judge
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Little Miss Judge was spending a few days over on the Isle of Wight this half term with her Nan & Grandad. As I was on some down-time myself I thought I'd surprise her with a visit.
The Island is an old haunt of mine and I attended youth camps there from 1980-1995 and have pretty much done it to death, but never on a bike so....
Getting there, this crowd will take £30* off you for the privilege of taking rider & bike across the busy Solent,
making it one of the most expensive sea crossings mile for mile in the world!! Though I think Scotland takes the crown of most expensive.
* Edit - seems I could have made that £19.50 if I had booked on line for a 5 day return for bike, rider and pillion.
I timed my crossing perfectly to coincide with all the coach tours full of blue rinsed grockles going over for their weekend tours of ye olde worlde villages of Godshill-ee & Shankin-ee and bingo tournaments. I was also joined by another dozen or so bikes for the crossing.
35 minutes later and another £6 lighter (bring yer own sandwich or eat before you board!) and I was back on the Island for the first time in 10 years and it felt like an old pair slippers.
I quickly departed the port of Fishbourne and the busy town of Ryde and headed off to the Eastern end of the Island. All my camps had taken place in Whitecliff Bay so for a bit of nostalgia I went for a look see.
The local beach at Whitecliff Bay
The campsites at Peacock Hill (looking a bit bleak in their down season)
The hack on Culver Down
Culver Down was also home to Culver Battery, a coastal battery with 2 nine inch guns. It was in use until 1956 when it was filled in, though some excavation has since taken place. It is now a viewing point at Culver Cliffs.
Many a wide game took place here amongst the armaments during my camping days a perfect location, if a bit exposed to all the sea can throw at it.
The Yarborough Monument, not a war memorial as most people believe but an obelisk in memory of Charles Anderson Pelham, Earl Yarborough, 1780 - 1846. Constructed in 1848/9. Though we used this as one of our 'bases' for our wide games!
Bembridge Fort - (from the National Trust plaque,
A PART OF THE EXTENSIVE
DEFENCE SYSTEM BUILT BY THE PALMERSTON
ADMINISTRATION AGAINST POSSIBLE INVASION
BY FRENCH FORCES OF NAPOLEON III.
CONSTRUCTED 1862-1867, AT A COST OF £48,925
AS THE MAIN STRONGHOLD FOR THE SOUTH COAST
OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT, WITH AN ESTABLISHMENT
OF THREE OFFICERS AND ONE HUNDRED OTHER
RANKS AND ORDNANCE OF TWO 4in BREECH-LOADING
AND SIX MUZZLE-LOADING GUNS MOUNTED ON
PARAPET SLIDES.
The view from Culver Down looking towards Yaverland & Sandown, home to Browns Pitch & Putt and Cafe and the sadly now disused boating lake, this is where me and my pals hung out, this time the whole place was overtaken by Whiteair 2005, an extreme sports festival, bikes, kites, boards and far too much Oakley & Animal for a blustery overcast day, still the neoprened penguins were having a ball in the surf.
I'll skip over the bit of traversing Sandown & Shanklin as they are a couple of fairly typical English seaside towns, heaving in high season but looking jaded and in need of a damned good tidy up and modernisation, for the benefit of the tourist though Shanklin is usually portrayed thusly...
This being part of the Old Village and Chine now dwarfed by the 'new' town. But this bit is on every fudge packet, postcard and ornament, second only on IOW tourist tat to the needles.
I reappear after the twisty turny madness that is Ventnor (many blisters and aching limbs from marching in the Ventnor carnival, such sweet memories)
:
And head off to the far emptier and more pleasing (from a biking perspective) West Wight.
The simply awesome Military Road (11 miles of empty coast hugging road with bend after bend!)
To the Needles
And Alum Bay, home of Marconi's Wireless Station...
and the all important coloured sands for which no mantlepiece and sideboard is complete without something filled with the stuff. Sadly it being off season, Needles Park was closed and I couldn't get ready access to the world famous coloured sands...
But my timing was good for other reasons
I found this little throwback to better days and half expected Arkwright, Granville or nurse Gladys to walk out the door.
Next morning I found myself continuing my adventures at the 11th century Carisbrooke Castle
and the Priory (no not that one!)
and well strike me down if Carisbrooke isn't also home to fords, FOUR of them, all crossing the same water course, well it would be rude not to!! Though I only found 3 of them,
This one at Castle Street. This has a 6'6" width restriction. Due to flooding a few years ago, it has recently been improved. It now has a smooth gravel bed with plenty of grass clumps to dodge. Easy and no dramas despite the length.
This one, Clatterford Shute, concrete base, a nice splasher for those who like puddles rather than river crossings.
And this one
Froglands Lane, don't be lulled into a false sense by the concrete ramps leading into and out of the water, cunning disguising a sand and gravel base a few inches below the ramps! The rear fish-tailed ever-so as it searched for some grip and we were far too close for comfort to a bath than I'd have liked so unlike the others I didn't go back for second helpings, what with me being on the lardy 1150 and not the svelte-like PD :wink:
And too soon the fun was over, I headed for the big ferry via the little ferry (or as they prefer the floating bridge)
150 Island miles on the clock, left with wet feet, fond memories of a time passed and a souvenir
The Island is an old haunt of mine and I attended youth camps there from 1980-1995 and have pretty much done it to death, but never on a bike so....
Getting there, this crowd will take £30* off you for the privilege of taking rider & bike across the busy Solent,
making it one of the most expensive sea crossings mile for mile in the world!! Though I think Scotland takes the crown of most expensive.
* Edit - seems I could have made that £19.50 if I had booked on line for a 5 day return for bike, rider and pillion.
I timed my crossing perfectly to coincide with all the coach tours full of blue rinsed grockles going over for their weekend tours of ye olde worlde villages of Godshill-ee & Shankin-ee and bingo tournaments. I was also joined by another dozen or so bikes for the crossing.
35 minutes later and another £6 lighter (bring yer own sandwich or eat before you board!) and I was back on the Island for the first time in 10 years and it felt like an old pair slippers.
I quickly departed the port of Fishbourne and the busy town of Ryde and headed off to the Eastern end of the Island. All my camps had taken place in Whitecliff Bay so for a bit of nostalgia I went for a look see.
The local beach at Whitecliff Bay
The campsites at Peacock Hill (looking a bit bleak in their down season)
The hack on Culver Down
Culver Down was also home to Culver Battery, a coastal battery with 2 nine inch guns. It was in use until 1956 when it was filled in, though some excavation has since taken place. It is now a viewing point at Culver Cliffs.
Many a wide game took place here amongst the armaments during my camping days a perfect location, if a bit exposed to all the sea can throw at it.
The Yarborough Monument, not a war memorial as most people believe but an obelisk in memory of Charles Anderson Pelham, Earl Yarborough, 1780 - 1846. Constructed in 1848/9. Though we used this as one of our 'bases' for our wide games!
Bembridge Fort - (from the National Trust plaque,
A PART OF THE EXTENSIVE
DEFENCE SYSTEM BUILT BY THE PALMERSTON
ADMINISTRATION AGAINST POSSIBLE INVASION
BY FRENCH FORCES OF NAPOLEON III.
CONSTRUCTED 1862-1867, AT A COST OF £48,925
AS THE MAIN STRONGHOLD FOR THE SOUTH COAST
OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT, WITH AN ESTABLISHMENT
OF THREE OFFICERS AND ONE HUNDRED OTHER
RANKS AND ORDNANCE OF TWO 4in BREECH-LOADING
AND SIX MUZZLE-LOADING GUNS MOUNTED ON
PARAPET SLIDES.
The view from Culver Down looking towards Yaverland & Sandown, home to Browns Pitch & Putt and Cafe and the sadly now disused boating lake, this is where me and my pals hung out, this time the whole place was overtaken by Whiteair 2005, an extreme sports festival, bikes, kites, boards and far too much Oakley & Animal for a blustery overcast day, still the neoprened penguins were having a ball in the surf.
I'll skip over the bit of traversing Sandown & Shanklin as they are a couple of fairly typical English seaside towns, heaving in high season but looking jaded and in need of a damned good tidy up and modernisation, for the benefit of the tourist though Shanklin is usually portrayed thusly...
This being part of the Old Village and Chine now dwarfed by the 'new' town. But this bit is on every fudge packet, postcard and ornament, second only on IOW tourist tat to the needles.
I reappear after the twisty turny madness that is Ventnor (many blisters and aching limbs from marching in the Ventnor carnival, such sweet memories)
: And head off to the far emptier and more pleasing (from a biking perspective) West Wight.
The simply awesome Military Road (11 miles of empty coast hugging road with bend after bend!)
To the Needles
And Alum Bay, home of Marconi's Wireless Station...
and the all important coloured sands for which no mantlepiece and sideboard is complete without something filled with the stuff. Sadly it being off season, Needles Park was closed and I couldn't get ready access to the world famous coloured sands...
But my timing was good for other reasons
I found this little throwback to better days and half expected Arkwright, Granville or nurse Gladys to walk out the door.
Next morning I found myself continuing my adventures at the 11th century Carisbrooke Castle
and the Priory (no not that one!)
and well strike me down if Carisbrooke isn't also home to fords, FOUR of them, all crossing the same water course, well it would be rude not to!! Though I only found 3 of them,
This one at Castle Street. This has a 6'6" width restriction. Due to flooding a few years ago, it has recently been improved. It now has a smooth gravel bed with plenty of grass clumps to dodge. Easy and no dramas despite the length.
This one, Clatterford Shute, concrete base, a nice splasher for those who like puddles rather than river crossings.
And this one
Froglands Lane, don't be lulled into a false sense by the concrete ramps leading into and out of the water, cunning disguising a sand and gravel base a few inches below the ramps! The rear fish-tailed ever-so as it searched for some grip and we were far too close for comfort to a bath than I'd have liked so unlike the others I didn't go back for second helpings, what with me being on the lardy 1150 and not the svelte-like PD :wink:
And too soon the fun was over, I headed for the big ferry via the little ferry (or as they prefer the floating bridge)
150 Island miles on the clock, left with wet feet, fond memories of a time passed and a souvenir
My only memory of the Isle of White was the worst sailing experience of my life. An English friend owns a yacht and we sailed from Southampton and got caught in a terrible storm (I believe a force eight). I puked for England that day and have not been back on a small boat since (twenty years ago).
