Go “Walking and Sightseeing” on the Isle of Wight – Part 1

Yet another holiday with hf holidays, this one on the Isle of Wight, staying at……

.......Freshwater Bay House. — …….Freshwater Bay House.

The walk on the Sunday was to…..

.......Mottistone Gardens — …….Mottistone Gardens

…….which were not at their best as it was too early for the roses and for the herbaceous borders, although the bluebells were out. The walk there was great, though. First over the golf course and onto and along the downs……

.....looking back at Freshwater Bay..... — …..looking back at Freshwater Bay…..

.....and over Yarmouth and the Solent. (Heat caused it to be hazy!) — …..and over Yarmouth and the Solent. (Heat caused it to be hazy!)

There were cowslips and orchids and loads of bluebells and even a couple of larks singing overhead – lovely. We followed the Tennyson Trail for part of the way and had to wait at the start of…..

......this avenue....... — ……this avenue…….

……for a taxi to come to pick up one lady who was not coping with the distance/speed (she was very slow)/heat. Her husband didn’t go with her! We continued on, mostly through woodland, to…..

......the Long Stone.... — ……the Long Stone….

……and from there down to Mottistone Gardens which we had plenty of time to explore before the coach picked us up.

Day 2, Monday, was……

......steam trains....... — ……steam trains…….

…….and a Roman villa. It would have been a vineyard as well, but it was closed – which was a good thing as far as I was concerned. We started at Havenstreet and I headed…..

......along the sidings..... — ……along the sidings…..

…….towards “Train Story”, but a notice said it didn’t open until 11.00 and our train was at 11.15 so I got a drink instead. When the train arrived we walked along it looking in at the carriages.

Do you remember the individual compartments, leather straps to hold up the windows, the “don’t lean out of the windows” and “don’t open the door when the train is moving” notices? The posters on the walls and the mirror? We had third class carriages, but they were’t that different. We took the train along to Wooton at one end of the line and then right to Smallbrock Junction at the other end – reminiscing as we went!

Period posters on the station - the cricket match was 1912! — Period posters on the station – the cricket match was 1912!

We came back part of the way to……

…..which was a request stop. The driver had to be told we were getting off there before we started. From there…..

......we left the station to start our walk. — ……we left the station to start our walk.

We walked along paths and fields, mostly, and had some good views, including……

......of the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth - not on the island as it looked! — ……of the Spinnaker Tower – in Portsmouth – not on the island as it looked!

After climbing a fairly steep hill we eventually came out to a view over…….

.....the countryside, including Brading Roman Villa...... — …..the countryside, including Brading Roman Villa……

…where we were heading. We had plenty of time to look round as well as have drinks. It was a bit oddly interpreted, but there were some interesting mosaics……

.....man with a cock's head?.... — …..man with a cock’s head?….

.....and what was this one? - Methuselah in the centre maybe? — …..and what was this one? – something to do with the seasons?

A good day! I want…..

.....to be a (steam) train driver when I grow up!! — …..to be a (steam) train driver when I grow up!!

Day 3, Tuesday, was to………

......Carisbrooke Castle.... — ……Carisbrooke Castle….

……which I didn’t find that interesting. The walk there was again pleasant, along…..

…..often with good views, but also along woodland paths. The day was notable for the amount of….

…..which was fairly smelly and for the……

....attractive sunken paths, with deep banks with ferns growing on them. — ….attractive sunken paths, with deep banks with ferns and wild flowers growing on them.

We had lunch……

......looking over the castle...... — ……looking over the castle……

…….before walking the final stretch to get there. I looked at…..

......the stairs up to the keep and the walls..... — ……the stairs up to the keep and the walls…..

…..and thought it would be nice to go up there but I probably wouldn’t be able to get down! I enjoyed the…..

......Princess Beatrice Garden...... — ……Princess Beatrice Garden……

……and the donkeys, who were not working the wheel as they didn’t have enough staff that day. This is…..

…..and Jill was in the stable but too busy eating to come out and see us. Juno and Jack were supposed to be in the field, but Jack is apparently an escape artist and can let them all out of the stable and had escaped from the field without there being any obvious gap! The walking groups also finished at the Castle that day so we all got the coach back together.

Good days, lovely weather, (mostly) pleasant people.

(See part 2 for the rest!)

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