"Wet and Windy" a Isle of Wight Travel Page by northeast80

I just got back yesterday after a mamoth 11 hours of travel, I could get to Singapore in that time :-)
We spent four nights staying at a Thorness Bay caravan site, got the Red Funnel from Southampton and have a good time walking around the old walls there.
24.10.2006
Very cold and damp.
Via Porchfield to Newtown and had a walk around there, saw the town hall and walked near the estuary (the bird hut was locked and you need to contact someone for the key if you want to go in)
Yarmouth, where we had a coffee overlooking the water, walked along the pier (it's 20p each, by honesty box)
To Alum Bay, it's a good job I was fore-warned about Alum Bay, it is truly tacky, I couldn't wait to get out of the place it was making me itch! Full of tacky tourist shops selling sand things for you to fill up, a glass factory, sweet factory, just horrible!
Though it was good to see the Needles and we walked down to the beach to see the coloured sand (there was a chair life taking people down but this just felt like a scam) so this part was nice to see- from black, gray, all browns, yellows oranges, even pink coloured sands.
Then we stopped at Freshwater Bay to look at the Mermaid Rocks and saw Tennison's monument from afar.
To Compton Bay to see lots of black sand, unfortunatley the sea was in so we couldn't see any of the foscilised trees.
We stopped off at the Pearl Centre (the biggest selection in Europe don't you know) which had lots of amusing tacky Christmas decorations up, don't know what they do with the space in other season, more pearls maybe.
Then on our way back we stopped at Calbourne and walked down Winkle Street ( I thought this would have shops on as Winkle in Dutch means shops) but it was a row of thatched cottages, a nice stream running by though and someone selling truly awful, sachrine prints of the street.

Weds 25.10
Drove into West Cowes and had a look at the chain ferry. It was strange to get your bearings again, I sailed here from Southampton on my old bosses boat so it was good to get another look at the place, even if it did rain.
We looked in an interesting lost and found shop which was selling all stuff left by people, I'm assuming it's from the ferries though I don't really know. Or just trying to make a second hand shop more appealing. Though some lovely chips soon warmed us up.
Ryde-we parked by the sea front and had a look at the hovercraft and lots of charity shops in the town, got very rained on, we walked down the very long pier and had a coffee at the end.

Thurs 26.10
To the South coast. Stopped first in Ventnor and went to the Botanical Gardens which were great, a huge area with lots of different styles and plants from all over the world, I'm surprised they survive so well, though I suppose it's a little milder in the I.O.W.
We had a lovely lunch in the cafe there.
Then we went through Shanklin to Sandown and had a look at the pier there and was not impressed, you had to walk through all the horrible ringing fruit machines only to find we couldn't actualy get onto the pier, it was closed for reapirs.
Though the sun did come out and we bought some clotted cream for later.
Back to Throness Bay via Godshill Cider Barn and the very naff Smithy- lots more tacky tourist stuff. Though someone had taken a lot of time in the garden their, making a landscape in the shape of the Island, but it was quite amusing in an ironic way.
And that's about all the trip really, short but sweet, I was quite surprised about the Isle of Wight though, a mixture of impressive natural sights and the tourist tack that come along with it, quite at odds with eachother.