Newport and St George's Down

Lockdown 3 and lots of local exploration has been going on. Today I had a socially distanced ramble with a chum, in the freezing February sunshine. We meandered around the town for a little while, then headed up St John's Road to Watergate Road and down the footpath at the side of St George's School to Shide. From here we joined the footpath along the river and headed towards Blackwater. After a while, and a brief stop for a cuppa from a thermos, we came to a bridge and turned left along a muddy, permissive path back to the main road, passing the cricket club on our way. 

We took our lives in our hands and crossed the road and joined a footpath leading up to St George's Down. This led past Standen House, a rather lovely country pile with a nice front lawn and a haha. The path continued up the hill into woodland, calm and quiet and lovely. After a while, and several stops for two unfit females to catch their breath, and also being passed four times by an enthusiastic runner trying to work off his dinner, we reached the top, coming out on the Bembridge Trail. 

Turning left we continued along the path, dodging large frozen puddles and passing Newport Golf Club. The path met with St George's Lane which we descended slowly, pausing often to admire the views across the valley to the hills beyond. Along the way we found several bushes with icicles hanging from them, something I have not seen for some time. The lane joined with Pan Lane, and we walked along to a footpath that led past some houses and back to the main road. A little further along we crossed over and joined the river path back to the town centre; we saw a heron standing on a little island of reeds mid-river and stopped for a while to watch it. Magnificent.