Merry Christmas!

Santa on a boat near Lymington Pier
.

Snow!

Last week it snowed!

A lot!

I worked from home.

And then went for a walk in the woods.

Isle of Wight bonus

On the way back from the Isle of Wight we docked at Southampton at the same time that the new cruise ship the Queen Elizabeth was setting sail. We got a good view of quite an impressive ship through the windows of our boat.

Isle of Wight 2 - Compton Bay, the Needles and Yarmouth

On our second day in the Isle of Wight we went to a number of places on the west of the island including Compton Bay.


We climbed down a long flight of wooden stairs that wound down a cliff side. Compton bay is one of the most desolate places on the island and has few facilities giving it a rugged charm.

The view from both the top and bottom was pretty spectacular. Compton Bay is another good place for finding fossils though again we couldn't find any. Still it was a really good place for a picnic despite being rather chilly.

In the car park at the other end of the beach was a really good example of the erosion problem on the Isle of Wight as the picture above shows.

Next we went to see the Needles, probably the most famous tourist spot on the island. The tourist trap surrounding it was quite tacky but the Needles themselves were beautiful in the setting sun.

There was also a very good view of the mainland. I could even see as far as Bournemouth.

The other attraction by the Needles are the coloured cliffs of Alum Bay. There didn't seem to be that many different colours to me though. And I resented the fact that it cost £4 to ride a chair lift down to the beach to look up at the cliffs.

Finally we finished off at Yarmouth for dinner where we stood on the pier and watched the last of the sun go down. Seemed well worth the suggested 30p pier toll.

Isle of Wight - Yaverland, Sandown and Shanklin

A few weeks ago I went to the Isle of Wight with some old friends. I've lived near the Isle of Wight for over a year but this was the first time I'd actually been. We stayed in a B&B called Sandown Manor near Yaverland. The beach nearby is a good place for finding fossils although I didn't have much luck.


The B&B had a lot of animals in the garden including a shetland pony.

A donkey

and some ducks which chased us all over the place as you can see in this video.


On the first night we walked from Yaverland, through Sandown and on to Shanklin on a promenade that ran by the beach. The moon rising over the Yaverland cliffs was very beautiful.


The place we were trying to go to was the Fishermans Cottage pub at the edge of the cliffs in Shanklin. Unfortunately they stopped serving food just before we got there but we went back during the day and were impressed by its dramatic location.

Dorset

Since I had some holiday to use up before the end of October I decided to visit my friend in Dorset.


She lives in the little rural town of Sturminster Newton. It is quite isolated and the only public transport is a few buses a day.


It has some very nice buildings though including this church and two old mills. Not much more to say about the place really.

Final pumpkin update.

Well in the end my pumpkins were killed off by a fungal infection before they were fully grown. Seems like it was a fairly bad year for pumpkins judging from the quality of the pumpkins in the shops.

This is the last photo I took of the best pumpkin before it started going funny.


Next year I plan to grow more plants and use fungicides if need be. Hopefully I should end up with a fully grown fruit next time.

Arundel

Last week I went to the small town of Arundel which has a really fairy take atmosphere.

It is famous for its castle.

But also has a number of impressive churches.

Arundel is surrounded by the South Downs which puts me in mind of Robin Hood and Merlin.

While waiting for the train I spotted a very large spider hanging from the station sign.

This will probably be my last trip along the Sussex coast for a while since my traveling companion is moving to Dorset. From now on I will likely be exploring the hidden delights of Dorset and Wiltshire.

Archive Photos: Burntisland to Arberdour

In the summer of 2007 I walked from Burntisland in Fife to Arberdour along the Fife Coastal path. On the way we passed:

An abandoned railway line.

An old fort.

A pretty little waterfall

The black rocks

And an abandoned jetty before heading back to Edinburgh across the Firth of Forth.

Portsmouth again

A few pictures from Portsmouth before and after the Bilbao trip.

The view from the ferry as we left port.

Sunset and the Spinnaker Tower the day we returned.

An extremely odd statue on the hard by Portsmouth Harbour.

Spain Mini Cruise Again

Last weekend I went on the P&O Ferries mini cruise to Spain again. The route is being withdrawn in September so it was pretty much my last chance to go. :(

I saw lots a new species this time including sperm whales, fin whales, pilot whales, minke whales, a basking shark and tuna leaping right out of the water. The water was so calm when we passed the sperm whales that we could even make out some of the whales body below the water with the naked eye. It was really amazing to see something huge and normally confined to deep, offshore areas. We also saw a Cuvier's Beaked Whale leap right out of the water several times. The Bay of Biscay is probably the only place in the world that you can see this so we were really lucky.

The second night on the boat, a large thunder storm surrounded us. It was quite scary, but also exhilarating.



This time we decided to go on the Bilbao City tour for our time in Spain.



The Guggenheim museum was quite impressive.



But I also enjoy looking at old fashioned Spanish buildings.


And the best part is I wasn't sick once! (Although I did come close a few times. )


Farewell Pride of Bilbao, you will be missed.