The search for the perfect Isle of Wight sunset part 2

Our trip to Thorness Bay was pretty awesome. Despite the weird trek through the speed-bump infested caravan park and the slight risk of being locked in a car park overnight, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I was ready to declare Thorness Bay as the Isle of Wight’s best sunset spot, contrary to the usual declarations that Gurnard deserves the crown.

But alas, there’s always a spanner gliding through the air just waiting to end up in the works (sorry, that was a terribly clumsy attempt at a metaphor).

On a sunny Friday night we headed over to Hanover Point and walked towards Compton Bay – perhaps my favourite spot on the Island, which logically makes it my favourite spot it the World, probably. Over the years I’ve spent many evenings admiring sunsets at the beach, but it had been a good few years since the stars had aligned such as they did on that evening so I had rather forgotten how nice it can be.

The weather had been baking, so stepping outside actually felt like we were wandering along the Mediterranean on a summer's evening, and we didn’t have to just pretend it was nice. The tide was fairly low and the sky was cloudless.

On paper, Compton Bay sunsets shouldn’t be the best on the Isle of Wight. Indeed, God could have designed it so that the sun sets over the horizon rather than behind the cliffs of Freshwater Bay and Tennyson Down. But he didn’t. Without wishing to turn into a great big pretentious gusher, I would contest that imperfection can be more beautiful than perfection.

We were joined on our stroll by an older couple who were happily walking hand in hand, at least until the lady fell over on some rocks. Luckily she was giddy enough to find this hilarious, which also gave me permission to snort loudly through my nose, much like a pig who had just been given a toffee apple.

The sun slowly dropped, the waves lapped on the shore and I drank a cup of tea out of a flask. There was even a weird haziness, which gave Compton Bay an extra point on the Isle-of-Wight-Guru-Sunsetness-Scale.

I think I may have found the Isle of Wight’s perfect sunset, for this week anyway.