West Wight

The sun came out today for the first time in ages so a friend and I headed to Freshwater Bay and sauntered up Tennyson Down. I had forgotten that the Down goes up and up and up, but luckily the views were worth it every time I had to stop to catch my breath (quite often!). We could see a long way down the west coast of the Island, as well as along the north coast with glorious views of the River Yar sparkling in the sun, Hurst Castle and Fort Albert. The Solent was flat as a pancake and very blue.

We continued to the Tennyson Monument and then down to the replica of Nodes Beacon and carried on for a while until the Old battery was in sight. We decided to head back then as we weren't sure there was still a cafe there and were getting peckish. We went back the way we came, admiring wildlife on the way; we saw a very tame robin, a kestrel, lots of small brown birds, gulls, and a very hairy brown caterpillar. There were also lots of solitary bees around, the occasional red-bottomed bumblebee and a few flies.

Back in Freshwater we had a cup of tea at a cafe but didn't fancy their sandwiches so headed down the coast to Isle of Wight Pearl, and were extremely satisfied by the food, and sorely tempted to try their cakes. We resisted, and instead strolled round the corner and walked down to Chilton Beach and along to Brook where we picked up the coastal trail and walked along the cliffs to the car park. On a couple of occasions as we walked along the beach parts of the cliff started crumbling; these were only mini falls of pebbles and soil, and we were glad nothing worse happened! The beach was, as ever, lovely and mostly deserted apart from the occasional dog walker. We didn't get back in time for cake unfortunately, but will definitely try again in the future!

View across Tennyson Down towards the Needles

Distance: approx 9.5 miles in total

Route: https://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4717301.html 

Route: https://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4717305.html 

Chilton Chine to Brook Chine

Today was an absolutely glorious winter day with clear blue skies, low temperatures and a slight breeze. Gorgeous! We were going to go on a hilly walk but the teenager wasn't feeling overly energetic so we headed to Chilton Chine and one of my favourite beaches on the Island. The tide was starting to come in but we had four hours or so until high tide, so we started down the steps to the beach (not for the faint hearted at the bottom) and strode off towards Brook.

There was lots to see; this part of the Island has amazing geology with crumbling cliff faces, and random boulders on the shore. We think we saw a cast of a dinosaur footprint but neither of us really know what we're looking for! The boulders are wonderful, eroded by the sea into weird and wonderful shapes, somewhat like the teeth of giants in places. I love the red reef here, punctuated by rock pools and stretching out to sea. The surf starts some distance out, and is good for proper surfing further up the coast. At one point we noticed somebody had been doing some extreme recycling; there was a rope ladder dangling down the cliff face with some plastic crates piled above in a crevice with ropes dangling towards them. Odd!

The coastal views are glorious, stretching to Freshwater Bay and Tennyson Down in the north and down to Blackgang Chine in the south. The crumbling clay cliffs are replaced by soaring chalk downs at Freshwater, making a stark yet beautiful contrast. 

Once we got to Brook Chine we paused briefly then headed briskly back, not wanting to be caught by the high tide. I think we had plenty of time, but it isn't a good coast to be caught out on. Definitely a walk worth doing regularly!

Distance: 3.8 miles
Route: https://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4691335.html 

Dinosaur foot cast?

Extreme recycling

Brook Chine

View to Tennyson Down

Chilton Chine

Hulverstone and Brook

We decided on a short walk today as it was hot, and the boys needed to use up some energy, but without getting to the whinging stage. To that end we picked the ‘Brook, Hulverstone’ walk from the IOW Ramblers book as it was only three miles long. We couldn’t find the suggested start point, so parked next to The Sun Inn at Hulverstone, and picked up the first footpath shortly afterwards (BS46). This led alongside a wheat field then led into a sheep paddock, and past a small copse, before the path led out onto a lane leading to Brook village and the sea.

We followed the lane to Badgers Lane (BS107) and turned up here, following uphill towards Brook Down. I had forgotten that there would be uphill parts (on the Isle of Wight there are ALWAYS uphill parts!) and my legs complained after yesterday’s walk.  Anyway, the path led on, bordered by fields and verged with wildflowers, past an unusual bench and up to Brook Down via BS49. When we got to the top of the path (nowhere near the top of the down) we stopped for a breather and admired the view to the west of Tennyson Down and the English Channel. Glorious. The downs were full of wildflowers, and on the crest we could see three prehistoric barrows against the skyline. The children were not interested. Ah well.

The path turned to the right (BS89)and we followed it past a herd of Galloway cattle, employed to keep the turf short; being the wimps that we are, we tiptoed past them until we realised that they couldn’t get down to our path without leaping and breaking their legs! To the right of the path was a paddock which we assumed was used for horse jumping as it had a number of small obstacles and fences, including a tiny house which we found amusing. The path ended at a road, so we turned right and followed it until we came to the entrance of Brook Hill House (S39).

The path led up a fine driveway among well cared for landscaped grounds. There was no sign of the house from this vantage point, but it could be seen clearly against the hill at the start of our walk. After a while, the drive turned to the right and the footpath to the left, leading through some woodland. When we came to another gate, there was a path leading straight on to National Trust land and the Long Stone, and one plunging downhill to the right through the woods. We took the latter path; the woods were well managed, with several stacks of logs, plenty of bluebells and many trees. Very peaceful and lovely. The path emerged into a meadow full of clover and wild grasses, then led through another meadow before we hopped over a stile, followed a narrow path and emerged back on the main road and found the car.  A lovely short walk, with just the right amount of hills and beautiful scenery.

Distance: 3 miles

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4093743.html

Footpaths: BS46, BS107, BS49, BS89, S39, BS45.

View to Tennyson Down

Galloway cow