The Needles

Summer for me consists of short and sweet trips to the Isle of Wight; what is not quite so short and sweet however, is the journey. After a few months the heat began to rise, and so did my frustration of taking badly air conditioned, overcrowded and delayed trains. It was time to mix it up and pay the extortionate price to take my car over to the Island.

Luckily once you arrive all the frustrations of travelling melt away as you drive round the beautiful coastlines. The advantage of taking my car across the water meant that my Island Boy and I could venture away from Cowes and explore a little.

For many when you think of the Isle of Wight, the first image to pop into your head is the white rock 'Needles'. Despite being a frequent visitor of the island I had not seen them yet. So my request was to be a proper island tourist for the day, despite Finn's initial reluctance.

Once you arrive at Alum Bay to park you are still not quite there, so we set off on a 2 mile walk to take in the scenery. 

After reading all the historical information it was time to see the money makers...

and take touristy photos of course...

On our way back to Cowes the weather began to clear, so stopped off in a quite little village called Newtown for a walk and to look at the natural harbour there.

Isn't it just quaint? I can imagine an Isle of Wight version of Dawson's Creek being shot here...

So many more places on this little Island to explore, any recommendations for where i should go next?

Dartmoor Misadventure

My second year of university is coming to an end, the stress of coursework deadlines can certainly get to you and a break from time to time is needed. Two out of three deadlines were completed, so we decided to make the most of the rare sunshine England gets: fresh air, and the sublime of Dartmoor, and of course friends was exactly what we needed to get through the last 4,000 word essay. 

To say that this excursion was spontaneous and unplanned, is putting it kindly (I thought we were going to the beach). While there was not much of a plan in terms of where to go for a walk, we did know what pub we eventually wanted to end up in (an important detail). We left our cars at the pub, and we set off for a stroll.

We walked passed the grounds of Buckland Abbey but decided not to go in for the tour.

On we went in search for a foot path that would hopefully take us round the outside of the grounds.

After about an hour of walking and no footpath to be found, but decided it was time to get off the roads that were getting narrower and narrower. We found a track that ran along side the river, and went into a wooded area and decided that this was a good alternative. Little did we know that this was probably the worst thing to have done. Although a rope swing distracted us from thinking about where we were and where we were going. Hindsight ey?

Alice and Celeste were feeling brave and decided to go for a swing... 

Cara sat back and watched shouting encouraging comments: "YOU CAN DO IT BRUCE"... being the favourite.

Hazel and I were poised with our camera's hoping someone would fall in... 

Alice was brave enough to make the leap... 

Again and Again...

Once Alice had finished playing, we continued walking into the woodland.

After a further two hours of walking, we realised it was a real possibility that we were lost: no map, no phone signal to get 3G, and no idea where we were or where the cars were.

After a further forty minutes of walking around the forest, we heard the faint sound of a road, so headed in that direction... Climbing over fencing to get into a field, with the hope that a farm wouldn't be too far away.

This did seem like a milestone in our travels, so myself and Alice took to some singing and running on the beautiful hillside was an appropriate way to celebrate... singing songs from 'The Sound of Music'... Obvious choice!!

"The hills are alive, with the sound of music..."

I think the ending to this adventure is obvious, as I survived to tell (type) the tale; we found the farm, and asked where we were in relation to the pub... Five miles was the answer. Luckily a lovely lady from the farm volunteered her husband to give us a lift back to our cars. Phew... 

We finally arrived back to the pub and didn't hesitate ordering glasses of wine and some pub grub, as our belly's we rumbling slightly... 

some more than others:

It was indeed a misadventure, and next time (if any of us are brave enough) we will be sure to take a map, compass and ensure we're wearing correct footwear. 

*Photo's By Myself and Hazel Durie