Everyone knows that the third one in the trilogy is always the worst. Whether it's The Godfather, Back to the Future or Big Momma's House 3 (Like Father, Like Son).
And so we assumed that the third part of our search for the perfect Isle of Wight sunset would be a poor relation to parts 1 (Thorness Bay) and part 2 (Compton). We'd attempted to see sunsets at Gurnard several times, but it had never quite reached the heights I was aiming for. Finally, we got it right on a late summer's evening. We wandered up and down the Esplanade and then round to the little hidden beach in Gurnard, behind the Sailing Club. We call this Robert's Bay, but I'm not sure if there's an official name. Beach hut owners chortled heartily as they got gradually tipsier as the sun dropped in the sky. Was it better than the sunsets at Thorness Bay or Compton Bay? Well, Gurnard has the definite advantage of creating romantic silhouettes thanks to sailors, kayakers and other people larking around on the Solent. You don't really get that at the other two beaches. But if I'm being particularly nerdy about this, I'd say that Thorness Bay produced the most stunning red sky, whilst Compton had a fuzzy evening haze which I've not seen elsewhere. Anyway, I'll soon be launching a premium vote line so that you can text in your vote before the drawn out announcement on Christmas Day on ITV2. Votes will be charged at £20 plus your usual network charge...
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Every now and then I have a few minutes of freedom from the glorious shackles of responsibility when every member of my family falls asleep apart from me.
We were on the way to Mottistone Manor Gardens when child one and Mrs Guru fell asleep. And so, I parked up at the Mottistone Down car park and decided to head for The Longstone in the rain. I had two choices. Option one was to head through the field of cows which appeared slightly more direct, or walk along Strawberry Lane and then through a field. The cows were looking particularly menacing, so I took the road option. In hindsight, I could have parked a whole lot nearer as there was a small layby with space for about three cars right by the footpath. Still, I had been complaining about my lack of time for exercise so I enjoyed the 15 minute walk to the start of the footpath with only occasional dives into the hedgerows being required when a car came along. The whole of Mottistone Down is really pretty, with rolling greenery and hardly any people around even in the summer school holidays (although it was raining, to be fair). Another five minutes later and I was at The Longstone. To the initiated it might look like a missing lump of Stonehenge, but of course the definitely accurate history is that it landed during a shot-put competition between the devil and St Catherine. Having walked the whole way, I felt the need to at least touch the Longtone so I gently prodded it. Not exactly sure what I expected to happen, although of course I would have been delighted if I had opened up a secret door to a neolithic chamber. Nothing happened, so I wandered back to my car of sleeping passengers having tick off another thing from my summertime to-do list. |
Isle of Wight Guru's BlogTales of Isle of Wight days out, attractions and ferry discounts from a Wightophile. This site uses cookies - see our privacy policy. Ads & links in bold may give us a small payment from the seller, at no cost to the buyer. However, this never affects our views - if we like it, we recommend it. Archives
November 2024
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