And off we go adventuring , lets see what Isle of Wight has to offer . All roads seem to take us down narrow country lanes , even the main roads aren't terribly large - glad we're not dragging the 5th wheeler around here !! First up is the town of Shanklin , with lots of two storey terrace houses in all styles - we were told that it's like stepping back 50 years here on the isle , and I now believe it .
Further into town and we find the road that leads to the beach and a carpark , this is the view to the north from the carpark , with a row of beach huts lining the bottom of the cliff . The beach wasn't doing anything to inspire us yet - either was the weather !! The wind was cutting into us , temperature was getting to a max of 18 today - can pull it's socks up , it only feels like half of that !
Further to the north is Sandown Bay , with some houses and a monument poking skywards , all sitting on these white cliffs .
Looking south , here's the beach . Justin & Isla played on the beach while we went for a walk down the beach . Yes this is what they call a beach here ???? Hmm , again , not what we'd call a beach . The sections going out into the water are for retaining the sand apparently .
Amusement arcades line the promenade , as well as the obligatory ice cream shop , and somewhere to purchase you're sand bucket , spade , bathers ( as they call them ) , sunscreen etc , and food shops . The high structure out the back is a lift , so you can down to the beach and back up again - only costs 1pound each way !!
Just so you know we were actually here , all dressed in our finest Summer clothes , wished we'd packed a beanie & neck warmer 😂
Down the southern end of the beach is the Fisherman's Cottage Inn - another pub / restaurant .
This is inside , I had to duck as I went through the front door , the ceiling isn't much higher !
Back into the car and down to Ventnor , again car into a paid parking lot and walk to the beach . There's some pretty steep streets here , one came down nearly at 45 degrees . One way streets are a favourite here to keep traffic moving , otherwise it wouldn't work .
Didn't know The Smart Cars came out in a racing version 😂 Probably the best car to have over here given the space you have to drive on .
We sat at some tables overlooking the beach , the wind coming off the English Channel was worse than it was earlier .
The coastline here is equally impressive .
Houses have been painted in bright colours , the one on the left was built in 1867 .
Where we had lunch looked over the beach and carpark , pink flowers were carpeting the hillside .
Views of town , there is a fairly high ratio of churches to people here , same can be said about the ratio of pubs to people also .
We'd seen these around the place , but finally got to take a photo of one in flower . The flower spike is over a metre tall .
Leaving Ventnor , we headed toward the southern end of the Isle . There are walking tracks everywhere here - they're called Public Pathways , and wind through farmland and waterfront all over the place . I got Justin to drop me off at one so I could get some photos of a white cliff I could see in the distance - this'll be easy right , walk up past the guernsey cows to the cliff edge and wallah - no , not even close , this is what I found .
The water certainly wasn't appealing either , black sand and dirty brown water ( at least it was sand ). The quick walk turned into a 5klm hike along the track to where I could get said photo's of the cliffs !
And here they are , the wind hadn't abated , and it was still cold .
More of the cliffs , and to my surprise , the road went over the top of the cliff !!!!! Annoyed , you bet !
As my walk brought me back toward the road at the 5klm mark , I passed this little cottage , straight out of a fairy tale book , with thatched roof and rock fence , as well as the British flag flying proudly .
And with that our day was done , back to the cabin for a well earned beer . Here's a map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1lsvs8O3NzwXwHgiC0bwcbtYQQl-MfEc&usp=sharing
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