Brighstone

Today was dog-walking day, training me for dog-sitting with a boisterous young collie in the summer. We walked down Lynch Lane towards Brighstone, turning right onto a footpath which headed along a dappled lane, through a gate and a sharp right turn alongside a paddock. The path then split, with the right hand path heading towards Gaggerhill Farm, or continue straight on towards Moortown. We took the latter route, then picked up another footpath which led to Gaggerhill avoiding the farm. From there we walked uphill towards Grammars Common and had a lovely shady amble through the pine woods, with a steep climb at one point, and discovering a clearing that had an abandoned campsite later on. No tents, just the remains of a fire and some rusting cooking equipment.

We continued on and came out onto a footpath near Black Barrow (buried under rhododendrons), and crossed a field to come out on Strawberry Lane. Glorious! The verges and banks were covered in wildflowers, with lots of pyramidal orchids in particular. We strolled up the hill in the sunshine, avoided getting run over by tourists who were blindly following their satnavs, and got to the top where we paused to catch our breath and admire the view. The West Wight truly is gorgeous. We turned right at the top and headed back down Lynch Lane towards Brighstone and lunch.