route back is often marked by the smoke from multiple disposable barbecues, with the pleasurable scent of sizzling sausages Along the way.

Cowes to Newport Cycle Track

This is a lovely walk along the route of the old railway, with plenty of shade on sunny days, and lovely views across the river Medina, and the surrounding farmland. Lots of wildflowers and wildlife, as well as walkers, runners and cyclists.

Chilton Chine

A good walk for small children and dogs! Park near Isle of Wight Pearl on the west coast of the Island, follow the path to some steps that lead down to the beach and have a pleasant walk and paddle. Keep an eye on the tide as it comes in quite quickly and there aren't many exits back up the cliffs.

Bembridge

Oh, it's frightfully nice in Bembridge! We parked by the RNLI Lifeboat Station (once we'd figured out how the road system worked - a tad confusing), bought a pencil sharpener to get change for the parking machine, then walked along the road towards the Bembridge Coast Hotel and turned off onto a footpath just before we got there. We were following instructions from a very neat book of walks my friend had purchased, and continued under its guidance until we reached the coastal path. This followed the edge of some rather unstable cliffs, so we proceeded at a good pace bearing in mind the torrential rain that had hit the Island the previous day.

From the path we had magnificent views of Whitecliff Bay and Culver Down; I had never seen either from this direction before. On the other side of the path was a meadow, full of wildflowers and grasses and the occasional sheep. The path itself had many wildflowers and grasses too, and I recall seeing at least four varieties of grass, vetches, cow parsley and similar flowers. Very pleasant indeed. The path eventually led past Kingswood Activity Centre on the site of the former Bembridge School. There were lots of teenagers running about and having fun on site, and it looked like a great place to go to. The path turned right shortly after this, by an information board about Bembridge School and a magnificent tree that was designed to be climbed!

We followed the path to Jenny Streets Lane, turned left and downhill at the end, and then turned right into Steynes Wood; this was lovely and peaceful, full of trees and ferns and had the occasional dog walker. The path crossed the main road then continued through the wood; this was clearly less popular as the path was narrower and a little overgrown, but was still lovely. At the bottom we turned right and headed steeply up a chalk path that led between high hedges to Bembridge Windmill. We were in need of refreshment by now so we stopped for an ice lolly and a slurp of water before continuing on our way.

At the end of Windmill Lane we turned left and followed the road back towards the village before turning left down a footpath leading towards Brading Marshes. At the top of this lane was a dilapidated Victorian Villa with a large garden, which looked in desperate need of love and attention. I'd like to volunteer. Just saying. Anyway, the path came out next to the Pilot Boat Inn which looked lovely and has a good reputation I believe. We didn't stop as we had to get home to feed the children. The path continued across the road, up a private road, leading eventually down a very pleasant lane bordered on one side by really rather impressive properties. I forgot my manners and peeked over fences, through fences and over garden walls and had a jolly good nosey! I'm not sure that the couple following us were impressed - no one seemed to smile in that part of the village. The lane led back towards the beach, and we crunched along the shingle towards the lifeboat station, retrieved the car and drove home.

This was a lovely walk, and I shall definitely go again now that I think I can find my way around the village!

Whitecliff Bay

Climbing Tree

Bembridge Windmill

Lifeboat Station

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4348631.html

Distance: 4.5 miles

Footpaths: BB42, BB13, BB10, BB15, BB22, BB36, BB3, BB19, BB5, BB34, BB7

Isle of Wight Festival 2016

The Isle of Wight Festival was on this weekend and I was able to get in for the cost of a t-shirt and the proviso that I supervised some teenagers for a few hours. Sorted! I also got a staff wristband which had the advantage that I had access to a nice toilet. As the ticket was effectively free I didn't feel obliged to stay the whole weekend and see absolutely everything, but had a lovely time and went home when I was tired instead. My highlights are as follows:

Friday:

I watched Jess Glynn on the main stage - she was superb, and got the whole crowd going. I had no idea who she was, but realised I knew all her tunes! Jess had incredible trousers;I would like a pair - no idea where I would wear them, but they were green and shiny and lovely.  I'm only mentioning her outfit as I want her trousers - no other performer had that effect on me! I just missed seeing 'Busted' but heard them from further afield and they sounded good. Later in the afternoon I went to the 'Big Top' and watched Gabrielle Aplin; I had never heard of her or her music and thoroughly enjoyed her set. Really talented. In the evening I watched Stereophonics on the Main Stage, who were also excellent and would be worth seeing again. For food I purchased a veggie burger from the wonderful 'Tansy's Pantry' (a vegetarian café in a double Decker bus) and followed it up with a cup of tea and a slice of Jaime's exquisite chocolate orange cake. Yum yum yum! One of the funniest things I saw was a teenager carrying a stack of plastic pint 'glasses' taller than herself by at least two feet, looking for the recycling point; lots of enterprising children were earning extra money by collecting these glasses and trading them in at 10p each. The teenager I met later told me she had earned £37 that day. Wow!

Saturday:

I was mostly busy with teenagers until late afternoon but once free I went for a pootle around the site; I was hungry and found late lunch at 'Somerset Pork' in the form of pulled pork, crackling and stuffing in a bun, washed down with a cuppa. Very nice. I sat in the main arena while I ate it and listened to the end of 'The Corrs' set in the sunshine. Afterwards I pottered through the Octopus Garden then made my way through the fairground, where I met an old friend on the Scout stall; I dragged her away and we had a fun hour wandering round the shops looking at sequinned clothes and all the tat you normally get at festivals. When she left I went back to Tansy's Pantry for more cake and a cuppa, and chatted to the owner's Mum, who I knew, and watched people go by. We then went and watched a band in Kashmir Café.  This band were local, as were all performers in Kashmir Café, and called 'Bobby I Can Fly'. They had been playing together for years and were really good, so I'll try and catch them again. Afterwards I wandered back towards the main arena, pausing outside the Big Top to listen to the rest of the Buzzcocks set. I couldn't get in as there was a big crowd, but it was a sunny evening so didn't matter. After that I decided to go home; I was really tired, and although I would have liked to see The Damned, and Adam and the Ants, my bed was beckoning.

Sunday:

More teenage supervision, but this time accompanied by the delightful tones of a group of ladies singing swing tunes in Cirque de la Quirk. I didn't catch the name of the group, but they sang songs such as Chattanooga Choo Choo very nicely. I sang along. Once the teenagers had finished their task, we made our way to Kashmir Café and watched the Medina Ukulele Orchestra; this consisted of students from Medina College (where the festival is held, mostly), playing ukuleles and singing. Their standard was very high and they played to a full tent. Excellent! Later in the day I watched Mike and the Mechanics on the main stage and was again surprised by how many of their songs I knew and could sing along to. I really enjoyed their set too! For late lunch I had a crispy duck wrap, with chips on the side, both of which were scrumptious. I do like festival food! I made my way home after this as I was still tired, and had lots to do before Monday.

The Isle of Wight Festival was great fun. I wasn't sure what to expect as one hears such wildly different stories from locals. I found that it was extremely well managed and had enough variety of performers to suit the taste of the myriad people there, who seemed to range in age from new born to septuagenarians. I'm not sure that I would go if I had to pay the full price, mostly because I'm a bit tight, but I think it is good value for money considering how much you would pay to see one headline band in a large venue, and how much you would pay to travel, especially from our beautiful Island. I think I might try it out again next year.....

St Catherine's Lighthouse

A short but beautiful walk today. I met up with a friend, her tweenager and her dog and we drove to St Catherine's Road in Niton, and parked beyond the Buddle Inn. The private road beyond this led steeply downhill, between hedgerows in full flower, towards St Catherine's Lighthouse on the most southerly tip of the Island. At the end of the lane, just before the lighthouse we climbed a stile to our right and crossed into a meadow. The footpath led past an enormous rock (perfect for scrambling up) covered in sea thrift (Armeria), and then towards and then along the cliff edge. The ground here is notoriously unstable and we could see the results of past landslips in the surrounding landscape.

We followed the path through a buttercup-strewn meadow, over another stile, and down to Watershoot Bay, a very rocky beach. Lovely though. Behind the beach was some woodland so we scrambled up to it and had an explore, finding the remains of a couple of camps that locals had made. The dog was having a lovely time running around the undergrowth, and we had fun exploring more slowly!

We made our way back to the beach and retraced our steps back to the car, pausing briefly to admire the cattle in the field by the road. I'll definitely go back and explore some more!

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4333195.html

Footpath: NT37

Distance: 1.5 miles

St Catherine's Lighthouse

Symphony Orchestra May 2016

On 21st May Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra put on another concert, so I went along as one of my challenges this year is to see more live music and I rather enjoy an orchestral concert. The programme consisted of three pieces:

• 'Beni Mora ' by Holst
• 'Piano Concerto in E flat' by Ireland
• 'Job: A Masque for Dancing' by Vaughan Williams

'Beni Mora' was an interesting piece consisting of three pieces of dance music reminiscent of Algerian music (as intended!), and caught and kept my attention throughout.

The 'Piano Concerto' by John Ireland was passionate, with extremely good piano solos provided by the talented Viv Maclean; he managed to keep the audience spellbound with his playing. He was well accompanied by the orchestra.

After the interval we heard 'Job' by Vaughan Williams. This was written as a score for a ballet but stood up on its own without the dancers. Illustrations from William Blake's 'Book of Job' were projected behind the orchestra throughout the performance; these illustrations were the inspiration behind the music, so it was an appropriate thing to do. Each scene was introduced by the conductor, Jonathan Butcher, before the orchestra continued playing. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece by Williams.

The Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra played extremely well throughout the concert, ably conducted by Mr Butcher. I left feeling that my money had been well spent on the ticket, and that I really should practice playing my violin. I've got as far as dusting the case....

Ventnor Botanic Garden

Nearly the end of half term so teenager and I decided to have an expedition which included lunch. We headed south to Ventnor Botanic Garden, via Rookley and Whitwell (nice bendy country roads), paid the entrance fee and headed for 'Edulis', the restaurant in the gardens. Unfortunately their menu is not overly friendly for a picky teenager but she eventually decided on a ham sandwich, crisps and millionaire's shortbread, all of which met with satisfaction. I took a while to choose my meal as they all sounded yummy to me, and I eventually settled on the seafood linguine. Oh my goodness, this was yummy! Freshly caught local crab, mussels and king prawns in a nice sauce. Delish!

Once lunch was over we ambled around the gardens for an hour or so, having a good old natter and admiring the plants. The garden is on the site of a Victorian Tuberculosis hospital, and in a little valley which has a lovely, warm microclimate. Being close to the coast and the Gulf Stream helps too. Due to this, a wide variety of plants that would be too tender in many parts of the country can be grown here. Today the Echiums were at their peak, towering into the sky, ablaze with blue flowers and buzzing with bees. One of my favourite plants. Many other flowers were in bloom such as Sisyrinchium, Abutilon, Osteospermum, Allium, Syringa, Arum, and Rosa. I was particularly taken with the variety of bark textures on the many trees, and particularly liked a variety of Myrtus.

Once we had finished in the garden I perused the seed shop and bought several packets of wildflowers for my garden project. The botanic garden sells seed collected from it's own plants, as well as plants grown from cuttings from the garden, so you can get varieties of plants you wouldn't ordinarily find in a garden centre. Their gift shop is also very tempting, but today I mostly resisted the urge to buy lovely things!

Once we left we headed back towards Godshill and popped into Brownrigg Farm Shop to stock up on local produce - "Oil of Wight" anyone? - and then toddled off to Ryde for other supplies; I didn't drive my usual route and went via Ashey Road, and at one point came round a corner and down a hill to see a magnificent view before us which caused me to shriek "OH MY GOODNESS! We're so lucky to live here!".  Beautiful, beautiful Isle of Wight!

Echium flowers

Acer

Myrtus bark

Pelargonium

Allium (Chives)

Flat Walk the Wight 2016

It's that time of year again when the Island community comes together to raise money en masse for Earl Mountbatten Hospice by taking part in Walk the Wight. There are several options, either walking the breadth of the Island from Bembridge to Alum Bay, going from Bembridge to Carisbrooke Castle, Carisbrooke Castle to Alum Bay, or, for those less fond or capable of hills, the flat walk from Sandown to Shide. We chose the latter due to creaky bones, lack of training, and the presence of teenagers.

We met at the park and ride in Somerton and caught the bus to Isle of Wight College. The bus was free with our walker number. Nice! Here we boarded the shuttle bus to Sandown Bay Academy; now, this was an open top Island Breezer, and the weather was pleasant, some chose to sit on the exposed top deck. The views were glorious and the bus was aptly named. Along the route we passed other walkers doing the big walks and all waved merrily back and forth - very jolly. We disembarked at Sandown, and followed the road round to the start of the Red Squirrel Trail (Newport - Sandown cycle path) where the walk began, and joined crowds of other walkers heading back to Newport.

We had 'Goldilocks' weather; not too hot, not too cold, but just right, and were able to remove our jumpers quite quickly and enjoy the spring sunshine. The atmosphere was lovely, with walkers of all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities taking part. We saw several people in wheelchairs, with mobility strollers, children on pushchairs, as well as three people completing the walk on stilts. Of course. Lots of people brought dogs too. The scenery was delightful, with wetlands to begin with, and Highland cattle, followed by more formal farmland and woodland. Spring was definitely upon us as the verges were full of wildflowers, and the trees were clothed in green. Along the route were several wooden sculptures, all interesting and with a nature theme, and many side paths that looked like they needed exploring in the future.

The walk ended in Shide, where we all received medals for taking part. My teenager had raced on ahead and saw a Samba band while she was waiting for us, but the band had gone when we caught her up. We ended by catching the shuttle bus into Newport and getting an 'artisan toastie' on a bread board at Skintrade Café in the square. Tasty!

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4318879.html
Distance: 8 miles
Fundraising: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Clare-Murray7

Highland Cattle

Horse Chestnut flowers

Railway Bridge