After our lovely lunch at the Wheatsheaf.....we made a brief visit to the church in Yarmouth.
We were told that here we would find the statue of a former governor of the Island.....and that if we looked carefully, all was not as it seems. The body of the statue is that of Louis the 14th(can't do those silly roman numerals) and the head was grafted onto the body.
The body was captured from a french ship.......and yes, you can tell.....the scale is just a bit different which makes the statue look like it has a big head.
The church was well worth a visit as a piano recital was being held......and although I couldn't stay and listen to the whole thing. what I heard was lovely.
The stained glass windows were beautiful too.......I took some pics but always feel slightly irreverent doing so......I left a donation to salve my conscience.
We then had to leg it back to the coach.
i don't know if any of you have done coach holidays like this one, but it is a cardinal sin to be late back...and you will be jeered, cheered or get a slow handclap......fortunately we weren't late.....but one lady was......she had totally lost track of time(I'm not sure how, as there really isn't that much to see).
Soon, we were under way again and headed for Alum Bay and the Needles.
A month since we were there last......and since I had climbed up the cliff to get pictures of the Needles(not all that successfull either).
The day had become decidedly grey and although it wasn't raining, it was threatening to.
When we arrived at Alum bay, the shops and the rides were being spruced up in readiness for the Easter weekend break. the place would open up for the four days and then it would close again until the end of April or beginning of May.
Andy(our Driver) told us that we could have 45 minutes.....way-hay...that was enough time for me to get up the goat track and back in time...no upset oldies......I was just about to trudge off on this moutainous climb when Andy told me of a reasonable vantage point that was on the complex.
I headed off for that instead. Ma stayed on the bus and read her mags.
The vantage point was an elevated wooden tower. It had a telescope fitted for anyone who wanted a really close view.
I took a few pics and lamented that it was such a dull day....the last time we were here the sun was shining and the sea was blue.
Having said that, I do like to see these natural beauties in different weather conditions.
Not having to do the hike meant that I had lots of time to spare. I followed a track which I thought(hoped) might lead down to the beach...alas it didn't, and it didn't even offer a good vantage point to see the beach.
I wanted to be able to see for myself if the beach at Alum bay really was covered with coloured sand.....ah well, maybe next time.
Andy returned with the coach and we were all quite glad to get on board and into the warm...... we were headed around the southern coast of the Island......and over St Catherine's Down.
Andy had encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of the Island.... this made the journey all the more interesting.
He told us that the Needles were the remains of a land bridge from millions of years ago....before the Isle of Wight was an island......and that this land bridge connected with Swanage in Dorset...and that the enclosed water would have made the largest natural lagoon in Europe...one that would have stretch for 43 miles.
The land bridge was breached by movement of the Tectonic plates which had shattered the chalk structure leaving what we know today as the Needles.
We stopped at a vantage point overlooking the coast...this was to let us take snaps of the coastline and also the top of St Catherine's oratory...which is known locally as 'The Pepperpot'.
By now the tide had turned and the sky didn't seem quite as grey....i don't know if any of you have noticed, but weather changes often seem linked to the tides...or have I imagined this?
We were on our way back to the hotel.....through Ventnor, Godshill and back through the picturesque old village of Shanklin with its thatched cottages.
Visiting these places had diverted my attention from the earlier sad news...and had allowed me some time to reflect and light a candle in V's memory.
I still needed to ring hubby and find out how he was faring.
We were told that here we would find the statue of a former governor of the Island.....and that if we looked carefully, all was not as it seems. The body of the statue is that of Louis the 14th(can't do those silly roman numerals) and the head was grafted onto the body.
The body was captured from a french ship.......and yes, you can tell.....the scale is just a bit different which makes the statue look like it has a big head.
The church was well worth a visit as a piano recital was being held......and although I couldn't stay and listen to the whole thing. what I heard was lovely.
The stained glass windows were beautiful too.......I took some pics but always feel slightly irreverent doing so......I left a donation to salve my conscience.
We then had to leg it back to the coach.
i don't know if any of you have done coach holidays like this one, but it is a cardinal sin to be late back...and you will be jeered, cheered or get a slow handclap......fortunately we weren't late.....but one lady was......she had totally lost track of time(I'm not sure how, as there really isn't that much to see).
Soon, we were under way again and headed for Alum Bay and the Needles.
A month since we were there last......and since I had climbed up the cliff to get pictures of the Needles(not all that successfull either).
The day had become decidedly grey and although it wasn't raining, it was threatening to.
When we arrived at Alum bay, the shops and the rides were being spruced up in readiness for the Easter weekend break. the place would open up for the four days and then it would close again until the end of April or beginning of May.
Andy(our Driver) told us that we could have 45 minutes.....way-hay...that was enough time for me to get up the goat track and back in time...no upset oldies......I was just about to trudge off on this moutainous climb when Andy told me of a reasonable vantage point that was on the complex.
I headed off for that instead. Ma stayed on the bus and read her mags.
The vantage point was an elevated wooden tower. It had a telescope fitted for anyone who wanted a really close view.
I took a few pics and lamented that it was such a dull day....the last time we were here the sun was shining and the sea was blue.
Having said that, I do like to see these natural beauties in different weather conditions.
Not having to do the hike meant that I had lots of time to spare. I followed a track which I thought(hoped) might lead down to the beach...alas it didn't, and it didn't even offer a good vantage point to see the beach.
I wanted to be able to see for myself if the beach at Alum bay really was covered with coloured sand.....ah well, maybe next time.
Andy returned with the coach and we were all quite glad to get on board and into the warm...... we were headed around the southern coast of the Island......and over St Catherine's Down.
Andy had encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of the Island.... this made the journey all the more interesting.
He told us that the Needles were the remains of a land bridge from millions of years ago....before the Isle of Wight was an island......and that this land bridge connected with Swanage in Dorset...and that the enclosed water would have made the largest natural lagoon in Europe...one that would have stretch for 43 miles.
The land bridge was breached by movement of the Tectonic plates which had shattered the chalk structure leaving what we know today as the Needles.
We stopped at a vantage point overlooking the coast...this was to let us take snaps of the coastline and also the top of St Catherine's oratory...which is known locally as 'The Pepperpot'.
By now the tide had turned and the sky didn't seem quite as grey....i don't know if any of you have noticed, but weather changes often seem linked to the tides...or have I imagined this?
We were on our way back to the hotel.....through Ventnor, Godshill and back through the picturesque old village of Shanklin with its thatched cottages.
Visiting these places had diverted my attention from the earlier sad news...and had allowed me some time to reflect and light a candle in V's memory.
I still needed to ring hubby and find out how he was faring.
