Isle of Wight Day Two

Our second day on the IOW started with a magnificent breakfast in the Breakfast Room overlooking the garden. I haven't really been a fan of B&Bs previously but this one certainly changed my mind. I hope the rest can live up to this one. Let's see.

After breakfast we got ourselves organised to get to 3 of the major attractions on the IOW. The first one being The Needles Old Battery on the coast. This was a British defence installation set up by Lord Palmerston which was set up to defend the English coastline from invasion from the French. The Battery is 250 feet above sea level and has a commanding view across both the English Channel and The Solent.  It was commenced in 1861 and completed in 1863. As it happens the French did not invade and the Battery became known as one of Palmerston's Follies.  It is at the end of a cliff face and has 3 small cliffs that extend into the sea.

The view to the Needles

In the time before the First World War it was manned by volunteers but by the end of the 19th century a new threat was coming - torpedo boats. A shaft was sunk to make five sea level gun placements. This area remained useful until the chalk cliffs started to erode and the site too small to accommodate larger guns. We went down a very narrow staircase and along a tunnel to see where the guns would have been and indeed it was a great view. A new Battery was built and once operational the old Battery became a Fire Command Centre and in one of the rooms there is a map of the D Day landings  - Operation Overlord.  

Great views can be had across the water and the personnel there could see the invasion fleet leaving for the D Day landings.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to go to the new Battery where in 1955 the British were developing the medium range Intercontinental Ballistic Missile away from prying eyes and directing any noise out to sea. There is an Australian connection in that this missile was sent to Australia for testing at Woomera in 1958.  

While this is a National Trust site at the bottom there is an amusement park and when we left the queue to get into the car park was a mile long, so I am glad we went early. 

Next on the list was Carisbrooke Castle. Wow what an impressive site. It has been a stronghold on the IOW since 1100. For nearly 200 years the castle was held by the de Redvers family reverting to the crown only when the last of them, Countess Isabell de Fortibus died. Over time the castle met many needs as the residence of a great lord, a garrison and also a prison for King Charles I before his execution. 

The entrance to the castle

It was used as a residence for the island's governors which included Princess Beatrice daughter of Queen Victoria who used it until 1938.

The Privy Garden behind the Chapel

It was amazing to be able to walk the paths of so much history, it is a totally accessible site which makes it so much more of an experience. We walked the curtain wall, went up into the Keep and the Chapel of St Nicholas, into the Great Hall where there is a fascinating museum and walked around the Privy garden where Princess Beatrice spent many a happy hour. We walked on the green where King Charles played bowls during his incarceration. The castle has sweeping views across the countryside.

The view across to the Great Hall from the curtain wall

By the time we had finished our visit it was too late to visit the other major attraction Osborne House. This was Queen Victoria's family home and if you look it up on the internet you will see what a magnificent property it is. I was disappointed that we missed it but it just gives me an excuse to go back and visit the beautiful IOW again. 

As we were driving back to our accommodation Doris took us via some very lovely but narrow lanes. These are a bit scary because sometimes you can't see another car coming the other way. We were lucky at one spy as a farmer was just about to come out onto the road in his tractor but thankfully saw us and reversed back so we could get through.

One of the narrow lane ways called Nunnery Lane

After arriving back to our accommodation, we sat and had a drink at the bar and chatted with a gentleman who had been coming to the IOW since he was a boy. We talked about lots of different things about touring the UK and he gave another great place to visit  in Cornwall Tintagel Castle. So we have added it to the list, hopefully we get there. There is so much to see here. 

Next we are off to Salisbury the cathedral town.