Saturday Ramblings

I had a lovely holiday with my friends on the beautiful Isle of Wight. We stayed at the Holliers hotel in Shanklin. A very quaint old hotel with a decidedly wonky, sloping floor, in the room I shared with a friend - by the end of our stay we had just about got used to it. Good job I stayed relatively sober then, as the drinks were a bit pricey!

Shanklin is very pretty with  numerous tea shops, quaint pubs and craft shops.
The hotel food was great,  a carvery every evening, though there were alternatives for those who fancied a change. Self serve breakfasts too - lovely grub.

We had a tour of the island on the second day which took in Alum Bay with the famous Needles. There was a slight change in the tour, as we went to the Pearl shop next instead of Ventnor, which is lovely but very steep for those with mobility problems.

I remember when I first went to the island, Paul bought me a beautiful pair of earrings from Isle of Wight Pearl. It must have been around 2006. They seemed a reasonable price then, but I couldn't afford anything this time, as it was all way out of my price range, which was disappointing. Still the cafe made up for it, with a delicious homemade scone and butter! Paul would have enjoyed that, bless him ❤

Then on to Godshill, a very pretty village with its nice, upmarket craft/souvenir shops and of course the famous model village. We didn't visit though, as I have been before, it was too much of a hike. The gardens around the old smithy are very beautiful and well kept. I managed to hit the bell over the well with a coin and make a wish!

Next day was to Osborne House, where Queen Victoria spent happy times with Prince Albert and their children. She died there. We had a good look round the beautiful rooms.  The grounds are beautiful too.  The Isle of Wight has only our native red squirrels, no greys, thank goodness. Unfortunately they were being very elusive and none of us spied any all week. I did see a couple on my Scottish holiday in March though.

The tea room was very busy and no seats inside, so we managed to get a seat outside - bit breezy but bearable.  We bought a few souvenirs and got a seat inside later for another cuppa.

Last trip of the week was to the steam railway and museum which was interesting and brought back childhood memories of travelling on these mighty beasts. I recall loving the sulphurous aroma plus sitting in the old carriages, with leather straps to fasten the door windows.  The train did not disappoint as it had all these features. We had chips and coffee in the cafe. We then went on to Ryde for a couple of hours.
Very hilly again,
so we spent most of the time in a nice pub as it would have been too much of a struggle coping with the incline.  On the whole a good day out though.

The evening entertainment was pretty good, but very loud on our delicate pensioner lugholes!  The best one was a Frank Sinatra style singer, Chris Beard, who kindly posed for a snap with the three of us! For some strange reason he reminded me of my future son-in-law Tom!

I couldn't help feeling sad at times though, that my lovely Paul wasn't there with me, as he loved the Isle of Wight ever since our first visit together in 2006. He would be pleased that I returned once more. I hope to go back, again and again. To me, it will always be our island ❤