Shirley Early Temple

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Ise of Wight - August

August in the Isle of Wight

At last, a chance to get away despite the ever-presence of this dreaded Covid-19 pandemic. Who would believe that this is the first venture out in our new caravan since we took possession of him/her back in December 2019? All those months he/she has sat there with only the occasional, on the drive, visits from its owners.

Well, we are about to make up for that by spending 8 nights at one of our favourite UK destinations the wonderful, peaceful, and picturesque Isle of Wight. In addition, we have two nights stopover prior to catching the ferry at the Caravan Club site of Morn Hill on the outskirts of Winchester and all of this in the company of our grandson Ben.

We booked the entire vacation and part paid for this holiday, our ferry crossing, back in January, who would have thought back then that we could have contemplated that the holiday would not go ahead, not through our choice but by a situation way beyond our control. Way beyond the control of Governments throughout the world. A comparison situation, some, who are of the age, have latterly come to compare this situation as being like it was in the war. A comparison I find difficult to grasp. It has been and still is harsh but surely not akin to a world war?

Safely arrived and established at Morn Hill we decided to make use of the temporary on-site food facility. A fast-food van has been allowed to set up outside the perimeter of the site in the visitor car park and serves meals two nights a week. Fortunately, those two nights coincide with our stay so that is our evening meals sorted.

We had allowed a full day between arrival and catching the ferry so that we could pay a visit to the nearby Cathedral City of Winchester. Having made use of the two ferry services based at Southampton on numerous occasions we had passed the signs to Winchester and realised just how close it was but with the van on the back had been unable to visit. Our chance now to make that visit and to satisfy our curiosity. The City is only a short drive from the Club Site and after a couple of tours around the centre we managed to finally find a carpark with disabled parking, and which turned out was relatively close to the centre. We had an interesting wander around this once first and former capital city of the country making a point to locate but sadly not able to visit the inside of the magnificent and imposing structure of the Cathedral. An interesting City and one worthy of more than a day visit with many interesting buildings and museums to visit none of which available to us on the day of our visit as a result of the Covid restrictions.

Our trip down the Solent the next day was as smooth as usual but once again movement about the ferry was restricted which, with such a short journey, was no hardship. Traffic surprising light on our drive to our certificated location site “Bury Hill Farm” at Merstone, especially so around the usual bottleneck of Newport. Within 40 minutes of landing on the island, we had reached our site and been greeted and made extremely welcome by the owner Mrs Watts. Given the choice of pitches with only three incumbents, we were able to obtain a nice level pitch with an uninterrupted view but sadly we later found out to be on top of an ant’s nest.

With the Island having suffered badly through the initial stages of the virus we were unsure if the effects would still be felt during our visit with much of the island closed down. Whatever, we had decided to make the most of the break and the chance of some good weather and if necessary, make use of the views around the island if not being able to visit the attractions. We found when we started to make internet enquiries for our first days outing with a return visit to Godshill and the model village, locations were open and maintaining some restrictions on numbers, some stricter than others. We accepted from the outset that whatever restrictions were or were not in a place that we three would observe common sense and the rules of hands - face – space and to the letter.

Although making return visits to many places during our stay we thoroughly enjoyed the fact that despite some restrictions we were able to enjoy a break and if not completely forget Covid we happily put it to the back of our minds.

At Gosport after visiting the model village, now linked to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) as a result of its immaculate gardens in which the models are dispersed, we took our first advantage of the Chancellors offer to subsidise meals out. Enjoying an excellent al-fresco meal in the nearby restaurant. An offer we used to the full during the time it was on offer, eating whilst out and enjoying a light snack when we got back later that night at the van.

Visits to Godshill and Shanklin Chine were as normal. However, the visits to Osbourne House and The Needles very much restricted on the amenities available to view. We had been warned that although Osbourne was open the house visit was restricted by time ticket to the ground floor. Full access was available of the grounds which we took full advantage of taking our first opportunity to visit the beach, although this was a bit of a struggle for Pam in both directions more the ascent in trying to negotiate her chariot over the very uneven ground. This thankfully did not mar the day as the weather was fine and warm. At the Needles, parts of the facilities were open but with some closed or with restricted access. The chair lift to the beach as always in popular demand had long queues as the staff-maintained hygiene restrictions on each chair before new boarding’s. The toffee and glassworks both closed. Rather than queue Ben and I decided to walk to and from the beach and left Pam enjoying a coffee sitting in the sun as far away from others as space permitted. Despite the public announcements of self-isolating she had to make several enforced moves as others totally ignored the safe space ruling – sad and unnecessary.

The visit to the steam railway location was very well Covid19 organised with each family booking allocated their own carriage compartment and only allowed to board the train once staff had given your accommodation a thorough cleaning. The precautions taken by the staff throughout the site made you feel safe and in no way marred your visit. All credit to the staff and volunteers.

We paid a number of sightseeing trips where we either had a picnic or made use of the local facilities for food and drinks including our first proper view of the seafront at Ryde where we sat basking in the afternoon sun. A return visit to the beach at Seaview, where we had a picnic enjoying the views over the Solent looking back to Gosport and Portsmouth. With several visits to Shanklin, Sandown and Ventnor we certainly made much use of the closeness of our temporary accommodation to the east coast of the island and the delights that it had to offer.

A much-needed break away from home – time spent in a different environment, sadly not entirely away from the ramifications of Covid19 but for once not always on our minds. It is always nice to visit the island which we feel is reminiscent of Norfolk in the fact that it does not appear to change but always looks welcoming as though it received a spring clean just prior to your visit.