Once you have slept on an island…

“The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever.”
― E. Lockhart

We recently ventured over to the Isle of Wight, something we try and do at least once a year, and a had a week of sunshine and breathtaking views. We chose a coach house in the grounds of a larger property and we weren’t sure until we arrived whether the views would be any good for Photography… Well they were absolutely amazing. On a good day there was a great view of The Needles and each sunset was incredible. The property itself was gorgeous with lots of traditional farmhouse charm.

We had no specific agenda, we knew the views that we wanted to revisit and we had a few ideas of new places that we wanted to explore. With my health not being in top form this year, we couldn’t plan to walk too far and yet we ended up covering miles in the end. Totally unplanned which I think made it easier to achieve!

The Isle of Wight has traditional views such as Freshwater Bay, Ventnor, Brading Downs, The Needles and of course all of the stunning seascapes you can capture from the end of the Military Road. But this time we wanted to capture the harder places, and there are definitely some gems hidden away. We had kept an eye on local Photographers works leading up to the trip and our first stop was to try and get to St Catherine’s Lighthouse without walking too far…

Once we found it though, with the sun briskly setting behind us, we decided that the only thing to do to explore the views further was to climb. And so we did. We climbed the hill overlooking the Lighthouse (later in the holiday finding a car park at the top but nevermind!) and we were not disappointed.

St Catherine’s Lighthouse is not accessible by road. It’s one of the oldest Lighthouses in the UK… constructed in 1838. (Some sites state that it was 1323, actually that seems to be when a Lighthouse further away on St Catherine’s Down was built, this is now just a ‘shell’ of stone and is known locally as ‘The Pepperpot’).

Another view that we wanted to capture was Steephill Cove. This is again on the sunny side of the Island and is located in Ventnor, home to the Botanical Gardens (which were INCREDIBLE!) We walked through the gardens to the coastal path and then on down to Steephill Cove as again, this is a cove that is untouched by motor vehicles and is only accessible by a steep climb down…and back up again.

Time stood still in this beautiful place  which was just a glorious suntrap. A little hut selling cold drinks meant that we could walk along the beach sipping ginger beer (or cream soda in my case!) and then induling in a New Forest Ice Cream further along. The fact that you couldn’t just turn up in your car made this even more special.

The Isle of Wight is greatly underestimated in terms of a holiday destination… and even a place to live. Although the crossing on the Ferry is quite expensive I think that’s what protects this Island from being overrun. We went via Wightlink Ferries, known affectionately by many as Shitelink..and yet they had just upgraded and the ferry had cosy sofa’s, coffee bars and excellent seating. ll very surreal compared to the old days of plastic chairs, smelly corridors and sticky floors…

It has taken me absolutely ages to finish this blog, with one thing or another creeping up on me and essays that needed to be written. The actual holiday was about a month ago! There are lots of fabulous meadow photos and memories to blog next from Father’s Day…

I also started a book review blog. Tea Leaves and reads! Head over and check it out on Facebook or on WordPress.

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Day 38; Yes, more water!

“It is a “tragedy” that nothing happened for so long”
-Prince Charles

I was in Portsmouth today (on the South Coast) and had my Cybershot point and shoot with me to take some shots when I could after I had done some training. The coast was almost silent, no wind, no waves crashing against the cafe – it was the complete opposite to the beginning of January although the coastal road was closed in preparation for tonight’s storm.

So I was going to use those photographs. Then I got home. A day of no rain is almost worse than a day with rain. The rivers have burst their banks, the road alongside the meadow is completely covered and almost (just not quite) impossible to drive across.

The force of the water rushing into the meadow from the road, is actually holding the gate open although it’s still locked tightly. That’s how strong the ‘current’ is and either side of the road the banks have become rivers.

My mother drove me so I could take photographs, I wouldn’t have made it in my little car! We also went to The Bunnies (where the hut was taken down from the storms the other day) and that too was flooded. We’re very poor at signage though, so a lot of people will likely attempt the drive before they realise the water is too deep.

The Portsmouth photos will follow in the next few days! I won’t forget about them, but today the local shots were a bit more useful.

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