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

Godshill

A friend and I fancied an afternoon out, rather than watch the royal wedding or the cup final, so we headed to Godshill and the Old Smithy car park. We then wandered across the road and into the first tea shop we saw, Old World Tea Rooms, and had a delicious cream tea. For lunch. Who cares, it was delicious and the sun was out.

 

Afterwards we walked to the side of the Griffin Inn and walked up the footpath and along the field, bordered by red Campion and horse chestnuts in full bloom. Gorgeous! The path led into the woods and uphill past the faded remnants of swathes of bluebells, through a field of sheep and lambs and down towards another, more gravelled, footpath. We had a choice of routes from here, and chose the one that led towards Appuldurcombe and Wroxall as we hadn't come out where I expected to. I had forgotten that I normally head up Gat Cliff and then down to Appuldurcombe, and had missed the turning in any case.

 

The walk to Appuldurcombe is lovely, passing through the magnificent Freemantle Gate, and into fields with sweeping views of the surrounding countryside; today we could see the seamark on the downs above Ryde, and Culver Cliff near Sandown.  Appuldurcombe was closed for a wedding, and we could see the party gathered about the ornamental fountain, and that they had two alpacas present. Unusual!

 

We walked as far as the road and the lovely Span Cottage, then retraced our steps to the junction and then down the path to Godshill, coming out just beyond the village on the main road. We headed back to the car park, browsed the Old Smithy shop then had another cuppa and a cake. Don't tell Slimming World...! This is a lovely afternoon's amble, particularly at this time of year.

 

Route: https://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4742040.html
Distance: 4.5 miles




Freemantle Gate, from Godshill



Freemantle Gate, from Wroxall



Appuldurcombe House

April

Ryde to Seaview
A brisk impromptu stomp along the seafront to the Seaview Hotel, (stopped for a cuppa),  and back, with a friend, putting the world to rights. Lovely! Excellent views across the Solent too.

 

Cowes

A brisk walk through the town and on to Egypt Point lighthouse and back in the rain, stopping off for a cuppa at Coast. Lovely way to clear the cobwebs away.

 

Quay Arts

Popped in for lunch (lovely) and had a peek at the current exhibition. Definitely worth a visit. Excellent exhibition of body sculptures and art (Olympians and meta humans) by artist Louisa Giblin.

 

Isle of Wight Cantata Choir

The IOW Cantata Choir gave a strong rendition of Verdi's Requiem, ably accompanied by the IOW Symphony Orchestra and four superb soloists. Another excellent evening out.

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 

Nottingham

Another trip to the north island, this time in a car and crossing seven counties and using several busy A-roads and motorways. The speed limit was definitely more than 40mph. Whoop! However, the trip still took ages as there were several hold ups along the way. Nottingham also has worse potholes in the roads than the Isle of Wight. Incredible.

 

On Saturday we pootled around the local area with a trip to Sherwood via the large park, which had the front half of a full scale model steam engine poking out of a disused tunnel, then popped into some shops before heading home. We had lunch then some of us pottered up to Mapperley Top, poked around the charity shops (lots of goodies!), had a cuppa and a biscuit before heading home again to eat homemade pizza and watch films. Good day.

On Sunday we herded the children into the car and drove to Rufford Abbey Country Park and spent a couple of hours wandering round completing the Easter Egg Hunt, admiring the birds on the lake (saw a Moorhen nest), playing in the maze and joining in the local sport of booing drivers who drove slowly through the ford, while cheering those that went through fast. The best part was when a slow driver was overtaken by a fast driver in a four by four. Hilarious. You probably had to be there...

We went home then and had a lazy afternoon followed by roast dinner and silly card games once the little ones were in bed. If anyone has a copy of 'Plague and Pestilence' that they would like to give me I'd be very grateful!



Rufford Abbey 

Final day meant heading back to the Island. We had booked a late ferry, but set off early and zoomed down the M1 (it's so nice to drive at more than 40mph for a sustained period of time), to Bletchley Park, where we spent a pleasant afternoon finding out about cipher cracking during both world wars, the bombe machines that were built to crack Enigma, and the people that worked there. Fascinating. They also make excellent chocolate brownies and cups of tea! Afterwards we headed home, and caught an earlier ferry which was then held up for an hour or so due to a medical emergency. Never mind, we were still home earlier than planned. Excellent weekend.

 

Quarr Abbey to Cowes

Another stretch of the coastal path today, starting with delicious tea and cake at Quarr Abbey Tearooms. My friend and I had been given a lift to the Abbey by my Mother, who also had tea and cake, so that we could walk back to Cowes.

Once the cake was eaten, and the piglets had been admired (obligatory), we set off along the path. This was lovely, and led eventually to Fishbourne Lane, coming out just by the pub beyond the ferry terminal, and then following the road to the next footpath on the right. This led into the village of Wootton Bridge, past a house being built near the pub which had lovely sculptures and shells set into the walls, rambled among the housing estate (where we took a minor detour due to an ambiguous signpost), and then onto the long and winding Brocks Copse Road. I had never been down this road, and we discovered some lovely Victorian lodges, a small road bridge over a sluggish stream, and a cherry tree bearing almost ripe fruit. We foraged briefly! We were also accosted several times by a lady whose sat nav was sending her everywhere except Osborne House; she was working here for Cowes Week, had to pick somebody up, and was getting very confused. We sent her in the right direction several times and guessed that she got there eventually when she failed to show up again.

Brocks Copse Road became Alverstone Road, and emerged on the main East Cowes road by The Forge at Whippingham. The coastal path led along the main road from here, so we continued along, stopping for a cup of tea at Osborne House, home of Queen Victoria, and then continued down into East Cowes, poked around the charity shops and caught the new floating bridge to Cowes. Another lovely, rather breezy and occasionally wet, walk completed.

Route: https://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4588940.html

           https://www.visitisleofwight.co.uk/dbimgs/6.Ryde-Cowes.pdf

Distance: 6.9 miles

Cat detail on house, Wootton Bridge

Lodge gate

Cowes Hammerhead Crane

Floating Bridge

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

Firestone Copse

Well, it was high time I got off my behind and went for a proper stomp again. With that in mind, teenager and I headed off to Firestone Copse near Wootton (on one of the hottest days of the year so far) and went for a shady stroll through the trees. It was lovely! Neither of us had ever really explored the copse so we went wherever a whim took us, turning right here, left there, and eventually ending up on the banks of Wootton Creek. Here the path was riddled with exposed roots and strewn with fir cones, with patches of golden sunlight streaming through. We were enchanted. I had only really seen the creek from the road or the ferry before, so this stretch was new to me. The path continued on and gently up, and we pottered along deserted woodland paths by the banks of dried up streams before eventually turning a corner and finding the carpark. Here we found lots of people returning from dog walking, or starting a family barbecue in the shade of the trees.

Our next stop was Quarr Abbey, where we stopped for a nice cup of tea and some people watching, before admiring the piglets (some very new born and exceedingly cute!) and heading home via the seaside where we stopped for a quick paddle. It's great to live on this Island.

Creekside Path

Quarr Piglets

Log piles

Yarmouth

New Year's Day, so a picnic was called for. Obviously. We hopped into the car and drove to Bouldner Viewpoint car park, then followed a steep path down to the seawall. I had hoped to turn right at the bottom and stroll along to Hampstead, but the seawall ended abruptly after 100yards and it wasn't possible to get to the beach. We turned round and walked along the wall to Yarmouth Common, then turned uphill, then right along a narrow street lined with old and interesting houses and continued until we got to the town square. Being in need of a picnic, we located the bus shelter by the ferry terminal and sat and ate. The weather was a bit cold, damp and drizzly to sit outside unfortunately. After lunch we had a cuppa at The Gossips Cafe at the foot of the pier, before heading back to the car, this time following the main road from the common. Pleasant walk.

Distance: 2 miles
Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_3988412.html

Chessell Pottery

My Mum won a prize of 'tea for two' at Chessell Pottery and invited me along. We opted for the savoury tea, and had homemade cheese scones with butter, homemade chutney, cheddar and Gallybagger cheese. And a large pot of tea. Delicious! Afterwards we pottered in the gift shop and admired the pottery, bought some bits and pieces then left. As we were in the vicinity we went to Winkle Street, parking just up the road by Calbourne Church. The church was open so we went in, as neither of us had visited before. This is a very old church, around 800 years in places, and in desperate need of renovation. This is being done, but there were obvious signs of age and deterioration. That being said, it was a lovely church, quiet and peaceful with plenty of history and interesting architecture.

 

We wondered down the road to Winkle Street, which has a stream, the Caul Bourne, running down one side with little private bridges crossing it, and a row of (mostly) thatched cottages opposite. I think that is what people have in mind when they say picturesque! Very pleasant.

 

Calbourne Church 

Winkle Street

 

Staycation Day 5

We had a lazy day today, starting after lunch and doing minimal walking. We caught the bus to Newport then caught another to Freshwater Bay. This was a double decker and gave us views we had never seen before. The first magnificent view was of Carisbrooke Castle as we sped along the middle road; we could see it in all its glory as it stood upon the hill. After this we drove through the countryside, speeding through the villages of Shorwell, Brighstone, Mottistone and Brook and getting to gaze over hedges and see fields, gardens and allotments that you can't see from a car. The bus then turned along the Military Road and headed for Freshwater. There were good views along the coast and over the sea.

 

We hopped off at Freshwater Bay and headed for Dimbola Lodge, home of the Victorian photography pioneer Julia Margaret Cameron. There were several exhibitions on, all of which were interesting. The permanent exhibitions were of Mrs Cameron's life and work, which was quite interesting, and one about the Isle of Wight Festivals. The main visiting exhibition was by TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham, and was stunning. The pictures of elephants were particularly good, but all were eye-catching. There was also a small exhibition by Chris Jones featuring landscape shots, as well as an exhibition by students from Medina College which was interesting. Afterwards we browsed in the gift shop then went to the tea room. Oh my! I had a pot of tea for one, which yielded three cups of tea before refilling with hot water, and the most enormous slice of delicious homemade chocolate cake. Sod the diet! My daughter had a refined packet of crisps and a coke. No taste!

 

Our next jaunt took us on the Needles Breezer, an open top bus tour, which we joined at Freshwater Bay. The tour took us through Totland then on to the Needles Park at Alum Bay, then up the cliff road to the Needles Batteries and rocket testing site. Sitting at the front of the top deck of a double decker bus, driving along a narrow road on the edge of a cliff is possibly one of the most nerve wracking journeys you can do in the UK. The bus had a commentary which was mostly along the lines of 'Just to your right, behind the hedge where you can't see it, is....' which was amusing, and only ruined when a couple of very loud chaps got on at Colwell and talked over it. They didn't respond to raised eyebrows or 'tuts' unfortunately. We got off at Yarmouth, which was the end of the line.

 

As it was a beautiful evening, and we had a while until the Newport bus arrived, we went for a stroll around the town. Yarmouth is very small but has a variety of shops, delis and pubs and consequently smelled scrumptious. We decided to stay for tea. First though we went for a walk up Yarmouth Pier; this wasn't a very long pier but it was pretty and had lots of people fishing off the end. Every plank on the pier had been sponsored by local people and organisations too. We had tea at The Bugle, in the town square. I had a delicious homemade fish pie, with bread and salad while my daughter had scampi, chips and salad. They were good sized portions and we were absolutely stuffed by the end. Might go there again!

 

We caught the bus back to Newport, via Shalfleet, then another bus back to Cowes and waddled home. A good day out.

 

Buses: 1, 12, Needles Breezer, 7

 

Tea and cake at Dimbola Lodge

Jimi Hendrix statue at Dimbola Lodge