Isle of Wight: Yarmouth to Alum Bay

 

Today was an odd one as it felt like we did a lot of walking but it turned out it was less than ten miles. I accidentally took us down the estuary rather than along the coast from Yarmouth, which then led to a fair bit of road walking through Freshwater (and tarmac is tiring), it was quite hilly, and towards the end extremely windy (gusts of nearly 60mph!)  We decided to catch a bus for the last five miles. 

The day started off with two buses to get us to Yarmouth, a lovely little town with some nice shops, cafes and architecture. I bought a big, sturdy coral tote bag in a gift shop as couldn’t resist the colour. The sun was shining today most of the time, with a few showers but they were not the deluges we suffered yesterday.

The walk down the estuary path was lovely - swans and geese galore, and a wide woodland path. We chatted to several other dog owners. 

After a bit of a road trudge we stopped at a marvellous cafe for a superlative coffee. 

Then up into the wooded headland for cheese sandwiches on a bench, with a view down to a fort in Freshwater Bay. 

Then on to the Needles and a horrible, tasteless sort of holiday park with touristy shops and stuff, and a cable car for views of the Needles. It was shut because of the wind, one chair swinging around alarmingly. 

We eventually got to the end of the peninsula and turned back along it - a lovely walk along Tennyson Down, wide swathe of springy green with views of the sea to left and right. It was so windy that they’d closed the battery. It was about 4.30 and I decided it would be too far to walk all the way to Brook at this point, so we decided to get the bus. Picked blackberries by the bus stop while we waited and the bus route took us back around Freshwater Bay, which was quite a nice bit of sightseeing. 

Back home for baths and another salmon dinner, then the three-parter The Replacement, with. Vicky McClure. Bit of a laugh. Then a late bedtime, nearly 11pm, yikes! Not setting any alarms for the morning. Undecided about which bit of coast to walk tomorrow. Legs far more tired than I would like, given that I have a very taxing Italy trip looming up very soon. Too few hills here for training purposes. Maybe hills are what I should seek out tomorrow!