Wootton and Briddlesford

Three of us set off on a exploration of the Wootton area this morning, at crack of dawn. Not entirely sure why, but it seemed like a good idea. We parked the car in Fernside Way, strolled round the corner to Station Road and turned left and went in search of a footpath. We rejected the first one we saw and took the second, heading blindly on (we did have a map but, well,...) until we eventually reached Briddlesford Road. We turned right again and continued until we got to Knights Cross and turned left down a farm track, past Knights Farm, and an antiques emporium until we came to the delightful Trufffles Tiny Campsite.

This was the main reason for the walk, as we had read about the campsite on Twitter and wanted to check it out. We were beguiled immediately! This was proper, almost wild, camping. With Llamas. We were shown around by Marnie, and saw the compost toilets (fantastic) and the wood burner, sunken fridge (butler sink with a lid), woodfire and solar heated shower, and outdoor kitchen area. Amazing. I felt like I wanted to live there all summer! I hope that it works out well as it is a lovely idea.

Afterwards we walked to Briddlesford Copse with Marnie and Stewart (a wild camper), and said goodbye, and then continued on to Wootton through Fernhill woods, past the ice house and Hurst Copse, picking blackberries on the way, then stopping at The Sloop for lunch before going home. Lovely!

Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/660662
Distance: 4.5 miles

Compost Toilet 

Camp kitchen

West Wight Alpacas

As the sun was still out we had a family outing (three generations) to West Wight Alpacas in Wellow. I had heard lots of good things about this place from a variety of people, so when Mum suggested we went I leapt at the idea.

We drove through the back lanes of the Island to get there (not necessary really, but a pleasant drive), and arrived at the site on the main Wellow road. We paid our small entrance fee in the café and headed off to admire the chickens, ducks and guinea fowl in the nearby paddock. The chickens were plentiful and came in a huge range of colourings, and were accompanied by the most splendiferous cockerel I have ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on. He had magnificent green, red and bronze colouring and strutted his stuff amongst his harem. We purchased a pot of bird food and all had fun throwing it for the birds to eat, with the teenager piling some on her shoe and allowing chickens to peck the seed off, much to all our amusement.

After this we wandered around the outside of the paddocks admiring the alpacas, donkeys, rheas and llamas. The alpacas and llamas were unshorn and very fleecy, and came in a variety of shades of cream and brown. There was a choice of a short walk and a long walk around the paddocks, and we chose the short walk as there was a chilly breeze today.

Once we had seen all the animals we stopped in the café  for refreshments. I had a very generous pot of tea and shared a tasty rock cake with my Mum, while the teenager scoffed a bowl of freshly made chunky chips. There was also a shop selling alpaca and llama wool, and a range of handmade knitwear. We admired all and I wished I was a better knitter! To finish off I bought some fresh eggs, blue in colour. Beautiful! This was a lovely afternoon out, and I shall definitely visit again.