Yarmouth - Freshwater Bay
Mary and John on the sea wall around Colwell Bay, southwest of Yarmouth.
There is a tourist area with chair lift and other facilities but hidden behind the cliffs.
This, of course, is at the westernmost tip of the Isle of Wight.
A good place to stop and rest.
From this village we caught the bus back to Shanklin.
Day One and a bit more than 11 miles of pleasant coastal walking now completed.
Freshwater Bay - Chale
Climbing out of Freshwater Bay and today we will head in a south easterly direction along the cliffs.
There was a strong wind blowing so I kept as far away from the cliff edge as possible as there was evidence of landslips in places.
This bunch look like Jersey cows.
The bus arrived near the old telephone box about 20 minutes later.
End of day 2, the longest at just over 13 miles.
From now on we leave the long, bleak cliff walking behind, with most of the remaining walking to be in more urban settings.
Chale - Shanklin
This vista from high up near Blackgang shows most of the south coast, which we walked yesterday.
At this point we have been walking for some miles on the cliff path inland, above one of Europe's biggest landslips.
At St Lawrence we stopped for drinks and crisps outside the Post Office.
Onwards we trekked on to Ventnor and then Bonchurch on the coast.
After the latter place we had a lot of difficulty proceeding onwards to Shanklin.
First, the Coastal Path was blocked for landslip repairs.
After asking two locals, we eventually found a way up from the beach to the ridge top.
Using my compass and asking a local again, we finally found a path leading to Luccombe village and then on to Shanklin.
We were not impressed with these issues, making a potential ten mile walk closer to 13 miles.
We went to our evening meal venue in Shanklin's old town, rather than returning to our hotel.
That was well worth it and I enjoyed my garlic shrimps and a few beers.
Ryde - East Cowes
We got the bus to Ryde and passed the hovercraft terminal near the pier.
These craft operate passenger services to Portsmouth.
It was worth a look around the grounds and we had tea and cake here near the imposing monastery.
It is best known for its connections with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Close by is Osborne House, where Queen Victoria and other royals would stay.
At East Cowes we watched the ships and then returned to Shanklin. About 9 and a half miles done today.
Ryde - Bembridge
There wasn't a great deal to see today, apart from lots of sailing yachts out in the Solent or in Bembridge's marinas.
In this photo we are crossing a long causeway leading to Bembridge Harbour.
We did stop in the town for a tea and later had a sausage roll (huge!) bought at a famous butchers called Woodford's, which had been featured on TV.
A shorter walk of 7.5 miles today.
Bembridge - Shanklin
Mary found a bus stop into Bembridge which allowed us to avoid walking around the town's urban areas, given that we'd seen much of that yesterday.
Here we stopped at the Earl Of Yarborough Monument which stands on a hill outside the town.
I also enjoyed my first ice cream of the holiday nearby.
Today's walk was a mere 6.5 miles. I went down to the beach and bought some souvenirs and also treated myself to a large tub of rum and raisin ice cream.
We went back to the Little Village Inn again.
We were amused by this plaque on the wall - sing along with Annie Lennox of The Eurythmics!
Going home.
Our ferry - The Red Osprey arrives at East Cowes.
Another fairly challenging but enjoyable walking holiday for us, the Yorkshire Trio!
