The Needles

After a pleasant few days in the South Downs, during which we explored Cuckmere Haven and the Devil's Dyke, rode the Bluebell Railway (which may feature later in this blog) and met up with our great friend Lucy, we motored over to Southampton for a trip on the high seas to the Isle of Wight.  Timing our arrival for the 1pm ferry proved more tricky than expected and although the driver did his best to dawdle, and took an inordinate amount of time finding cheap petrol, we arrived at the Red Funnel terminal just before midday.

"Would you like to go on the 12-o'clock ferry?" asked the guy at the gate. Yes, we would, and thus became the last-but-one to board the Red Osprey. That's Bluebird, our little Hyundai I10, on road 4.

Note for the future: don't worry too much about ferry times; just turn up.

The last time I sailed down Southampton Water I was a kid on a school trip. I remember one of my teachers pointing out the huge Empress flying boats, laid up at Calshot. This time there was still much to keep me enthralled, as we made our way down to The Solent. This is the Esso oil refinery at Fawley.

On arrival in Cowes I asked Google Maps for a route to Brighstone and was surprised to be immediately directed onto another ferry – this one across the River Medina. It made sense, though, as we wouldn't have to brave the middle of Newport with the surge of traffic that greets every ferry arrival.  Cleaver Google!

Our little AirBnB chalet turned out to be a real gem, with a lovely sun-blessed veranda, overlooked by a Buddha......

O dear, I've just re-read the heading for this post, reminding me that I was supposed to be writing about The Needles. How easily one gets sidetracked.

Surely no short holiday on the Isle of Wight is complete without seeing the famous Needles. The OS map showed a nice cliff-top walk from Freshwater Bay, so we parked Bluebird in the only free car park that we ever saw on the IoW's south coast, and eagerly set off for a gentle climb to Tennyson Down.

Alfred Lord Tennyson's lived nearby.  He regularly walked these downs and claimed that the air was worth sixpence a pint.

My appreciation of classical poetry is almost non-existent, but I do like 'Crossing the Bar'.

Sunset and evening star,

and one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar

when I put out to sea.

There's a lot of concrete near The Needles. I wrongly presumed these unsightly remains were left over from the last war, though they did look rather modern. They turned out to be an old Rocket Testing Site. 

I have Wikipedia to thank for the information that Black Arrow was responsible for our country's one and only successful launch of a satellite into earth orbit.

This view is as close as one may get to The Needles without entering The Battery and paying the National Trust.  I used to be an NT member but transferred my allegiance to Cadw when we moved from Cornwall. Having come this far, though, neither of us were going to pass on the chance to enjoy the 'classic view' of the famous rocks.

More concrete! This, though, had clearly been built to defend The Solent in time of war. It was as exciting to explore as a medieval castle, with an underground passage leading to a big searchlight.

Back on the surface, here's the sight we came to see; The Needles in all their splendour. There used to be four of them, but one collapsed during a storm in 1764, leaving a gap that looks like a missing tooth.

They serve very good cream teas at The Battery. Note carefully, please the correct order – jam first!

From The Needles it's but a short walk to Alum Bay, with its beautiful multi-coloured cliffs.  

One huge change since our last visit in 1971 is that the place has been turned into an entertainment complex. The chairlift to the beach might have been fun, but I for one was totally turned off by the prospect of experiencing a sweet manufactury, 4D cinema, Sand Shop, fairground rides and 'A Taste of the Wight' – all shared with 5 coach-loads and many a car-load of humanity. 

We shared this view from Headon Warren with just three other people and congratulated ourselves on a wise choice.

For the record, here's a similar view from back in 1971.

That evening we returned to Freshwater for a splendid pub meal at The Vine, and on the way back to our chalet stopped to watch the sunset over Freshwater Bay.  This, above all else, is the memory I take home of the Isle of Wight.