Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Saturday, 26th June - Bonchurch, Yarmouth and Home

We only had a few hours left on the Isle of Wight as our return ferry was at 1.15 p.m. My son was keen to visit a hotel in Bonchurch as Charles Dickens is his favourite author and Dickens wrote several chapters of David Copperfield when staying at the Winterbourne Hotel - photo below taken by son with the Fuji.



There is a very pretty pond in Bonchurch - water voles are supposed to be resident. But they proved as elusive as the red squirrel and glanville fritillary butterfly had. Actually water voles are pretty elusive in Warwickshire too. They are my favourite mammal and, despite attending a water vole surveying workshop and carrying out subsequent water vole surveys for the local wildlife trust, I haven't seen a water vole just a few field signs such as burrows, latrines and feeding stations. The last one I saw was by a stream in one of the Slaughter villages in the Cotswolds about 30 years ago!







Off then to Yarmouth and an hour spent on last minute souvenir and present shopping.

Lifeboat



For once some birds which came close enough for me to photograph them with the standard lens!







Our ferry arrives.



Yarmouth Harbour





A view of Yarmouth Castle from the ferry



Au revoir to the Isle of Wight





Back to Lymington and the mainland







We arrived home about 5.00 just time to unpack the car and restock the bird feeders (the birds had managed to completely empty them whilst we were away) before watching the final episode of this series of Doctor Who.
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6 comments:

  1. Tricia Ryder6 July 2010 at 12:34

    Sounds like a rewarding holiday in the main; with a bit of everything to suit all..

    I know what you mean about photographing stain glass windows (ref your earlier post)- not easy.

    Lovely to have some shots from the sea to land instead of the other way around. Seems the Lumix takes some very good and sharp pictures.

    One day I must make a return visit to the IoW - it's long overdue..

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  2. The Quacks of Life6 July 2010 at 13:30

    a good place to see voles are

    the WWT reserve at Barnes. Not easy but I've seen them and the wildlife safaries at WWT Arundel

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  3. Ragged Robin6 July 2010 at 17:31

    It was a good holiday, thanks Tricia.

    Glad I am not the only one to have problems photographing stained glass windows!

    Sadly, I haven't got a Lumix although I would love one. The photos I have seen taken with them look super. I have an olympus digital slr - recent present so have a lot to learn! and son was using a digital fuji finepix.

    The Isle of Wight is lovely, I think especially West Wight which is quieter and more rural.

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  4. Ragged Robin6 July 2010 at 17:33

    Thanks for the water vole suggestions, Pete. No doubt I will see one again eventually. Barnes looks a great place to visit and I will check out the location of Arundel. I do know of a site in Coventry and keep meaning to pop in there when I visit Brandon Marsh NR as the 2 places are fairly close.

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  5. Anonymous22 August 2011 at 15:05

    We have just returned from a few weeks in Bonchurch and spent a lovely hour watching a vole scuttle around in the garden. Fist time I have seen one in 45 years and the first one I saw was dead in the school playing field.
    I have been reliably informed that the red squirrels go on holiday in August. We never see them at that time of the year on the Isle of Wight!

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  6. Ragged Robin22 August 2011 at 19:12

    I'm glad you were lucky enough to see a vole in the garden.

    Think you are right about the red squirrels though I suspect they go on holiday all summer!! In 10 trips (months varying from June, July and August) we have only managed two red squirrel sightings. One ran across the road near Godshill and I saw one this year at Quarr Abbey in June!

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