Ventnor, Isle of Wight

Much of Ventnor was closed for the ‘winter’ when we visited on Wednesday though, fortunately,  we did find a very good cafe. The cascade gardens were one of the main features in Victorian times while the imposing Winter Garden Art Deco building was the highlight in the 1930’s, now sadly run down. The ivy growing over much of the building were full of ivy bees.

The Needles and Alum Bay IOW

As I last visited the IOW in 1950s and my strongest memories are of Alum Bay and filling glass tubes with sand, I thought I should make the pilgrimage back. The cliff falls over the years have covered most of the beach that I would have been exploring and access is now quite difficult from the steps down. The white sand is very striking - must check its origin when back with some proper WiFi.

Compton Beach, Isle of Wight

 After another session with the Squirrels, we headed for the Coastal road to visit Compton Beach as we had seen it yesterday on the way back. It proved a great choice for a walk on the sands, a bit of fossil hunting, some landscape photography and even a dip in the sea braving the breakers.

Red Squirrels, Isle of Wight

The highlight of yesterday was photographing a pair of Red Squirrels on a reserve near Ventnor.

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Yarmouth, Isle of Wight

 The weather is set to be windy and showery all week and certainly yesterday felt that autumn has arrived. We had a walk looking out for Red squirrels but the only wildlife around was a young Kestrel hunting off a wire with no luck at all in the time we watched. Enjoyed getting out of the wind for a time in St James church