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| Red Osprey and Red Jet |
After a bus ride from Portsmouth to Southampton we boarded the Red Funnel ferry
Red Osprey and spent the next hour crossing the narrow Solent between the mainland and the Isle of Wight, arriving to another sunny but chilly day in E. Cowes. Two long bus rides later through some pretty scenery (the island is only 26 miles by 13) and we had arrived at the southern end of the island in the town of Ventnor, our home for the next two days. It was both our first visit here and we were discover the island had a long history we were only just able to scratch the surface of. The island has many resorts that have been holiday destination since the time of Victoria, who died here in 1901. The cold weather we were enduring was keeping people off the beaches so we found most places deserted. The island though is normally known for it's mild climate but we dressed accordingly and enjoyed ourselves none the less, especially touring around on an excellent bus service that followed very narrow roads over rolling green hills occasionally dotted with sheep, cows and horses. I remembered the Isle of Wight from 1970 when it hosted the largest rock music festival ever held and it has continued to this day, the festival this year showcasing David Guetta, Arcade Fire and Rod Stewart.
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| leaving Southampton |
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| the Solent, between the mainland and the Isle of Wight |
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| 20 Newport Rd, Ventnor |
The Isle of Wight has quite a past, previously occupied by the Romans, the Pagans in 865 under King Arwald, the Vikings and then the Normans following the invasion of England in 1066. Today the feeling I got was the island has not kept up with the rest of the country, the thatched cottages, the extremely narrow streets and the old brick houses the dominant features in all of the towns and tiny villages we saw. The only concession to the 21st century appeared to be the profusion of cars zipping about and the packed McDonald's restaurant we discovered in Newport, the main town. Our first evening, after meeting up with our hosts, Jane and Ian, we walked down to the Esplanade in Ventnor. The warm microclimate here (Ventnor even could be considered subtropical in certain area like the botanic gardens there) led to it's development as a winter sanatorium and health resort for invalids from the 1830s. This was the boom time for the town as villas and grand hotels sprang up to cope with the increasing demand for the area's therapeutic air. The Esplanade where we stood was built in 1848 and pictures from that time show masses of people promenading up and down in their Victoria attire but today was windy and chilly and except for a fellow and his dog, absolutely deserted. We were heading for the Spyglass Inn for a few beers and traditional English pub fare before returning up the extremely steep hill via St Alban's Steps to our B&B. Our only full day here tomorrow we wanted to visit the record's office then take a bus to the Needles. Another beautiful spot I have long wanted to see.
gws
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| at the Spy Glass Inn, Ventnor |
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| St Alban's steps |
