Headon Warren

Quick walk today as I needed a blast of fresh air. I parked at The Needles Park (I got a free parking pass this year), headed through the park and back to the road, where I picked up the coastal path after a couple of minutes. Turning left off the main road I followed a lane towards the pitch and putt course, with woodland on my left and a field of cattle on my right. One rather frisky cow, quite young, with horns, decided to follow me and made a couple of mock charges before running up the hill. Good job there was a hedge in the way!

 

Just before the pitch and putt course, the path turned to the right through a wooden fence, and headed uphill. The path was stony to begin with and later turned sandy in places. It followed the boundary of the field and was bordered with brambles, gorse bushes and stinging nettles. Stout trousers required! After a little while the path turned sharply right; however, straight ahead was a clear space so I investigated as there wasn't a no entry sign. The space was a large turfed area, sprinkled with yellow trefoil flowers, with the grass kept short by rabbits. At the far side was the remains of a battery installation. I climbed the concrete steps to the top, sat by the remains of a gun emplacement, and admired the view across Alum Bay to the Needles. The sea sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine. Glorious view.

 

I made my way back to the coastal path and continued steeply uphill to the top of Headon Warren, past flowering yellow gorse, purple heather and wild honeysuckle. The wildflowers were abundant and the view from the top magnificent. The Needles were dead head, Tennyson Down to my left, and Hurst Castle to my right. Gulls and buzzards were swooping through the sky and there was barely a human being to be seen. I followed the path round until it began to descend towards Totland, and followed a track back round the other side of the Warren, coming to a Barrow after a few minutes. This was about 3500 years old and a site of national importance apparently. I made my way back to the coastal path and headed downhill. When I was back in the lane, I took the footpath to Alum Bay Chine which went through pretty woodland, then walked up the wooden steps to the Needles Park and went home. A lovely walk for lifting the spirits.

 

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4105762.html

Distance: 2.2 miles

Footpaths: coastal path, T17, T22, T23

The Needles from Headon Warren

Alum Bay Chine

 

Ventnor to Orchard Bay

Gorgeous day so a walk was called for. I drove to Ventnor and parked in town, then made my way down the main street towards the beach, passing the Winter Gardens on my left and walking down the slope past some formal gardens. The view across Ventnor Bay was stunning in the June afternoon sunlight; the sea was a glorious shade of blue, contrasting nicely with the golden brown shingle of the beach. The coastal path took me along the esplanade, past cafes and beach huts, and then up past the Spyglass Inn. I continued on up hill to the La Falais car park. The path carried on across turf, and I detoured uphill as I saw a sign for the 'La Falais Outdoor Theatre'; this was a raised patch of turf with a lovely view of the English Channel.

The path continued on, up and down hill, then down a set of wooden steps leading to Flower's Brook. This was a large lawned area, with a small pond and two brooks and lots of flowers. It used to be overlooked by the Victorian Steephill Castle, but this was demolished in the 1960s and all that remains is a wall and parapet around a housing estate.  From here, the path led on Castle Cove, with excellent sea defences but not much beach, and then to the lovely Steephill Cove. This is a beach owned and run by the residents, and is one of the Island's nicest beaches. Not easy to get to so rarely overcrowded. There are several cottages near the beach, all of different styles, one thatched, and all seemingly plonked down at random. Gorgeous!

The path led sharply to the right and uphill at the final ice cream shop, then took a sharp left, then right up a set of concrete steps. Turning left at the top of the steps, the path continued with Ventnor Cricket club behind hedges on the right, and shortly after past Ventnor Botanic Garden, also on the right behind a paling fence. The path at this point was under trees so was nice and shaded from the heat of the sun, which was a bit of a relief. The cliff edge was not far from the path, but was hidden by undergrowth, although there was the occasional gap that gave a vertiginous view to the rocks below! 

I continued along the path as far as Orchard Bay; the path to the bay was temporarily closed, presumably due to landslip, but the view down from the cliff was lovely, and also gave a great view of Orchard Bay House, which was mostly hidden from the main path. There is a house I could live in! I turned back at this point as there wasn't an awful lot of time left on my parking ticket, but instead of going back the way I came I cut across a field, on a footpath, and eventually came out on a farm track which led to the main road, past another thatched cottage and farmhouse. The track came out at the entrance to the village of St Lawrence, so I turned right and headed back to Ventnor. When I came to a turning down footpath V91, I headed down it and came out at Flower's Brook, so followed the coastal path back to Ventnor, stopping for a delicious ice cream on the way. Lovely walk!

Ventnor Bay

Orchard Bay

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4101227.html  

Distance: 3.6 miles
Footpaths: Coastal Path, V91, V84

Garlic and Shakespeare

No hiking involved today, but as we had such a lovely day I thought I'd blog about it. I asked my Mum out for lunch with me and the teenager, and we headed for the Garlic Farm near Newchurch. This, as the name implies, is a farm that grows garlic! On site is a lovely restaurant, and a shop selling all things garlicky. Lunch was impressive; teenager had a hotdog with fried potatoes and salad, Mum had a beef bourguignon pie with new potatoes and carrots, and I had a huge burger with mozzarella, fries and salad, and garlic mayo to dip the fries into. Lush. We were all stuffed by the end of the meal, and could barely waddle out. However, we managed, and pottered round the shop, then over to the neighbouring field where there was a chance to take a ferret for a walk or hold a bird of prey, for a cost. We declined to pay, but admired the animals. Then we wandered over to the designated walk round the farm, looked at some garlic trial beds, admired the Highland cattle, then decided to go home as we were too full of food to walk round the farm. Another time.

 

In the evening, teenager and I headed for Trinity Theatre in Cowes and watched the Isle of Wight Shakespeare Company's production of Henry IV. This was an abridged version of parts 1and 2, but was jolly good. There was fighting with swords, pikes, maces, and other mediaeval weaponry, and the acting was good quality. Well worth watching this company. Henry V will be on in the summer I believe. 

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

Godshill, Gat Cliff and Appuldurcombe

Teenager and I decided to revisit a walk from three years ago today. We parked in The Old Smithy car park at Godshill (free), then crossed the main road and followed the footpath to the right of The Griffin pub and through a meadow. This was full of red Campion, buttercups, blooming May trees, unfurling ferns, cow parsley and the songs of many birds. I even spotted what I think was a coal tit. At the top of the meadow we passed through a kissing gate and into a woodland full of bluebell and beech trees. The path split after a while so we took the right fork and scrambled over some muddy areas coming out eventually on a path with a coniferous hedge on the right and deer fencing on the left. At the end, by a farmhouse, we took a sharp left turn and followed the deer fencing up hill passing fields of woolly sheep, then into an empty field leading to more woods. The view from the field was spectacular; clear view of the Needles headland to the west, Whitecliff Bay to the east, and the undulating download in between. Glorious!

We followed the path through the woods before coming to a crossroads where the path split in   three directions. We initially took the wrong path GL49, then doubled back to GL48 and climbed up Gate Cliff. Fools! The path was steep, with rustic steps cut into the soil, some faced with wood, some not, the majority at a dodgy angle and the handrail generally not to be trusted. You wouldn't want it to be wet underfoot. On the plus side, extremely good for your thigh muscles.... After 139 steps we reached the top to be rewarded with even more spectacular views of the Island. We had planned to walk up to the Worsley Memorial for lunch, but the farmer had replaced the fencing and we had to walk round. Via more steps uphill. Ouch. The footpath skirted hills that had clear ridges and furrows on them. Not sure when they date from but interesting. When we found the connecting footpath, it went through a field of skittery bullocks so we decided to give the memorial a miss and kept going, sitting on the verge and eating our picnic a bit later on.

Once past the radio masts, there was a signpost to the right to GL50 to Stenbury Manor; we ignored that and took the footpath opposite, indicated by a yellow arrow, and headed downhill through a field, through another gate and along another path until we came out on a steep roadway and followed it downhill to the lane. Followed the lane for 100 yards or so, then picked up the footpath at a gravelly track by a pretty lodge, past a cowshed and into another meadow. The path led on to Appuldurcombe House; we had never been inside as there had always been a charge, but today entry was free so we went into the grounds, mooched round the ruined grandeur, sticking our heads up ancient chimneys, then bought an ice cream and carried on.

The next path took us through the Fremantle gate, past some woodland and old horse chestnut trees, then past a farm with Shetland ponies, ginger pigs, flocks of geese and alpacas. And more sheep with little tiny baa lambs. Cute. We continued on this path until we got to the main Godshill road, turned left and followed the road back to the car park. We drove home the long way, due to a diversion at Arreton, and ended up at the Garlic Farm, where we had a jolly nice cup of tea and some garlic bread.

Distance: 5 miles.
Route:  http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4093052.html
Footpaths: GL58, GL 51, GL47, GL44, GL48



Red campion



Woodland wildflowers



Hawthorn blossom



Gat Cliff steps

Appuldurcombe House

Freemantle Gate

Shorwell

Another glorious spring day on the Isle of Wight, so me and the teenager jumped in the car and drove to Shorwell, parking in the lane next to the village hall. We proceeded along Russell Road and at the end turned into a field and walked gently uphill towards Wolverton Manor, passing a paddock of brown and white sheep with horns. When we reached the road, we turned into the driveway of the manor and walked down it, through a gate at the end, across a bridge over a stream and into a small, damp copse. This was full of emerging irises, and celandines in full bloom. We walked along a dilapidated wooden walkway until we emerged in another field and followed the pathway across two fields (quite soggy) and over a couple of dilapidated stiles until we got to the main road near West Court. 

Crossing over, we walked along until we found the bridleway leading up on to Limerstone Down. At the top were glorious views along the west coast as far as Blackgang, and also views across the downland to left and right.  The path continued on through woodland bursting with wild garlic and came out on a lane bordering Northcourt, a manor house in Shorwell. Just before the end of the lane the path turned left and led steeply uphill past a wooden footbridge crossing Shorwell Shute; we had to pause and walk over the bridge and back as I had driven under it many times, but never walked on it! Back on the footpath we walked through more garlic laden woodland, bordering an old quarry named The Dell, which was a dappled haven of wildflowers. The path led on uphill, emerging onto a farm track next to the main Newport road; here we found a decomposing badger, and crossed the road onto a bridleway leading along the edge of a field and wood before coming to a gate. This led into a field of shorn sheep and gamboling lambs, then into another field and eventually coming back to Shorwell village. We stopped briefly on a bench next to a white flowered cherry tree in full bloom, bought a drink and an ice  cream each from the post office (cheaper in total than one ice cream from St Helens yesterday!), and made our way back to the car. Lovely walk!

Instead of going straight home we drove through the back lanes towards Yafford, which were one car wide so it was lucky nothing came the other way, before meeting the military road at Atherfield and driving to Freshwater and Yarmouth. The gorse bushes on the downs above Compton Bay were in full golden bloom and gorgeous to look at. We stopped off at Shalfleet, parking in the car park up the lane behind the pub, and walked up to the old quay and back, before finally heading home.

Wolverton Manor

Wolverton Sheep

Wildflowers

Distance: 3.5 miles

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4058603.html

Footpaths: SW4, SW5, SW3, SW6, SW7, SW49, S12

St Helen's, Nettlestone and Bembridge Harbour

Beautiful day today so we headed off to St Helen's, parked near The Green (free, avoided car park!) then headed west to go down Field Lane heading across fields to get to Attrill's Lane. More fields followed, before heading through a farmyard and heading right just before a bridge. Another couple of fields followed.

After a while we arrived at the back entrance of the Priory Bay Hotel, misread the instructions and wandered into the grounds where we found an interesting clock tower. We headed back, found the footpath (which brought us out at the other end of the Hotel golf course), passing a cunningly disguised mobile phone mast, walked across a field and came out on the road leading to the Duver beach, where we paused to photograph the ruined church tower and buy an ice cream at the cafe. Finally we walked along a footpath that led across a heath to the old mill pond by Bembridge Harbour, The path led along the old mill dam wall and then back up the hill to St Helen's. 

This was a lovely walk on a gloriously sunny spring day; not too taxing for out of practice walkers.  A much better description of the route can be found in "Twelve Favourite Walks on the Isle of Wight" published by the Isle of Wight Area of the Ramblers' Association.

Clock Tower

Phone Mast

Duver Church Tower

Distance: Approx: 4.5 - 5 miles

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4057886.html

Footpaths: Coastal path, R77, B12, R62, R71,