Way back in June, I was offered a flat for a weekend, in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. It has been years since I’ve been to the Isle of Wight, we went there for a couple of holidays when I was really young, maybe about 6 or 7. My most vivid memories include my big sister insisting on cockles and mussels after already eating a big bag of chips, and then throwing up on me in the middle of the night; water squirting, cowboy, shooting galleries, and the super creepy, Bradings Wax Works Museum (which is sadly no more), all the classic things you associate with well-loved British holidays.
Goodbye Portsmouth!
So, my friend Lydia booked the ferry, initially Friday morning until Saturday evening, but due to broken down ferries we rescheduled to Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. I haven’t been away with Lyds in ages so it was really exciting to pack ourselves off for a girly weekend. What was even more remarkable was that the weather remained dry (and mostly sunny) for the whole weekend, it didn’t start raining until we were queuing for the ferry home, and then it stayed dry the whole ferry journey back, so we were able to sit outside (because Covid), then it began raining when we got in the car again – thanks Universe! Magic!
Anyway, Lyds is a planner, so she had a bunch of suggestions for things we could try and squash in, in just under 48 hours. By the time we got to Ventnor and had a little sit down in the flat, we were getting well into the evening, so we went out for something to eat. We knew The Spyglass Inn was right on the seafront so headed there. There is nothing nicer for people who spend most of their time inland, being able to sit outside, with nothing interrupting the view between them and the sea – chips and gin are also nice.
(I also took Little Mouse along for a little holiday, he loved it, and I hope he made the most of it really, as I usually forget to take him anywhere).
On Saturday we had tickets booked for Blackgang Chine – yes we know that we are two adults, and it is for kids, but it was fun. Obviously, I haven’t been there since I was a kid, and it is amazing to see the bits that are still there that I recognise, such as the giant pirate, the big whale with the mouth you can walk into, and the creepy Humpty Dumpty (he has been etched onto my eyeballs for most of my life).
I really enjoyed walking around the dinosaurs, and Lydia was a bit of a legend getting us through the Hedge Maze (it’s not the tallest of mazes, but I am not the tallest of people, so I never go into any maze without having someone with me, otherwise, I know I will be lost forever).
We enjoyed sharing a bag of doughnuts (because we are old enough to realise that a bag each would make us feel ill) and my favourite bit was probably Rumpus Mansion, because its creepy and cute, and I just love stuff that comes to life and moves and tells stories.
In the afternoon we drove south to see St Catherine’s lighthouse, on the southern tip of the island. It wasn’t open, but it was still nice to see and there is a bit of coastal path next to it that we decided to investigate because the day was so beautiful.
Lydia saw some kind of pillar upon a hillock, so she went off-road to investigate that… she is still none the wiser. Then I somehow stepped into some kind of bog, and caked my whole foot in black, boggy mud – lovely.
It was a lovely little walk though, and afterwards we went to the pub up the road, where we had parked, for a late lunch. The pub was called The Buddle Inn and it was an absolute delight. We sat outside because it was sunny, there was a guy singing and playing guitar, the staff were all really friendly and I had fish and chips which included a piece of fish as big as my head. After months of lockdown and Covid, sitting there listening to music, in the sun, having a gin and eating great food, it was like being on another planet – a joyous, carefree planet.
Lydia’s Strawberry and Clotted Cream ice Cream – There is no photographic evidence of my ice cream.
After a little post-meal rest back at the flat, we headed out again to Shanklin. We wanted to go to Shanklin Chine, but were waiting for it to go dark so we could see it lit up, so we walked along the Esplanade and bought ice cream – I was actually able to get vegan ice cream in a decent flavour (it was either toffee or salted caramel, I just remember being really pleased it wasn’t just vanilla or chocolate, although I do love chocolate).
Once we had, had our fill, we headed back to Shanklin Chine for a wonderful walk among the lights and plants, a great way to end an evening.
On Sunday we just packed up and cleaned the flat down before heading back towards Fishbourne for the ferry… but obviously we left enough time to stop off at the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary. I love donkeys, I mean what’s not to like, they are like scrappy horses, but shorter (I relate to both of these things – being scrappy and short, not a horse), and they make really cool honking noises (some who have heard me sing, might say I can relate to that too).
We had lots of fun searching for the donkeys that share the same names as Lydia’s kids (my sister was less amused when I told her there was a donkey with her name), sadly there were no donkey Dawns or Lydias.
I also discovered, as my eyes began to stream and I started a bout of endless sneezing, that face masks are amazing at easing hay fever symptoms. It’s not necessarily something you want to wear during the summer, but anyone who has ever gone into hay fever free-fall, will tell you that a face mask on a warm day is far better than suddenly feeling like you have fallen into a never-ending hell of not being able to see or breath… oh or the unbearable itchy mouth and throat, so yeah, very grateful for my mask on that occasion.
It was an excellent weekend, so thankful to Lyds for driving us and being so organised – I tried to do my bit by plying her with Candy Kittens and bringing most of our bags down two flights of stairs, (so she could stay by the car to pack it, because team work makes the dream work right!).
So that’s it, another catch up complete. I think my next post will be the annual Gish round-up. I enjoyed it a lot this year, I really needed it, but I’m not sure I brought my ‘A’ game. Usually, I try really hard to do things I’m good at, and do them well, but this year I did some things which were… well… less ‘me’, you’ll see what I mean.
Until then, bye for now. x
