Top 5 Isle of Wight attractions

Shanklin cliff lift
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

The Isle of Wight is a bus pass paradise. Almost all the bus routes radiate out from Newport, in the middle of the island, and all buses go to the seaside. Get yourself a Southern Vectis timetable and the isle is your oyster! It also includes useful town centre maps. There are one or two complications however: some routes, such as the 7 to Alum Bay, go three different ways (why not call them 7a, 7b and 7c I wonder?) so check the small print. Another swizz is that some destinations, such as the Needles Batteries and Shanklin Esplanade, are only accessible by Breezer buses, and they cost a tenner for a day ticket (but you do get an open-top ride and an informative running commentary). We were staying in a lovely thatched cottage in Carisbrooke (on all the 7 route variants), close to Newport, so were ideally placed to explore the island. Here are my top five attractions.

1 Isle of Wight steam railway
The steam railway is a fragment of what was once an extensive rail network, now mostly cycle paths. It goes from nowhere (Smallbrook Junction, where it meets the Island Line, the official railway from Ryde Pier to Shanklin which uses old London tube trains, but no other way off the platform) to the middle of nowhere (near Wootton, but thankfully near a 9 bus stop). The main station, Havenstreet, is where the shop, shed, cafe and museum is. The locos are mainly industrial Hunslet saddle tanks, thought they have a couple of Terriers and there's a strange 'O2' Class 0-4-4T No W24 Calbourne being restored and almost ready for action. There's also a workshop where some amazing carpentry is going on.

2 Needles Old Battery
Every visitor to the Isle wants to see the Needles, and the best place is from the Old Battery, right at the western tip of the island. The bus only goes to Alum Bay, so it's either a long walk along the cliff top or a hair-raising ride on the Breezer. Cars can only go as far as the £4 Alum Bay car park. It costs to go in, but the view from the searchlight tunnel is well worth it. And there are explanatory cartoons everywhere by Eagle and Lion artist Geoff Campion. The New Battery (closed on Mondays) is further up the hill and is where secret rocket tests were held.

3 Cowes chain ferry
I love ferries, and this one is similar to the chain one at Poole Harbour. It also reminded me of the ferry between North Shields and South Shields. I went from East Cowes to Cowes (there is no West Cowes!) and it's free for pedestrians and cyclists. Unfortunately, unlike Poole, you can't get the bus over it! There is nothing to see at East Cowes (except Osborne House) and Cowes reminded me a bit of Falmouth or Hastings old town, with its pedestrianised high street, running parallel to the sea. Couldn't find a pub with a sea view!

4 Carisbrooke Castle
This is one big castle, bang in the middle of the island. Our cottage was at the bottom of the hill, by a ford, and used to be a tea rooms catering to the tourists who arrived by train. There is no station now, so most people arrive by coach (no bus goes up the hill!). It houses a museum, with cases on local legends Robert Hooke (born in Freshwater), Tennyson and the pioneer seismologist John Milne. The biggest claim to fame is that it was prison to Charles I and his two youngest kids. It also has a donkey-powered treadmill well.

5 Shanklin cliff lift
This took some finding. When I first went to Shanklin I had no idea where to find the sea! So I headed for tourist information and got some directions to the Lift. It's not signposted or easy to find, though it's visible from Sandown! The Victorian lift, build 1891, must have been a great thrill to travel in, with its windows and huge drop, but the 1960s version is just a concrete tower with a bog-standard office block lift built in. The original cost 1d down; 2d up - the modern one was a pound return. The esplanade down below - and pubs such as the Steamer inn - isn't accessible by regular bus, but a Breezer does go there. Another way down is via Shanklin Chine, lit up at night.



Other attractions include:
Steephill Cove, and crab sandwiches
Brading Roman Villa, with its mosaic of a chicken-headed man
Osborne House, home of Victoria and Albert
Model village at Godshill
Alum Bay chair lift
Boat trip around the Needles from Yarmouth

Other visits to the Isle of Wight:
April 2009
April 2008

Other blogs:
Roundhill Rob was another holidaymaker staying at our cottage
The Lost Promenade visited Shanklin and Sandown

More photos on Flickr.

BBC News - Art deco brightens up Brighton's Astoria cinema site

BBC News - Art deco brightens up Brighton's Astoria cinema site: my murials make the BBC website - big time at last for the dilettante artist / semi-retired illustrator!

Astoria Art

Usually all my artistic endeavours are documented on my other Art Blog, but this news is too good to contain there - so if you're passing the old Astoria cinema on the bus (or coach) and wonder who was responsible for the Art Deco artwork adorning the boarded-up facade, well, it was me! With my artistic hat on (or should that be beret?). Two of them are based on existing screenprints and the other two are purely digital, created in Freehand. The Embassy Court one was my 2nd foray into giclee printing and the Astoria one was a council commission. All are available as giclee prints. By the way, the department that commissioned me was Environmental Improvements, who also look after road sweepers and toilet attendants - nothing to do with culture at all!. Incidentally, the huge boards were printed by an old client of mine, Doubledot in Henfield - I last did an illustration job for them in 1998, when they were based in Hove!

A proper day’s Open Housing

Artists Open Houses - A proper day’s Open Housing: my latest blog for AOH.

In Bruges

Coach on the Shuttle
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

I'll bet you thought I wasn't going on another coach trip? Well, my ex-secretary Chrissie was let down by a friend and so I found myself at Preston Circus at 6.45 on a Bank Holiday Monday morning on my way Abroad - by coach! The demographic was a lot more varied than before: as well as the pensioner couples, there were lots of younger people, beer-loving single men and some whose highlight of the trip I imagined was the chance to buy vast quantities of fags and baccy on the way home.

The trip was with Heritage 'Round and About Excursions' and cost an amazingly reasonable £26. The trip to Folkestone was painless, with only a couple of pick-ups (last one at Pease Pottage, where we changed driver to Bernie) and no motorway services stops. After a paper 'mug' of tea (£1.85) we were first on Le Shuttle - my first time - no passport control, no customs! The shuttle is a very very basic metal box with no concessions to passenger comfort (unless you are a car or truck driver) - there was a huge queue for the three toilets and I stood by a very small window for the 20-minute journey through the Eurotunnel. A pull-down seat would have been nice. Of course we could have sat in the coach, but it was hot inside and rolling about with the combined suspensions of the train and bus. No sign of passport control or customs at Calais, and I didn't even notice when we later crossed the border into Belgium.

At Bruges, it was across the bridge and into the town, which was a lot bigger than I'd imagined. First task was to buy postcards, next was a Wikitravel-recommended boat trip around the canals (€6.90). It started raining - and it got worse - the captain valiantly wiped down the seats and provided umbrellas but it got colder - and windier - as we progressed. Well worth it, though. Next it was a walk round town and a search for mussels and chips. I didn't have a map and couldn't find Tourist Information so we opted for La Dentelliere - one of the Tea Rooms we'd passed on the way in - right by where the horses and carriages set off. The food (and beer) were OK but pricey, and it was nice to shelter from the rain. Back on the coach for 15.45 (English time) we waited a statutory half an hour for a missing passenger then set off for P&J's, which I thought might be a supermarket, but turned out to be a chocolate factory. The main delight, however was out the back, where the (presumably) cut-price tobacco products were selling like hot cakes - some customers lugging out several big bags of cigarettes and rolling tobacco. I bought a bag of chocolate buttons with my remaining 3 euros and we set off for Calais, having picked up the now unpopular missing woman from another coach.

At Calais, we did have to disembark to show our passports, but there were no customs checks (Bank Holiday?) and it was back on the shuttle and home by 21.30. The mind was going overtime with the possible criminal opportunities afforded by the lax security (Peter James please note!). I was told by one regular that people who want to leave the UK undetected will often choose a day trip to Belgium. A very enjoyable day out, despite the early start, and once again an opportunity to chat and interact with the temporary community that is a Coach Trip.

Abroad, part 2

The start of the Avenue Verte
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

At the Etap we signed in and our bikes were stowed away under the stairs. Mine was first in so that was the end of any more cycling on the first day. So after spotting a brochure, a few of us popped by the Post Office to a lovely 1928 Modernist building called Villa Perrotte to take in some Art. The art wasn't that interesting - apart from the giant insects in the garden - but it had a lovely red window. Then it was a quick whizz around the cathedral-like Eglise St Jacques and a coffee ('tres tres chaud', said Angela) at a cafe opposite. Back to the hotel to meet the others, we then trekked to the Bar O Metre at the far end of the beach to meet Peter Avis again, and off to Le New Haven, by the harbour, for supper. I had fish soup, mussels and chips, followed by a chocolate pancake, all washed down with a bottle of Pelforth Brune. It was Jenny's birthday and Tessa had organised her pudding to appear with two candles. The whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday, first in English and then in French! Then it was back to the hotel to await Nick, who'd spent the day in Brighton. Amanda went off to fetch him and after a few wrong turns he arrived about 4am.

Down for breakfast on Saturday and it was coffee and three kinds of cake. After a quick visit to the wonderful market to get provisions (I bought warm potatoes, radishes and an onion quiche) we set off for Arques-la-Bataille and the start of the Avenue Verte. [There is very little online about the Avenue Verte, what there is includes this mystifying site with a map, if you can find it! - tip: head north east until you see a red line!] This begins by going around lots of lakes with ducklings then follows an old railway line towards Paris. It is very smooth and wide and a joy to cycle on. We stopped at a Nature Eco Educational garden place (Parc Guy Weber) briefly and on through Saint-Vaast-d'Equiqueville to (I think) Maintru. We passed some French cyclists spreading a white tablecloth over a picnic table so thought that we'd stop at the next one. Mick went ahead to find one but couldn't so we sat on the grass and shared round the picnic. Afterwards we went off-piste and followed the river back over undulating roads with big yapping dogs at every house, rejoining the Avenue Verte at Dampierre-Saint-Nicolas. After a welcome can of ice-cold Perrier at the eco place it was on to the Bar de la Gare (some kind of gambling den) at Arques-la-Bataille for a beer. Then it was back to Dieppe on the main roads. I made it approx 30 miles.

Saturday night we all dined at the Sarajevo. I had red pepper fritters followed by scallops in a whisky sauce (Coquilles St Jacques) followed by creme brulee, with red wine. Amanda's mussels were even better than those at Le New Haven. I then staggered off to the hotel and bed, but Nick and some of the others went disco dancing at the Epsom bar.

Sunday morning the idea was to cycle the Littoral to Pourville, but I figured it involved hills, so wimped out. So did Angela - so after some of Joyce's exercises we waved them off and tootled down to the seafront cyclelane and the Bar O Metre for coffee. Then it was a short cycle ride along the front (we did contemplate a round of crazy golf) past the empty swimming pool and the lawns where the kite festival take place, to the jetty and along the harbour front, where the ferry used to come in to meet the trains. We explored the area near the inland station and ended up back at the quayside for a coffee at the Cactus cafe. We'd arranged to meet the others at the swanky Au Grand Duquesne near the church, to show support for their innovative vegetarian menu (on special offer), but only Joyce was there - she'd doubled back to vanguard the lunch. Joined by Peter we sat down and ordered, but soon were joined by the others fresh from their hill climb. I had goat's cheese and walnut raviole, followed by a huge portion of shredded leeks in a very creamy sauce with a tiny bit of pastry perched on top. I nearly couldn't finish it, but managed a dryish (pineapple?) tart for afters - accompanied by silver-medal winning cider. Then it was back to the hotel for our things, a brief dash to the ferry and a long wait in the sun to get on. We arrived back in Blighty about 8pm and said our goodbyes to the car drivers. We left Nick and Amanda at Lewes and Jim and I got off at London Road, leaving Joyce giving useful info to various bewildered French vistors, whose unfortunate first impression of England was the desolate port of Newhaven! Three cheers to Joyce for organising a weekend of glorious weather, fantastic cycling, fabulous food and cordial fellowship.

Abroad, part 1

On board the 'Seven Sisters'
Originally uploaded by fred pipes

This time last week I was wondering why anyone would want to go abroad, what with all this volcanic ash floating about causing havoc. After all, foreigners seem incapable of boiling water (and sourcing proper milk) to make a decent cup of tea, their bars serve just one kind of industrial lager - in halves - and there's all the stress of people speaking in a language other than English. The main reason people go abroad is to get some warmth, but I'd booked a weekend just across the channel in Dieppe with the Clarion cycling club, so I checked our hotel on TripAdvisor (not good - 11th out of 11 in Dieppe), packed some teabags, set the alarm clock (and I do so hate getting up early) and went to bed.

I was also worried about the rush-hour train ban in non-folding bikes, but as my folder couldn't handle panniers I thought what the hell and set off. After picking up the cheap internet tickets I'd booked in advance, we got on the Seaford train no bother and picked up a few more of our group at Lewes. At Newhaven it wasn't at all clear what we cyclists were supposed to do, but eventually joined the cars and after showing our passports to a person in a hut, were on board the good ship Seven Sisters attaching our bikes to Deck 3 with rope. That was it - no tickets, metal detectors, frisking or confiscations - though Amanda did get a grilling for her New Zealand passport!

But where was Nick? It was 20 minutes before the departure time of 9.30 and no sign, after frantic texting it appears he missed his train and was at the terminal - and they wouldn't let him on! The next ferry was at 10.30 that night. Meanwhile the 4-hour sailing was calm and uneventful. I bought a cup of tea (ie given a teabag at the cafe till and a token for the coffee machine!) and a croissant. All the cafes had a Sussex theme - the cafe was called The Lanes; the bar was the Beachy head - but all the staff were French! At Dieppe, we stood around in a cloud of fumes as the huge lorries left the ship, then it was our turn to mount the gangplank onto French soil. After being checked out by a Douane chap with gun at the roadside (we were still inside the barbed wire enclosure), we met Peter Avis and cycled over the two bridges into town and the Etap.

To be continued...

Partnership and packaging

LARAC - Home: an illustration job I did for INCPEN on packaging for local authorities.