Sunday morning and we hit the road bang on 8:00am for a two hour drive to the port of Southampton. We arrived shortly before 10:00am and were immediately offered a place on this crossing. We declined based upon our earliest arrival time at Southlands Caravan and Motorhome club site being noon.
Our 11:00am ferry left on time and it was a smooth crossing over to Ryde on the Isle of Wight. From Ryde it’s a short 15 minute or so drive to the site – be careful not to follow satnav – as Motorhome in front of us did. Finally arriving a good 10 minutes later than us at the campsite.
We had the choice of two hard standing pitches and manoeuvered the caravan into position. We then took a walk around the site and found some very nice grass pitches. In true CAMC “wacky races”, I left Moe guarding another pitch whilst I fetched the caravan!
This pitch is a lovely corner plot with lots of space and great flexibility in how to position the caravan, car and awning.
The only downside is that we have had some mega thunder, lightning and rain storms which at times have left the pitch looking like a paddling pool.
Monday we visited the village of Shanklin and took the following photograph. Moe has a vacuum forming of this location which she created during her relief map cartography days.
Tuesday we drove to Allum and Bay and the Needles. We walked to the Old and New Battery which given they are National Trust venues, we entered on Moe’s card.
Wednesday we headed to Mottistone, a National Trust property and gardens on the Isle of Wight.
On the way back we visited the pretty village of Godshill and noted the rather tame wildlife in the gardens.
Later in the afternoon, we walked over to Borthwood copse to see the Red Squirrels. The IOW is one of the few places which has a thriving colony of red squirrels and there are no grey squirrels present.
You can click on the image of the giant Oak tree above to try and locate the Red Squirrels. Can you see any?
No… neither could we. A disappointing excursion!
Thursday was a day off – well for Moe at least. I cleaned and polished the van which took up a large part of the day. We had made a reservation at the Pointer Inn during the evening and this turned out to be a really good choice. All the pubs round about seem to be reservation only and we have had little success in attempting a sameday reservation.
Osborne House was the holiday home for Queen Victoria and is now a property managed by English Heritage since 1986. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and designed by Prince Albert himself in the style of an Italian Renaissance.
Queen Victoria and her family stayed at Osborne house for lengthy periods each year; in the spring for Victoria’s birthday in May; in July and August when they celebrated Albert’s birthday; and just before Christmas. She was a frequent visitor to the Island and Osborne House until the death of her husband, Albert. After that her visits were less frequent although she did spend her final days here.
There are some nice walks to the Swiss cottage and beach, and finally a tour of the house itself. Some spectacular views from the house terrace across the water to Portsmouth. Queen Victoria must have felt a certain satisfaction observing her empire from Osborne House.
The internal collections in the house are interesting. There is even a billiard table (specially built at a comfortable height for Queen Victoria) which dates back to 1850.
