Carisbrooke to Brighstone

I woke up this morning and decided it was high time I went on a decent stomp again, so donned my nice boots and set off for Carisbrooke. The main walk (after my warm up) began at Down Lane, which is just off Nodgham Lane, just up the road from The Waverley pub. The path climbed steeply upwards between high banks covered in ivy, hart's tongue ferns, Alexanders, and brambles, before coming out on a plateau of farmland and scrub overlooking the Bowcombe Valley. After a while there was a glorious view across the valley to the gatehouse of Carisbrooke Castle.

This part of the walk was part of the Tennyson Trail and continued through farmland until it reached Brighstone Forest. Along the way I passed flocks of black-faced sheep, who stared passively at me, a farmer and his wife setting out electric fencing with their dogs running alongside, newly laid hedges and deadwood fences in a copse, and quite a few mountain bikers and some runners and walkers. 

Once in Brighstone Forest, the path forked and I took the left path away from the Tennyson Trail, which led to a broad, well-surfaced track through the trees. I missed the side path I meant to take, but came out on the edge of the forest on the Worsley Trail, which is roughly where I meant to get to anyway! I turned left and followed the path for a while until there was a foootpath across a field; this angled fairly steeply downhill, giving glorious views of the surrounding landscape and what I think was a new vineyard below on Coombe Lane. The path led gently uphill again here, and at the top there was a gate on the right leading to a field; I walked briefly along the top of the field, admiring the views (this is one of my favourite places), and then followed the path downhill through a bracken-lined gully which led to another sunken lane through the sandstone and eventually into Brighstone village itself.

As it was a Sunday there was a wait of nearly two hours to the next bus home, so I had a picnic in the bus shelter before going to the Three Bishops pub for a hot chocolate and warmth. I got home to discover a mahoosive popped blister on my heel, but delighted that I had done the walk after procrastinating for so long.