Appuldurcombe

Arrival

Its the Isle of Wight again….Hooray.

We allowed plenty of time for the 120 mile journey. Stopping off at the Membury services for breakfast and a change of driver. Unfortunately the Boat Show attracted a lot of visitors and queuing for the car parks caused long tail backs around the Docks.

	The Solent is filled with boats of all shapes and sizes as we cruise for an hour to the Isle of Wight
As we dock in Cowes, the Sun is shinning. The journey to our camp site takes no time at all, passing through Newport with ease, Godshill is busy with tourists. Our pitch is no: 56 a wide pitch part hard standing and grass, water is available by the pitch as is the electric hook up. After a cup of tea we walk over the hill with fantastic views of Culver Cliffs  to Godshill. We have a walk around the Old Smithy before heading back the 2 miles to Wroxall and our Van.

And lots of it……all day! We breakfast on boiled duck eggs and toast. Undeterred by the weather we set off. ( unless you like queuing at Supermarket tills or in cinemas for tickets, a visit to Osbourne House is a bad idea when wet) The island devoid of things to do out of season, tourist’s head for Osbourne, which becomes a Royal umbrella. The car park is full of coaches ( bad sign) and cars.

	The reception/ shop is full of coach travellers waiting for tickets to enter the house. After receiving ours and braving the wind and rain we arrive at the House. The queue starts immediately and we all progress through the corridors trying to enjoy the scenes as if on a conveyor belt.

Lunch was good though….the van really comes into its own when you can make yourself a cup of tea and a snack “ bacon roll”. The rest of the afternoon is spent driving to Newport for some provisions. On returning home we are met with a sagging awning. The rain had gathered and was so heavy that it bent the front pole. A wet and frustrating 30 mins later and all is well ( the pole is aluminium so is easily straightened back  .

We wake to the sound of rain. The weather forecast does not look promising either. To be honest I am a little reluctant to leave the awning, freestanding or other wise after yesterday.

We live through breakfast, “Porridge” ( imprisoned as we are) and bail out the roof twice. The weather is punishing us for bringing the wrong awning. When I say us I mean me. The plan for today, back in the days when the Sun shone brightly and promoted daft ideas, like a weeks holiday in a small van with a tent at its side, measuring 10' x 8', is to walk over Luccumbe Down to Ventnor……….end of rant ( did I just say all of that in one breath)

Released early for good behaviour, we slope off to Ventnor, as it’s stopped raining. Due to the unpredictable window of good weather, we ignore the Downs and instead head for the “Rew Valley” popping out above Ventnor. The stunning Sea views and a young Red Squirrel we surprise, camera anyone?.

The Town seems deserted as we leave the Coast Path and start to explore the High Street, it is the end of season. Our journey back is the reverse of our walk earlier this morning. The path passes Appuldurcombe House, now a ruin and heads down over a style to the campsite. All is well so we enjoy the afternoon sunshine with a cup of tea “ Yorkshire Gold” and a scone and jam.

Appuldurcombe House today, whilst dodging the showers and then a 5 mile walk over to Godshill and back, weather permitting. “The awning roof? that managed to survive several torrential downpours through the night, so I am hopeful it will survive during the day”.

Appuldurcombe House is a romantic ruin, part restored and used for weddings. After we look around especially the cellars “which is supposed to be haunted” we head back to camp. We pack our rucksacs            ( prepared for rain) and with leggings and waterproofs  securely fastened we walk over to Godshill.

Godshill, apart from a few thatched cottages surrounding a church on a hill is full of Tea rooms and gift shops. So unless you are partial to a cream tea or cakes with a few hundred other tourists and browsing around tatty gifts then you are going to be disappointed. Oh and if you should happen to have arrived on two feet carrying a rucksack with a picnic lunch you will not find a bench or seat to sit on, not even the church yard which has  views of the hills. We however walk some distance away from the crowds queing for the spare seats inside the tea rooms ( too wet for outside seating today) and find a style to sit on as a rainbow appears we sit down to a cup of tea “Yorkshire Gold”

click  link link to see photos    Appuldurcombe slideshow

The last day and probably the wettest, you would expect me to say that I am sorry to be leaving……. Well how can I explain my disappointment ? Imagine it is Sunday Lunch Time and you are waiting for your favourite meal, (Roast Beef and Yorkshire pud) the waiter arrives; the gravy is cold, the yorkshire pudding is soggy and the vegetables are uncooked? We are sat on a soggy bench, its raining and we are having a sandwich for lunch.

	We walked the 3 miles along the Old Railway Line which ran from Wroxall to Shanklin. A pleasant walk on a sunny day, however it is drizzling so much we have to walk in our waterproof’s, which is never great. There are no animals either to distract us from the ever present chore that is of dodging around the edge of
puddles, that can be dodged around, that is until they swamp the entire path, with this slow progress we soon arrive at Shanklin. A  sudden torrential downpour causes us to take shelter by a static caravan. This prompts fond memories of a distant holiday we spent in one.

A short stroll along the coast path on top of the cliff and we are stopping for lunch. The view from the bench is of Culver Cliffs, which are stunning. Its raining again, drops drip of the peak of my cap into my tea as the sound of the Shanklin to Ryde ( London underground) train passes behind us, I think its time to move.