Showing posts with label IOW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IOW. Show all posts
Posted by
Sille Bliss
Today we had another one of our many trips to the Isle of Wight on the ferry. The last few times it was too cold to be out on deck so being able to sit outside this time was great. We didn't stay out too long in the morning because it was still a bit chilly.
So today I decided to visit Carisbrooke Castle. We were so close by it would be silly not to.
Early History from Wiki says:
The site of Carisbrooke Castle may have been occupied in pre-Roman times. A ruined wall suggests that there was a building there in late Roman times. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions that Wihtgar, cousin of King Cynric of Wessex, died in AD 544, and was buried there. The Jutes may have taken over the fort by the late 7th century. An Anglo-Saxon stronghold occupied the site during the 8th century. Around 1000, a wall was built around the hill as a defence against Viking raids.
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| The Great Hall (view from atop the keep) |
This place is huge and you could easily spend a few hours here just looking around the grounds. There's also a museum and a cafe area to have some tea and cakes. I got here as soon as it opened and there were already a couple people waiting to get in. There was also a couple of classes of kids from a school on a field trip. I was hoping they wouldn't be in the way of my photos but as you will see, the place is so big they were nowhere to be seen. Yay! :)
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| The Gate House |
Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke, near Newport on the Isle of Wight. A motte-and-bailey castle is a castle with a defense wall or other reinforcement built to strengthen a place against attack, with a keep built on a raised earthwork called a motte. It has an enclosed courtyard or bailey surrounded by a protective ditch.
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| The Keep - Carisbrooke Castle |
This is MY photo. I was standing here! Seeing it back feels so surreal and like I wasn't there at all. Anyway, before I did anything my goal was to go up to the keep and get those awesome views I knew were awaiting me. I knew this would be a challenge and the 71 steps leading up to it would kick my ass, but in the end I was sure it would be worth it.
For some silly reason I felt that the stairs looked easy peasy going up and even down, but they were not. They were very uneven and cracked some shorter and others a little higher. Thank goodness I'm not afraid of heights and I was happy there were railings to hold onto.
Even though going down was less tiring, it seemed more nerve-wrecking and harder to come down because you could then see how steep they were and it was a bit hard to determine which steps were the short ones and which were a little higher. As long as I took my time and held on for dear life, I was ok ;) At least I wasn't the only one who got tired on these stairs, as I was just getting to the half way point to walk along the top wall bit, the kiddies were coming up, huffing and puffing away about how tired they were. I felt a little better about that :)
For some silly reason I felt that the stairs looked easy peasy going up and even down, but they were not. They were very uneven and cracked some shorter and others a little higher. Thank goodness I'm not afraid of heights and I was happy there were railings to hold onto.
Even though going down was less tiring, it seemed more nerve-wrecking and harder to come down because you could then see how steep they were and it was a bit hard to determine which steps were the short ones and which were a little higher. As long as I took my time and held on for dear life, I was ok ;) At least I wasn't the only one who got tired on these stairs, as I was just getting to the half way point to walk along the top wall bit, the kiddies were coming up, huffing and puffing away about how tired they were. I felt a little better about that :)
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| Entrance to the keep from the stairs |
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| English Heritage flag in the keep |
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| Inside the keep |
The views were pretty awesome from up here and the wind was nice too. After that climb to the top I needed some fresh air to cool me off. I could of stayed up here forever. Here were the views from different angles...
After getting my breath back & taking lots of photos, I head back down the stairs of hell. :P
After getting my breath back & taking lots of photos, I head back down the stairs of hell. :P
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| Me just after defeating the stairs! :) |
I didn't have much more time to check out a lot of other parts of the castle I would of liked but this is the perfect type of place to come back again to so there is always another time. And I found out that there are holiday flats here to stay the night for a really affordable price. I love stuff like this. You get to have the whole castle to yourself once it closes and can walk it in the evening. This sounds like it would be really awesome to do and scary fun. This place is awesome, I can imagine how cool it would be here at night.
Before heading out I made a stop at the chapel. It was a small chapel but very beautiful as they are all in my eyes...
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| These buildings are part of the holiday apartments to stay the night |
Before heading out I made a stop at the chapel. It was a small chapel but very beautiful as they are all in my eyes...
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| Chapel - Carisbrooke Castle |
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| Inside the Chapel |
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| Inside the Chapel |
This time I felt like I had a very educational trip to the Isle of Wight. This castle was a pretty cool experience and I'm glad I got to check it out.
By the end of the day the sun was out more than ever and the timing couldn't have been more better as we were getting back on the ferry we could get some vitamin D out on the deck this time without it being a bit cold.
By the end of the day the sun was out more than ever and the timing couldn't have been more better as we were getting back on the ferry we could get some vitamin D out on the deck this time without it being a bit cold.
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| Yarmouth, Isle of Wight |
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| Yarmouth Castle - Isle of Wight |
Now that it's going on 3 years that I've been here I've learned to be prepared for the ever changing weather at all times! :) I already had my flip flops in the car and changed into them from my tennis soon after I got back from the castle. I already had capris on and a sleeveless top. So all that I had to do was get rid of the cardigan and I was set and ready for the semi-hot weather! :)
Posted by
Sille Bliss
It had been awhile since we had a cream tea and after searching Groupon for a bit one day, I found this awesome deal for afternoon tea for two. Oh yeah! Last time we had afternoon tea was on my birthday 2014! So we were definitely due for some.
It was at this cool pink posh looking hotel in Bournemouth called The Norfolk and the cream tea was divine.
There was so much, we tried our hardest to finish it all but at the end we had about 4 full pieces of cakes left that we decided to take one bite of each cake then left the rest. It was some good stuff!
Finding that groupon deal reminded me that I have to go back on there from time to time to find stuff like this on there. It was a great price!
The last week of January we headed out to the Isle of Wight. It's been a little while since we've been so it was nice to hop back on the ferry and head out there for the day. This time we came in through the Lymington to Yarmouth side. It's much shorter to get there since it's at the tip of both ends and we don't have to sail through the long ol' canal in Southampton where we usually get on from. This route is much nicer towards Lymington, and even from where we get off in Yarmouth on the IOW is a nice little route. There is less traffic and more nice scenery both ways. And since we live so much closer to Lymington, I don't see why we'd go to Southampton anyway to catch it.
It was a gloomy day with grey skies, even some rain but the water and views are still beautiful no matter what the weather is like.
It was at this cool pink posh looking hotel in Bournemouth called The Norfolk and the cream tea was divine.
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| The Norfolk Hotel 2016.01.15 |
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| Afternoon Tea for Two Lovers! |
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| One Serious / One Silly |
The last week of January we headed out to the Isle of Wight. It's been a little while since we've been so it was nice to hop back on the ferry and head out there for the day. This time we came in through the Lymington to Yarmouth side. It's much shorter to get there since it's at the tip of both ends and we don't have to sail through the long ol' canal in Southampton where we usually get on from. This route is much nicer towards Lymington, and even from where we get off in Yarmouth on the IOW is a nice little route. There is less traffic and more nice scenery both ways. And since we live so much closer to Lymington, I don't see why we'd go to Southampton anyway to catch it.
It was a gloomy day with grey skies, even some rain but the water and views are still beautiful no matter what the weather is like.
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| Lymington Harbour from Ferry 2016.01.22 |
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| Driving along the coast from Yarmouth to Cowes on the IOW |
The appointment was in Cowes a few miles from Yarmouth. It's usually very busy here in the summer along the esplanade, but during this time of the year with this weather, it was a ghost town.
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| Along the Esplanade. Cowes, IOW 2016.01.22 |
I didn't go out much since it was a drizzling day, so I spent most of my time the car keeping busy. When it wasn't raining I was hanging at the benches facing the channel, but that never lasted too long. It was cold and windy there by the sea, it was much warmer and cozy in the car. Since it was a Friday, we decided to stay the night over and come back the next morning. The next day was just as gloomy as the day before. It was still nice to have a nice cozy romantic night away :)
Oddly enough, two weeks later we were back at the Isle of Wight again.... we've never done visits this close, but as always I was ready. This time the weather wasn't so bad. Still cold yes and still windy as ever but no rain, yah! We were also back in Cowes...
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| Yarmouth Castle - back view |
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| Yarmouth |
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| Lymington Harbour from Ferry on the way back 2016.01.23 |
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| 2016.02.05 |
And back in the same little area... I decided to have a walk along the esplanade... and I wasn't the only one out and about either this time.
Before going for my walk I saw the big ferry from Southampton coming by and had to take a vid of it. What caught my attention was all the alarms from the cars going off. It was quite a windy day so I guess the ferry was moving a little more than usual and had all the cars going crazy.
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| The Titanic saled past this point on 10th April 1912 on her maiden and only voyage. |
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| Cowes Castle, now The Royal Yacht Squadron |
When I got to the castle in Cowes, I found these signs on the walls pretty cool. I wonder if it was really true... guess I'll never really know. :)
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| WARNING - Starting cannon may fire at any time |
Took another short video from my walk... The view was pretty nice and relaxing.. especially the sound of that water.
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| Cowes, Isle of Wight 2016.02.05 |
So after walking around a bit I needed to pee and started looking for the loo There are public toilets everywhere in England, you don't have to look far before you find one but finding one that is clean is more hit or miss. These that I found were not called toilets like all the others, they were called 'Public Conveniences'. I found it pretty funny.
Yes they were convenient but OMG they were freaking filthy. Now usually most of the public toilets I've been to in England are pretty clean, there is always someone coming in throughout the day cleaning them but maybe the cleaners were off for the winter? Ew. Please tell me where the toilet seat is?
This was also weird to me.... who the hell would buy or rent a flat (apartment) with a balcony right across from the public toilets?? That is what this is in the photo below. It's not like you will ever have privacy so you can't open your door or even curtains if you wanted to. And wouldn't it smell? It's so low as well that I'd be scared that someone might try climbing up or something. Such a weird place for a window much less a balcony. When I was coming out of the toilets I could see straight towards the window. Strange!
After all that palava, I went back to my cozy spot in the car and waited for my Babz to get back from his appointment so we could get back home.
Yes they were convenient but OMG they were freaking filthy. Now usually most of the public toilets I've been to in England are pretty clean, there is always someone coming in throughout the day cleaning them but maybe the cleaners were off for the winter? Ew. Please tell me where the toilet seat is?
All I gotta say about that is it's a good thing I don't sit on the toilet seats. But even being close to it was gross to me... needless to say I didn't bother flushing it either (and I didn't use this toilet, I found one a little less gross).
This was also weird to me.... who the hell would buy or rent a flat (apartment) with a balcony right across from the public toilets?? That is what this is in the photo below. It's not like you will ever have privacy so you can't open your door or even curtains if you wanted to. And wouldn't it smell? It's so low as well that I'd be scared that someone might try climbing up or something. Such a weird place for a window much less a balcony. When I was coming out of the toilets I could see straight towards the window. Strange!
After all that palava, I went back to my cozy spot in the car and waited for my Babz to get back from his appointment so we could get back home.
