Southland Caravan Club Site

Another warm sunny morning. We had a nice cooked breakfast before packing up the Caravan and heading off to Fishbourne for the Midday Ferry.  We had an uneventful journey and arrived home about 5:00 pm.

Cowes

It was a nice warm and sunny morning so we decided to take down the awning to save time in the morning.

Then we went to East Cowes. We had a walk down by the water and a stroll around the shops.

Then we went across the floating bridge to Cowes, one of only five remaining chain ferries in the UK. It dates from 1975 although a ferry has worked this route since 1720.

One of the most upmarket parts of the island it consists of a warren of narrow streets lined with smart shops and old historic pubs.

Then we headed off to Wetherspoons in Newport for tea before nipping to Ryde for a second helping of the Waltzing Waters.

Godshill, Sandown and Shanklin

It was raining again this morning when I had to make an early trip to the toilet but by the time we got up it was starting to brighten up. We drove the 4 miles or so to Godshill, the quintessential English Village, which boasts some of the oldest architecture on the Isle of Wight.




With its delightful medieval church, charming thatched-roofed cottages and a winding main-street lined with traditional tearooms, Godshill is as picturesque as it is popular.

After a nice two scoop ice cream we set off to Sandown for a little window shopping and a stroll along the pier, where we saw the paddle steamer Waverley steam past the pier. I found Sandown to be a little underwhelming, so we headed off to Shanklin.

We parked on the sea front and used the Cliff Lift and walked into town. After an hour of window shopping it looked like there was some rain brewing so we headed back for the Cliff Lift. It just started raining as we arrived at the lift so when we got to the bottom we sat it out in a shelter on the sea front for 20 minutes or so, before heading off back to the caravan.

Bembridge Windmill

This morning the we had wall to wall blue skies. It was a very warm and pleasant morning.

We drove to the 8 miles or so Bembridge Windmill. The grade 1 listed building was built around 1700 and is the last remaining windmill on the island.  The mill was working by wind until 1913, having only been used for grinding animal feed after 1897. The mill was restored in 1935 and again in 1959, and was taken over by the National Trust in 1962.

We then drove into Bembridge and had a look around the RNLI lifeboat station until it was time for our Afternoon Tea, booked at the Bembridge Coast Hotel, another Birthday present for Maddy from her friends. It was very nice but not as good as the one we had in Alnwick in August.

Then it was off to Ryde for an hours shopping and a walk onto the pier before stopping off for a bag of chips on the way back to the caravan.

Osborne House and Carrisbrooke Castle

It rained all night, but by the time we got up it had stopped and the sun was out. It was a little windy but there were plenty of blue skies.

We went to Osborne House the former country retreat of Queen Victoria.Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought Osborne House in 1845. It soon became obvious that it was too small for their needs so the decided to rebuild it. The new Osborne House was built in the style of the Italian Renaissance complete with two towers between 1845 and 1851. Prince Albert designed the house himself in conjunction with builder Thomas Cubitt, who also built the main façade of Buckingham Palace. The sale of the Royal Pavilion at Brighton paid for much of the new house's furnishings.

When Prince Albert died in 1861 it became Queen Victoria's main residence until she herself died at Osborne House in 1901. Although she left instructions in her will that it should remain in the family, no-one in the family wanted it so the new king Edwards VII presented it to the nation.

By the time we had done the Tour of the House it had clouded over and we were now getting some fairly heavy showers. We walked down to the Beach and then up to the Swiss Cottage which has child size furniture and was built to encourage children to learn domestic skills.

Then we Drove to Pizza Hut in Newport for a Buffet lunch. By now we were having some quite long heavy showers. Then it was off to Carisbrooke Castle.


Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle near Newport, where King Charles I was imprisoned in the months prior to his trial and subsequent execution in London. Carisbrooke was the strongest castle on the Island. Seventy-one steps lead up to the keep and the view is very impressive. In the centre of the castle enclosure are the domestic buildings. These are mostly of the 13th century, with upper parts of the 16th century. Some are in ruins, but the main rooms were used as the official residence of the Governor of the Isle of Wight until the 1940s, and they remain in good repair.

You can also walk almost all of the well preserved battlements with beautiful views all across the island

The castle also has a sixteenth century well house where water is brought up from the 48 metre deep well, by a donkey walking inside a huge treadmill.

In the evening we drove into Ryde for the Waltzing Waters spectacular water, light and music show. which was well worth the visit.

Needles Old and New Battery

Very dull this morning with total cloud cover, although it wasn't cold.

After breaksfast and a bit of a chill we headed off the 17 or so miles to the Needles Batteries. By the time we arrived at the needles it was raining quite heavily, and was very windy. Cars are not allowed on the access road to the batteries so we spent £4.50 to park at the Needles attraction and started the three quarters of a mile walk up to the Needles Batteries, in the driving rain.

The Needles Old Battery dates back to 1862, and it doesn’t only make for a beautiful vantage point to admire views across the Solent but it’s played a part in both World Wars. A series of new rooms tell the story of the battery and its uses and the stories are illustrated with vibrant cartoons to bring them to life. The Parade Ground still includes a pair of original guns and if you follow the underground tunnel you’ll discover a searchlight emplacement which takes in dramatic views across the famous Needles rocks.

The New Battery holds a few surprises of its own too, and the modest exhibition in its underground spaces shows visitors how it was used for testing British rockets during the ’race for space’. The creation of the rockets was cloaked in secrecy, and the battery, found just a little further along on the headland than the Old Battery, made the place for testing the rocket engines. The actual testing of the rockets themselves was done in Woomera Australia.

As we walked back down towards the car it was starting to brighten up and the sun came out and it turned out to be a pleasant evening.

Appuldurcombe House

The sun was out when when got up this morning, and it turned out to be a lovely warm sunny day.

We decided to drive the 3 and a half miles to Appuldurcombe house. Once the grandest house on the Isle of Wight, the 18th century baroque country home of the Worsley family is now just a shell. The 11 acres grounds were designed by capability Brown. It is also the Home of the Isle of Wight Owl and Faconry Centre, and a bit of a haven for wildlife. We did catch site of a red squirrel in the trees, but bt the time I had the camera out it was gone.



After a drive through the picturesque chocolate box village of Godshill we decided to head for the Medina Quay Table Table restaurant in Newport for tea so we could spend the vouchers bought as a Christmas present by Maddy's brother Martin and his wife Jackie.

On the way back to the caravan we called in at Ryde for a look at the hovercraft's.

Southland Caravan Club Site, Isle of Wight

It was a little damp and foggy when we got up this morning. By the time we got the caravan packed up and headed off to Portsmouth for our 13:00 pm ferry the sun had come out and it turned out to be a lovely warm day. 

We arrived at the Wightlink Ferry Port at Gunwharf Quay about 11:30 am and the Ferry was a about 15 minutes late leaving late leaving. It only took about 25 minutes or so to drive to Southland Caravan Club site, down some very narrow lanes.

After setting up the Caravan and erecting the awning, we had a nice cuppa in the the sun, before driving the 3 miles or so to Lidl in Shanklin for a little shopping. We then had a drive along Shanklin Esplanade before heading back to the Caravan for tean and a relaxing evening.

Sunnydale Farm Camping And Caravanning Club Site, Southampton

We decided to travel down to Southampton for our Week on the Isle of Wight, so that we could visit Maddy's son Toby who is currently studying at Southampton University. It was a little dull when we got up but the sun was breaking through by the time we left at around 11:00 am, although when we arrived around 3:00 pm it had started to rain a little although it didn't amount to much. It was clear though from how wet the pitches were that they had had a lot more rain in Southampton. Sunnydale Farm Camping and Caravan site is a family run site 3 miles East of Southampton with 47 level serviced pitches. Electric Hook Ups were 10 amp and TV reception was very good. We set up the caravan, had a nice cuppa and then headed off to meet Toby at the house he is sharing with eight other students. After a quick tour we took him out for dinner at the local Harvester Restaurant. We dropped him back at about 8:00 pm and headed back to the caravan.