On the second May bank holiday weekend I was finally back in the UK after the long trip to Vietnam, so boyfriend took an extra day off work and we went to the Isle of Wight for a bit of fun adventuring.
Why the Isle of Wight? Not really sure: it appealed to me after some friends of mine went on a cycling holiday there a few weeks ago, and I was secretly hoping that we'd get gorgeous enough weather to take advantage of its many esplanades and beaches. We didn't....
But we had an amazing time nevertheless.
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| Sun and strongbow :D |
Getting to the Isle of Wight is actually super easy, as there is a direct train from Waterloo station to Portsmouth, and then a short ferry ride across to the island. I love ferries. We arrived on a gorgeous day and before heading over to our hotel we decided to walk around Ryde. It has a nice long pier and before we did anything too wacky, we stopped for lunch and a drink at a pretty awesome pub in the sun on the promenade. After lunch we played a round of crazy golf (a requisite holiday activity with boyfriend) and went for a long walk before getting back on the train.
We found ourselves the cutest B&B five minutes walk from the train station in Shanklin, which is on the east side of the island. Our room got upgraded to one with a sea view, and was actually huge. I love it when stuff like that happens - it just helps to make a holiday even more perfect.
By the time we had checked in and had a cup of tea, it was getting a bit later in the day, so we decided to go for a stroll through Shanklin and check out what was going on. As it was a Sunday, all the shops were closed so after a bit of a walk about, we decided to stop for a few drinks. The pubs were all crazy busy (blame the bank holiday) but, after a drink at the super busy Crab Inn, we found a real gem of a place called King Harry's Bar. It's the sort of place you go to for its character, not because of it's top notch cocktails. But it's the kind of place we absolutely love.
For dinner we went to this amazing (and very busy) bar and bistro (I think it was Decades Steak and Seafood restaurant, but can't find a website to make sure) and enjoyed a fantastic feast of lobster and crab cocktail for starter, followed by a steak and buttered crevettes for the main. I have to give that food top marks even though it was a little pricey - it was totally worth it and has is probably the reason for my increased love of fish and seafood. Amazing.
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| View of Carisbrooke grounds |
The next day dawned dark and rainy. After the mandatory full English, we hopped on a bus using our Dayrider ticket towards Newport and Carisbrooke castle. We finally got round to joining English Heritage that day, which helped us enjoy this castle all the more. Carisbrooke is actually one of the bigger castles I've been to, and we spent a good couple of hours exploring it. We spent a geeky moment calculating the depth of a well using my stopwatch and a stone, and I was greatly amused by the donkeys and the display on how they're used to draw water from another well.
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| Boyfriend entering the castle |
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| Jim? or Joe? the donkey. Begins with a J |
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| Drawing water from the well. Good exercise to work off last night's oats |
After we were done we headed back to Newport, and unfortunately the rain had begun to take over our day. We found a little pub near the bus station where we stopped for lunch and to do the crossword, then we decided to take the bus to Ventnor, the next town over from Shanklin. It's supposedly a lovely town, but by the time we got there the rain was torrential and we found ourselves completely confined to a pub. However, we got in a spot of people watching (there be some crazies out there), finished the crossword, and just enjoyed some relaxation. Always our favourite part of a holiday away.
Eventually we made it back to Shanklin and after it finally stopped raining, we managed to walk around and see a few more things before stopping for dinner at an Indian restaurant called Spice Lounge. This place was pretty central and had great food - again, I thoroughly recommend it.
Amazingly, the next day dawned pretty bright again - sadly we had to head back home that morning, so after a final walk about Shanklin we set off back. However, I don't doubt that I will be returning to the Isle of Wight in the future - I still want to go visit the garlic farm and the Needles. Maybe next time I'll get some sunshine to help with my explorations!!
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