Monk and Merchant walk

It's April for heaven's sake, and this is the first proper stomp I have had. I have been a bit busy...  I met up with a friend and we headed to the White Mouse Inn at Chale for a sandwich and a cuppa, then drove up the hill to the Blackgang Viewpoint car park. From there, we crossed the road and headed up hill towards St Catherine's Oratory (Pepperpot), and paused  for a while to take photographs, before heading along the crest of the down to the Hoy Monument. This is a huge stone column erected by a local merchant with Russian connections, to celebrate the visit of Tsar Alexander I to Britain. As you do. 

From there we turned left onto a footpath heading down the hill, going through several gates and passing to the side of a property called the Hermitage. The path led through a field to a quiet lane, rejoined a footpath and led towards Moorhills Farm, which housed a timber merchant and sawmill. Now, we were busy chatting and missed our turning and continued down the lane past ponds and streams until we arrived at the main road through the village of Bierley. Once we had realised our error we doubled back, found the footpath, waved at the chaps in the sawmill, and carried on across fields heading towards the oratory which we could see on a distant hill.

We passed Downcourt Manor Farm and turned uphill, having rather lost the path, and clambered onwards coming to a barbed wire fence with no obvious route through. We managed to climb through and headed upwards, spotting what we thought was our route. We also stopped to admire a hare bounding along the hill in front of us. We were again thwarted by a barbed wire fence, more robust this time, which stood between us and  a herd of cows. We turned right and followed the fence along until we saw the footpath and were able to get to it. From here we headed back towards the oratory hill, skirting along the base of it and then back down the hill to the car. This was a lovely walk, which would have lovely views on a clearer day!

Intended route: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/st-catherines-down-and-knowles-farm/trails/the-monk-and-the-merchant-walk

Approximate Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/809584

Distance: c. 5.5. miles

St Catherine's Oratory

Benches at Moorhills Farm

Brighstone

Well, we have had weeks of unending sunshine so today my friend and I decided to go for a walk. It thundered and rained. Of course. However, the thunder was exciting and the rain refreshing so all was good. 

We started off in Lynch Lane and headed for the footpath to Moortown (I think that's right; on the right as you head downhill past Coombe Lane), and followed it towards and round Gaggerhill Farm, where we observed some noisy dogs and beautiful horses. The rain started just as we turned into the lane next to the house and we dodged right to a footpath that took us uphill under the trees towards Grammar's Common. This turned out to be a private ("This is not common land") woodland and red squirrel sanctuary, but the footpath went through and we enjoyed the peace and stillness within. At one point we heard a woodpecker and managed to track the noise to three possible trees but could not see the bird itself. Fun looking for it though!

The path led on, out of the woods and down to Strawberry Lane. Here we turned right and picked up a footpath that led to the Long Stone, alongside Castle Hill. We paused in the rain to admire the Long Stone, then detoured to the left and up to the top of Castle Hill to admire the view. One of my favourites, showing the coast from Blackgang Chine to Tennyson Down, even on a cloudy, hazy day like today. We then doubled back and followed the path down through the woods to come out by Mottistone Manor. The manor was not open to the public today, so we crossed the road and prowled around the churchyard, which is a thriving haven for wildlife, and had a look inside the church itself. This is a rather lovely example of a small, country church, and had an interesting display about 'Warrior', the horse that inspired the novel "Warhorse", as he belonged to local landowners. 

We had run out of footpath so we followed the road back to Brighstone in search of a cup of tea, only to find that the once famous cream tea shops had disappeared, so we had a cuppa in the Three Bishops pub instead, and bought an ice cream from the village shop. And a Belgian bun. Oops. We did have a slight detour on the way, having seen a signpost that said village centre half a mile; we followed it over a stream (played Pooh sticks on the bridge), and came out on a housing estate with no indication of where to go, so we retraced our footsteps to the main road. After tea, we decided to head back to Lynch Lane, and found another footpath that led over the downs and through a sheep field to Coombe Lane, which we followed passing several stone cottages until we were back in Lynch Lane. Lovely walk!

Route: https://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4782839.html 

Distance: 6 miles

Pot Bellied Pig

Unusual clouds before thunder storm

Long Stone

Ordnance Survey Bench Mark on Mottistone Church wall

Brighstone stream

Blackgang to Whale Chine

Quick walk today as the weather was looking dodgy. We parked at Blackgang Chine viewpoint car park (further up the hill from the theme park, and free), and followed the coastal path onwards Chale.  The path appeared fairly well used, but had nettles growing abundantly alongside it, so longer trousers than mine are to be recommended! And boots rather than hiking sandals. However, not too many stings and they wore off quickly. The path opened onto a field, the overflow car park for Blackgang Chine, led across it and back to the road. We followed the road downhill, over the traffic island, and rejoined the footpath on the left that led to the village. The footpath followed the road again, past the ancient St Andrew's church at Chale, and then turned left at the showground and headed towards the cliffs.

We continued along the cliff edge, admiring the dramatic scenery while also wondering whether we would inadvertently end up on the beach in a cliff fall as there appeared to be rather a lot of large cracks in the ground! The path ended abruptly at a large mound and turned inland over a make shift bridge, then back along the coast past a building that might have been a gun emplacement at one time. Hard to tell! The weather was in turns very blustery and then dead calm, which was odd as there weren't major changes in the landscape or the wind. It felt as though we would take off occasionally, and we laid flat on the ground to have a good look at a small chine (we saw two, Ladder Chine and Walpen Chine), without being blown over the edge! Once we reached, and had a good look at, Whale Chine, we turned back and followed the road until we got back to Chale. This was fairly uneventful, and we saw three beautiful alpacas along the way near the small, thatched Walpen Manor house.

Once we reached the car, the weather changed to wet and windy, so we decided a cup of tea was in order and headed to Isle of Wight Pearl, had a look at the jewellery, and had a cuppa and a bowl of homemade tomato soup to warm our cockles! Lush!

Route: https://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4585224.html
Distance: 4.3 miles

Ladder Chine or Walpen Chine

Landslip with scout signs

Alpacas near Chale

St Andrew's Church, Chale

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

Staycation Day 4

Today we went to Blackgang Chine, on the south coast of the Island. I'd been trying to avoid it, but was given a voucher which let kids in free so I had no excuse. We blew most of the budget just getting me in however. Nearly £20!!! Not sure how they justify that. However...

 

We started off in the new 'Restricted Area 5' which was full of animated dinosaur models which groaned and snarled, and, in the case of the T-rex, roared loudly enough to make the viewing platform vibrate. Clever. I quite enjoyed that. We then pootled round the rest of the site and saw Nursery Land, Fairy Land, Cowboy Land, the Mouth of Hell, the Crooked House, Giant Insects, the Pirate Adventure Playground, Rumpus Mansion, the Triassic Club etc. We had our picnic in Cowboy Land then played on the slides at Snakes and Ladders. That was fun. I still fit on the slides. Just. We then went to the water gardens and the maze. The maze was fun too, and the water gardens were peaceful. They had big carp in the ponds.

 

Next we headed for the rides; we began with the spinning barrels, which my daughter insisted on spinning fast. I wasn't sick! Afterwards we queued briefly for 'The Cliffhanger' rollercoaster; this is a short ride, but you get to do it twice. It is quite exciting enough for me, but probably a little tame if you are used to Alton Towers and the like. My daughter went on a second time while I looked round 'World of Woodcraft', which was a mini-museum detailing how wood was, well, crafted in days of yore. A little more interesting than it sounds. The last ride was a water slide. Long queue, so my daughter went on it while I held our bags. She shrieked with enjoyment, as did everyone else on there. I shrieked with enjoyment last time I visited.

 

Blackgang Chine is a pleasant, if overpriced, day out. Many of the displays look a little worn and in need of some TLC, but nearly all the kids, and most of the parents, were having a great time which is what counts at the end of the day. The majority of the displays haven't changed for decades, but that is nice because you kept hearing parents saying, happily, 'I remember that from when I was a kid!'. The views along the west coast of the Island are magnificent; we could see all the way to Tennyson Down and the Needles today. The park is slowly falling into the sea due to landslip. This was obvious every time you looked at the coast, and by the fenced off area near cliff edges. However, it has been doing that for most of its existence (150 years?) and is gradually being moved further inland. Worth a visit at least once in your lifetime, preferably with smallish children.

 

View to the Needles

Smuggler at the entrance