Tourist on our own Isle of Wight, 23 August 2016

Today we made a lovely walk from Ventnor to Bonchurch on the Sea Wall. It was almost like we were on a different planet compared to being in Sandown the other day.

If you go into Ventnor, you get into the beach area with loads of little cafes and shops, even an art gallery. Nothing tacky, even the people on the beach looked different.

But our main goal was the walk to Bonchurch.

All the parking spots were taken, but the people must have all gone to Ventnor itself. The walk was amazing, great for people with wheelchairs or mobility scooters too. And very quiet. We hardly saw anyone. We spoke with an elderly couple about the weather and mobility scooters and they walked on; in Bonchurch we saw them again for a few seconds. For the rest: peace and quiet.

                                          Must have been the best day this summer

The sky was completely without clouds, never saw this before this year. A sea without sailing boats or other vessels is a very rare view too for us.

Plaque on the Memorial

Memorial

View on Ventnor

A lovely path

Not just white cliffs in Dover

The rock is very brittle

Next year gone?

The white cliffs look wonderful, but the rock is very brittle. Pieces of the land fall down and this can make things dangerous. Not just for trees that eventually will fall down. We saw a plaque to commemorate the death of a 19 year old boy from Ventnor who got killed on this lovely path.

                                          Bonchurch, pottery

In the pottery my wife saw a lovely clock. It would have been cruel not to have bought it for her.

It looks lovely on our wall.

A silvery sea

Walking back the sea almost looked like it was made of silver, the sunlight striking over it in an amazing way.

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Tourist on our own Isle of Wight, 22 August 2016

Today we did what was  planned for months: visiting the seaside town of Sandown.
From Seaview where we live it's only something like 20 minutes, but it is like you land in a different world.

                                      
                                          The pier of Sandown

                                          View from the pier of Sandown

                                          View from the other side of the pier

                                     

We walked along the shore to the pier. On the pier it's quite a puzzle how you can get to the open air again. You have to walk through noisy arcades and Greasy Spoon-type cafetarias. In a wheelchair or mobility scooter the puzzle is even worse.

                                     
                                         Fun on the pier

Outside you can't help but get shocked by the rude boards where you can make pictures of your children or yourself. I really thought humour like this was not done in these days.
Looking past them you can enjoy the view. The Isle of Wight is lovely.

                                     
                                         Humour from a long time ago


                                     
                                         Humour from a long time ago

Along the road named Culver Parade are traces of a great past. In the good old days the hotels in Sandown must have been packed with guests. It is very sad to see the state of these - once majestic - buildings.

                                          A closed hotel

                                          Another closed hotel

                                          The closed Grand Hotel

It's better to look at the other side, the beach. At least when that is possible. Quite a big part of the beach is taken by cafes. A good thing that this is not the case everywhere. People still have fun on the beach with their children. The sea was a bit choppy, but that often makes the fun bigger for children. It's always nice to play with and in the waves.
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