I always try and visit the car park on Afton Down between Compton Bay and Freshwater as it is a "hotspot" for butterflies. So we stopped off on our way to Yarmouth - we saw several Stonechats, a few unidentified blue butterflies in the distance and several "whites".
We drove through Freshwater and
onto Yarmouth where we parked as there were still several hours before we had to catch the ferry.
In the past we have enjoyed rides on the Breezer Needles and also the Breezer Downs Tours. It is a novel way of exploring parts of the island and you can get on and off at points of interest as often as you like.
D spotted another jellyfish in the harbour.
For many years I have wanted to visit Yarmouth Castle but usually we look round the shops and I visit the church and find we have run out of time. So this year we visited the Castle first!
By breaking with the Roman Catholic church in 1533 and divorcing Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII became an enemy of the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of France and he had alienated the pope. In 1538 Henry was concerned that France and the Holy Roman Empire had signed a truce meaning France could invade England with papal support. New coastal forts were built, men called up and a system of beacons prepared although the invasion never occurred. Forts, such as Yarmouth Castle, were sited to protect natural harbours. The castle was constructed in 1547. It is square in design and surrounded by the sea on two sides. The other two sides used to be moated. During the late 16th and early 17th centuries the original castle design was abandoned and it was converted into a fort. During the Civil War the Isle of Wight was Royalist and Oliver Cromwell kept a large garrison here. The castle was occupied by the military until 1901 and it has been in the care of English Heritage since 1984.
Three rooms housed a very good exhibition on the early history of Yarmouth Castle, Yarmouth Town and the nearby Yarmouth shipwrecks.
We were due to meet B and E at 1.00 to move the car to the ferry terminal so I had to rush past my three favourite Yarmouth shops - hoping I would still have time visit them.
But B had already moved the car to the ferry queue and the ferry was in so sadly I only had time for lunch and no time to return to the shops.
Yarmouth Castle from the ferry
Au Revoir to the Isle of Wight
We drove off the ferry at about 2.45 p.m. and it took about four hours to get home. Roads were very congested!!
*D Photos taken by my son with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera
The rest were taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera - I hadn't used the Olympus dslr all holiday!
Reference: Guidebook to Yarmouth Castle
Ah I have missed all your posts from the I.O.W as I was in Scotland and early next week will myself be on the I.O.W again so will have ore time to read them then. I also had never visited the castel so perhaps this time I will. I am dog sitting for the first week and then the family return and I have time with them. Thanks for sharing and have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteThose first few shots seem to be of perfect butterfly habitat. Too bad you din’t have the time to explore it more fully.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Adamson - Thanks Margaret. I hope you had a good time in Scotland and enjoy the Isle of Wight (am envious!!). It will be nice for you to spend time with your family in the second week.
ReplyDeleteDavid Gascoigne - Thank you. The Isle of Wight is good for butterflies :) Will be doing a butterfly and insect post from our garden next - back to natural history :)
Love the mosaics! Nice to see actual flowers in bloom rather than scorched grass.
ReplyDeleteSimon Douglas Thompson - Thanks Simon. There was a lovely mosaic frieze at the castle - I could have included lots more photos :) Sadly plenty of scorched grass there too especially up on the Downs! :(
ReplyDeleteAfton Down looks very pretty and Yarmouth castle looks fascinating. I love the mosaics. It's a shame you didn't get to pop into your favourite shops but the castle looks well worth visting. The white cliffs are stunning, are they at Freshwater? I'd love to ride around the island on one of those buses:)
ReplyDeleteRosie - Thanks so much. Probably just as well I didn't get chance to visit the shops (as it saved me money!) - I would have been bound to buy a fossil from Reflections and of course I can't resist books and the other shop has lots of handmade stuff - always something you have to buy!
ReplyDeleteThe needles tour (we usually catch from Yarmouth) in my view is the nicest although it doesn't stop off as many places as it used to. Last year we got off at the Needles and then walked back along the cliffs to Alum Bay and got back on the bus there. The Downs one we stopped off at Ryde, Quarr Abbey and Newchurch (from memory) where there was a good church - it also used to stop at Arreton Barns (where we caught it) and a vineyard.
I have so enjoyed your Isle of Wight posts, re-living our own experiences and finding plenty of fresh ideas. It looks as though you had a wonderful holiday, and I'm sure you were particularly in need of it this summer. David visited the castle at Yarmouth while I kept watch over our car in the ferry queue ... but I would love to visit it another time. I found your coastal fortifications paragraph very interesting for we have a number of martello towers around our (East Anglian) part of the coast, not forgetting the earlier 'Saxon Shore' defensive system remains like Burgh Castle and Othona. The Roman forts of the Saxon Shore was my A level history project all those years ago (and as part of my study, we visited Portchester Castle at that time, just near the Portsmouth Isle of Wight ferry port)! I'm sure Timothy and Compton felt they had enjoyed a terrific week on the island.
ReplyDeleteCaroline Gill - Thanks so very much for your lovely comment. I am so glad the posts brought back happy memories and gave you some more ideas. The castle at Yarmouth is small but well worth a visit.
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting about the martello towers around your part of the coast. The Roman Forts project must have been so interesting to research. I don't remember doing a project for A level history - we did 18th century Britain and Europe between certain years (can't remember exactly which but it did cover the Napoleonic Wars and never-ending treaties!!! )!!
Timothy and Compton had a great week thank you.
I am still playing catch up with your blog, but what a lovely end to your holiday - though sorry you couldn't get to your favourite shops this time.
ReplyDeleteI felt quite nostalgic for Hampshire and looking across to the Island (and back the other way, come to that). I will get through your earlier posts in the next day I hope.
Bovey Belle - Thank you - sorry I posted a lot of posts at once so hard to keep up! :)
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how you must feel knowing Hampshire so well. I always feel when I am travelling to and arrive on the Isle of Wight that I have "come home". I do love it on the island. Would still like to live there one day........ although difficult with my son and daughter still being at hope and even though they would like to move there it might be difficult, especially for my son, to find jobs.
Glad to see that you included the Ministry signs at Yarmouth Castle
ReplyDeleteDavid Gill - Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment.
ReplyDelete