An Island Adventure: The Isle of Wight

Time for another travel blog - this trip was about revisiting a place I'd been to before, back in July 2009, and exploring parts of it that I hadn't seen the last time, and it also meant travelling from the north of England to the very south, and hopping across the water to one of the UK's most beautiful places - the Isle of Wight.
 
Day 1
To get from Durham to the Isle of Wight took about 6 hours tops in total - I had to change trains at York for another train to London, and it was a faster train too. Then it was down to the London Underground to catch a couple of Tube trains to Waterloo, where I quickly caught another train down to Portsmouth, and as soon as I got further south, the heavens opened, but that didn't deter me one bit. Once in Portsmouth I took a quick bus ride to Southsea, where just like 6 years ago I got to ride across the Solent to the Isle of Wight onboard the famous hovercraft - it was a very bumpy but short 10 minute ride, and an absolute blast.
My hotel, Kasbah, was in the seaside town of Ryde, where the hovercraft alighted - it was a traditional looking building on the outside, but very modern looking on the inside. My room was perfect, with a shower, telly and the usual amenities; however the downside was that this hotel was also a pub, which meant on the night there was noise, from both music and people - which is why the amenities included ear plugs (more on that later).
The weather didn't play ball, but it didn't stop me from going out and about - a quick meal of chips, then I jumped on the Island Line train from Ryde to another seaside town on the eastern side of the island, called Shanklin, with its beaches and dramatic cliffs. The highlight of Shanklin was an area called Shanklin Chine, a nature preserve situated inside a gorge, with lots of foliage and a stream. There were some animals on display, including parrots, and even a chipmunk, which you usually can't see outside of North America or Asia. Further along the gorge there was a stone bridge straight out of a fairytale book, and a winding path leading to the centrepiece of the Chine - a tall waterfall with quite a sheer drop.
With the rain pouring down, I decided to head back to Ryde, where I popped into a café for a cheeseburger and chips, and unintentionally confusing the French waitress who worked there (je suis desolée!), before chilling in my hotel room with some old skool quiz shows on the telly. Sleep was hard to come by however - that night was live music night in the pub, and that combined with the loud talking of people outside were the reason the hotel gave me ear plugs. They worked to an extent, and I eventually managed to drift off to sleep.
 
Day 2
Despite not getting enough sleep, I didn't let it stop me from getting on with my only full day on the island - after cereal and coffee for breakfast, it was time to revisit one of the highlights of the trip 6 years ago, the Downs Breezer open top bus tour, an hour's drive around the island's vast countryside. The weather was perfect, a far cry from the rain of the previous day, which meant I was able to make the most of the breathtaking views of the countryside, especially on one of the downs looking out towards the island's east coast, and the quaint villages that the tour passed through. There were a lot of narrow roads on the tour route, which meant everyone on the bus was frequently dodging oncoming tree branches, that just added to the adventure of the tour though. The tour was also newly extended to the beachside town of Sandown, just up the coast from Shanklin - more on Sandown later on. Needless to say, I enjoyed the tour just as much as I did the first time.
It was straight from one bus to another once I arrived back in Ryde, heading to the island's capital, Newport, to change to another bus in order to get to the harbour town of Yarmouth, where I decided to jump onto another tour bus, this time the Needles Breezer bus, for another scenic ride up to Alum Bay, on the westernmost point of the island. Located there was the Needles Park, a small set of food outlets and souvenir shops, plus a small fun park. However, just like 6 years ago, the highlight, and the most popular attraction at the park (there qas quit e along queue), was its chairlift down to Alum Bay itself - it's quite a sensation being suspended in mid-air while being transported down the face of a cliff. The chairlift also stopped at one point so someone could be helped out of their lift, leaving myself and everyone on it stuck in mid-air for a couple of minutes, which was a little unnerving but thankfully brief.
Alum Bay was just as I remembered it last time, with its gravel beach, dramatic coastline and its unique coloured sands, and with the warm weather it was also packed with people enjoying the sun and sea. I didn't try to take a ride on the pleasure cruise this time, I wasn't up for a repeat of my aborted attempt 6 years ago, where I stepped in and out of the boat due to the choppy waves making me feel queasy.
After taking the chairlift back to the top and buying a commemorative medal, I realised I'd forgotten to bring some drinks with me, so I quickly bought a bottle of Fanta to keep myself hydrated, before taking a very scenic walk from the Needles Park and up to the headland, where I was greeted with absolutely stunning views of Alum Bay, the English Channel and the Solent, with the towns of Milford and Lymington far off in the distance. At the very end of the headland, I revisited the view of one of the Isle of Wight's most famous landmarks, the three stacks of chalk cliffs jutting out from the English Channel and what gave the fun park its name - the Needles, which looked amazing in the sunlight. Also on the headland was the Needles Old Battery, a former military outpost, which I explored 6 years ago but didn't have time to do so on this occasion. However, I did get to see an unexpected surprise off in the distance - none other than the RAF air display team, the Red Arrows, performing their display at the Bournemouth Air Show miles away across the Solent. I'd already seen them up close at this year's Sunderland Airshow, so it was great to watch them do their stuff again, and there was quite a crowd gathered up on the headland watching the display also.
It was a blast revisiting places on the island, but it was time for me to see more of the island that I hadn't seen - I took the Needles Breezer back to Yarmouth, where I then jumped on the Island Coaster open top bus. This was the longest tour on the island, a two hour drive along the south coast, and I can't put into words how brilliant it was, travelling along the coastal roads with the breeze in my face and the sun in the sky. There were some simply breathtaking views of the coast and countryside, and along the way was the the beachside town of Freshwater Bay, a low flying hang-glider, the cliffs and beaches of Chale, the fun park at Blackgang Chine and the picturesque coastal town of Ventnor. I only wish I could've had time to stop at all these places and explore them further.
I jumped off the bus to revisit Shanklin, just so I could see how it looked in the sunshine, before quickly jumping back on the same bus to take a closer look at Sandown, which I'd passed through earlier on the Downs Breezer. I took advantage of its long, sprawling beach and had a dip in the English Channel, which felt a lot less cold than the North Sea (France is just over the water from the Isle of Wight, after all!). It was also still warm, despite the sun going down, and with it being later in the day the beach wasn't so busy, either. The Isle of Wight Zoo was across the road from the beach, however it was closed - another reason to come back to the island one day.
I wandered along both ends of the beach, seeing the distinctive white cliff on the northern end of the beach at Yaverland, before making my way along to the southern end, which was more busy, because that was where the Sandown Pier was located. Inside there was an arcade, and further along was a passage leading outside onto the pier proper, with views of Sandown and the coast, plus a small fun park at the end of the pier. With the sun setting, I made my way back to Ryde after what seemed like a lengthy wait for the bus, passing through the small beachside town of Bembridge along the way. Much like the first night, it was chips for supper and some R&R with more old skool gameshows and comedy back at the hotel, although the rest part was a bit difficult to come by, as the noise downstairs and outside was even worse than the first night, with it being a Friday night. Aye, I really want to listen to a hacked off fella effing and blinding because the doorman wouldn't let him in the pub...
 
Day 3
I managed to get some sleep, but not as much as I'd have liked to, however I was still up bright and early to get my stuff all packed and get refreshed for the hectic day ahead. I'm not sure if I would ever stay at Kasbah again, simply because of the noise, though everything else about the hotel was spot on - if I ever do stay again, it won't be on a weekend though.
After a quick breakfast and checkout, I decided to have one last hurrah on the island - once again the weather was beautiful, so complete with suitcase, I jumped on the bus to take a closer look at Bembridge, which I passed through the previous night. The bus ride was interesting to say the least, because of a fella who was seemingly talking to himself, ranting and cursing about a lot of things, and he wasn't making a lot of sense - the bottle of Bourbon whisky in his hand explained it, though. He even had the nerve to openly flout the no smoking rule!
Thankfully there were no drunk people in Bembridge, which looked terrific in the sunlight with its picturesque harbour full of boats, and its curved beachline looking out onto the Solent and Portsmouth on the horizon. I wish I could've stayed longer, however I had to get back to Ryde, though I quickly stopped at the little café located near the beach to buy some souvenirs.
One bus ride later, and I was back where I needed to be, and not quite done with the beach yet - I briefly had a walk onto Ryde's sprawling beach, which had the furthest tide out that I've seen on any beach, and at this point the weather was very hot, and to no surprise the beach was packed with people. Just as quickly as I'd gotten onto the beach, I was off it again, and crossing the Solent once again on another hovercraft ride, they are such cool machines, and the Solent is the only place in the UK that you can travel on a hovercraft, so the hovercraft are just as much a tourist attraction as the island itself.
I had been hoping to revisit another landmark back on the mainland in Portsmouth, the distinctive Spinnaker Tower - unfortunately, the walk from the hovercraft terminal to Gunwharf Quays, where the Tower was located, took a lot longer than I anticipated, and by the time I got to the tower there was a lengthy queue to get in, so I was forced to forego going up to the top of the tower to see the views of the Solent from above. However, I wasn't too disappointed, because I got the chance to climb the tower and see those views 6 years ago, and I did get to see the Solent while walking along Portsmouth's Millennium Boulevard. Again, it's another reason to come back in the future.
I made my way to The Hard Interchange, spending a short time watching various boats sailing along the harbour, as well as taking a good glance at the imposing old-time Navy battleship, the HMS Warrior, berthed at Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, before jumping onto the first of three trains, heading back the way I came.
The return journey didn't exactly go to plan - all of my trains were delayed. The first train to London had to divert onto another line to bypass Woking because of a track problem, and ended up stopping a few times, which slowed down the journey considerably, and I started to get concerned that I wouldn't make my connecting train. I eventually made it back to Waterloo station, only for another problem - one of the Tube lines, the Bakerloo line, that I used for the journey down was closed, so I quickly had to find an alternative route. Needless to say, I rushed liked mad, and was able to get back to King's Cross via the Northern line, though not without experiencing a hot and crowded Tube train at rush hour!
In the end, the rush wasn't needed, my train back to Durham arrived late, which also meant that it departed late. As the train got further north, not only did the delay time gradually increase, but the weather also deteriorated from beautiful warm sunshine to torrential rain - I couldn't help but see it as ironic. With a half hour delay, I eventually arrived back at a rain-soaked Durham and managed to make my bus ride back home, though not without getting soaked through by a passing car! What way to end the trip, indeed.
Overall, I had an absolute blast revisiting the Isle of Wight and seeing all the places that I didn't get to see 6 years ago, as well as the ones I did. It is one of the most beautiful places in the UK, and I cannot recommend a visit there enough.

To check out my photos from the trip, click here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152939438231441.1073741842.695421440&type=1&l=1795fce92c