may day bank holiday weekend is upon us again. was miserable this morning, but still went ahead with a day trip to the isle of wight with one of my bros and my parents. not had a family outing like this for ages. has also been around 20 years since we went to the isle of wight last!

lymington to yarmouth on a wightlink ferry, then to alum bay and the needles, the sequence of chalk stacks that stretch out into the sea from the westernmost point on the isle. there used to be another needle called "lots wife" (dunno why) that collapsed into the sea during a storm in 1764. right on the end of the needles stands the lighthouse, now automated since 1994. back on the needles headland, there is now an entertainment complex called "the needles park", with its famous chairlift down to the beach. amazingly enough, the cloud lifts and the sun now gloriously shines...

also on the headland is a monument to marconi and his world first wireless transmission station (1897-1900), from where he sent telegraph messages to ships out at sea. the whole site has now long since gone.

a further trek down to the calm fine sand beaches around brook in the southwest of the isle and it was time to head back to yarmouth. dinner at the celebrated saltys, a bar/restaurant in the town centre. some dude with a puter and a guitar provided live music. wasnt bad actually, as 70s rockers go.

ferry back to lymington and three hours later we were back in london.

food of the day (dinner at saltys, quay st, yarmouth, isle of wight):

cracked crab, half lobster, in shell prawns, deep fried whitebait with tartare sauce, moules marinieres, chips, salad, bread basket

wightlink isle of wight ferries
the needles park
the isle of wight improving island life

posted by Chas at 01:13
go ahead, roll the donut!