Homeward Bound

It was very misty the next morning as we left Ryde Pier on the ferry to Portsmouth harbour.

Spinnaker Tower

Paddle Steamer

We split up at Portsmouth Harbour as Margaret was going to London to see her son and I was going to Cornwall for a week with Anita and Jean.........but that's another story.
All it remains to say is that the Isle of Wight is easily accessible without a car, has a brilliant bus service, can be walked around in a week, has very varied coastal walking and above all brilliant weather! We can highly recommend it as a long distance walk although some parts are falling into the sea.
Many thanks Margaret for leading another successful walk. Where next I wonder?!

Day 6 Gurnard Bay to Ryde 10 miles

Our last day and an easy one. Rain overnight had freshened the countryside and cleared away before breakfast.
This was Margaret's breakfast!

Back to Gurnard Bay and an easy walk along the promenade into Cowes.

Health and Safety!

 Things got a bit smarter as we entered Cowes and passed the Royal Yacht Club.

Winston Churchill's parents met here

We had a cup of coffee and a bun in Cowes at 'Steam' near the ferry terminal. A great place to watch all manner of people coming and going. Then a ride on the chain ferry across to East Cowes, free for foot passengers.

There was quite a lot of road walking today but we broke it up a bit by visiting Osborne House on the way. We didn't pay to go in as it was too expensive  for a quick visit so this is all we saw of it.

However we did make use of their toilet facilities so it wasn't a wasted visit!
More road walking along minor roads took us to Wootton Bridge and the Sloop Inn where we found a seat to eat our packed lunch..

A bit more road walking and then we were in Fishbourne, a wooded area with large houses. A red squirrel posed on a fence to have his photo taken. There aren't any grey squirrels on the Isle of Wight and the occasional one that finds its way there is removed.

Red Squirrel

From here it wasn't far to Quarr Abbey, the home of a small number of Benedictine monks. We might have passed this by but Gian Giblett, the owner of our B&B was the architect who designed the tea room and he recommended it to us

Quarr Abbey

Old Abbey remains

Quarr Abbey tea rooms

The brickwork on the abbey was absolutely stunning and the tea and scones were very welcome too.
 We were now nearing the end of our walk and it wasn't too long before Ryde Pier came into sight and our walk was over. This was the first pier in Britain and has just celebrated its 200th anniversary.

 Right at the end we overtook a group of walkers who were three days into their own walk around the island and they were bemoaning the fact that they had hardly seen the sea. We were able to re-assure them that the best was yet to come for them. We felt as though we had started and finished in the right place and also stayed in the best place for catching buses.

Day 5 Yarmouth to Gurnard Bay 16 miles

This was to be our longest day and typical of the longest days on previous walks we have done it was a day of diversions that made it even longer than planned. A rather frustrating day but it had some good points. There was thunder rumbling in the distance as we ate our breakfast and as we boarded the bus rain was falling. There was quite a heavy shower but by the time we reached Yarmouth the skies had cleared and that was the only rain we saw all week.
We started off OK in Yarmouth with a walk beside the sea.

The path then entered a wooded area and wound its way through Bouldner Forest before emerging on an unspoiled beach just made for skimming stones.

This side of the island is largely undeveloped although parts of the coast are inaccessible due to ownership by the M.O.D and private properties and tidal creeks and mudflats.

There are many very large houses on the island and prices are cheaper than the mainland so it is an attractive place to live in retirement.
The path continued through woods and leafy lanes until it came out on to the main road near Shalfleet. After turning left at the New Inn we encountered our first diversion of the day as the wooden bridge near Shalfleet Mill was closed for repairs.

We decided to sit outside the New Inn to have our lunch at this point. Fortunately it was only a small diversion and we were soon back on track on the road to Newtown, a small village with a lot of history.

Newtown Town Hall 1669

Noah's Ark

The Noah's Ark is now a private house but used to be the village inn until 1916.
The route followed field paths and wooded areas before emerging on the road to Porchfield where we found a convenient seat for a tea break.

Porchfield

 It was quite tricky walking on the narrow roads round here as there weren't any footpaths but we were soon heading back towards the coast again reaching a holiday complex at Thorness Bay. It wasn't the best place to stay for young families more of a dog walkers paradise I would have thought.

Thorness Bay

We thought it would be easy now over the cliffs to Gurnard Bay but of course just when you think like that you come across another diversion. This one took us well inland as once again the cliffs were in a dangerous condition. This added an extra mile to our walk just when we didn't want it.
We did eventually reach Gurnard Bay

Gurnard Bay

This was probably my least favourite day but it was good to see the undeveloped side of the island in its natural state. An extra half mile up the road for the bus back to Newport and a meal in Wetherspoons to finish off the day.

Day 4 Freshwater Bay to Yarmouth 10 miles

This was the only day we had to pay on the bus as there was only a two hourly service to Freshwater Bay and we decided to go early. Well worth it though as the sun shone again although it was a bit misty and the views weren't as good as they could have been.
It was very quiet in Freshwater Bay as we set off on the track behind the HF house that is in a wonderful position on the side of the cliff.

Then up on to Tennyson Down where we came across a couple of school parties using it as a classroom......lucky people.
There were very few people about as we approached the Tennyson Monument

Looking back to Freshwater bay

They had erected a toposcope in 2009 to celebrate the bi-centenary of Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Next stop The Needles where I used my National Trust card to have a closer look at the battery.

We had a shorter walk today so plenty of time to do a few touristy things at the Needles and Alum Bay.

Alum Bay

'A' party ride

Margaret took a ride down to the beach to get a closer look at the multi-coloured sand.

Apparently they have identified 25 different colours and of course we had to buy our souvenir glass items containing many layers. There were a great many people here, more than we saw anywhere else on the walk. A pity really as they have turned it into a theme park as that's what visitors seem to want.

We turned our backs on it and headed off to Headon Warren which was covered in heather and would have been a fine sight earlier in the year. The path was diverted here due to a potential landslip that they are very concerned about.

Headon Warren

A very peaceful place for lunch before descending to Totland Bay and Colwell Bay which had a nice sandy beach so we had a paddle.

Totland Bay

Colwell Bay

The promenade between the two bays has been damaged in a storm so we had to divert to the cliff top but I believe funding has now been guaranteed to repair this which will greatly improve the coastal footpath at this point.

At the end of Colwell Bay the path enters a wooded area and we accidentally came across Fort Victoria that has been put to use as a country park. This is the nearest point to the mainland and it was just possible to see the lighthouse and the remains of Hurst Castle.

The mainland

Fort Victoria

 Next stop Yarmouth where our journey for the day ended. We arrived quite early so had time to sit on the pier before having a meal at Gossip's Cafe watching the ferries coming and going from Lymington.

Yarmouth

Yarmouth Pier

A short walk to the bus station ended a lovely relaxing and varied day on the coast path.