Gosh what a start to our holiday. We started at about 10:00 am and headed for Lymington so that we could catch the ferry to the Isle of Wight. As we head south on the A34 the wind was really strong and the motorhome was shaken and jarred for many miles. Helen was somewhat worried with all the lurching about and I thought that we had an engine problem as we seemed to be struggling to keep going at 50 mph. However, we kept going, just stopping at Sutton Scotney for a toilet break and arriving at Lymington quite early for the ferry.
We then discovered the problems of parking a motorhome in a car park. the signs said that it was ok to park our size of ‘van. But when we tried the car we parked alongside would not be able to get out. We moved and found free on street parking near to the library. After a pasty looking at the boats we wandered a little round the town and then headed off for the ferry.
While waiting for the ferry we tried to get water for Sugar, the Jack Russell/Springer Spaniel cross. The pump did not work!
A bit of rapid investigation showed that because we had travelled with a full tank of water some had leaked out of the tank connection and caused the connectors to get wet. After I had dried them off we managed to get water from the bathroom tap but not the kitchen tap. The water and electric system were to become quite a topic during the next few days. They continued to go wrong all through the week!
The ferry journey was easy but we found the journey from Yarmouth to Ryde quite slow and we managed to take a long time going through Ryde. Eventually we found our way to the campsite, not helped by a sign saying no access for vehicles greater than 6’ 6” wide. At last we had arrived. It seemed to us to have been a long trying journey. The campsite at Rosemary’s Vineyard was very nice and relaxed.
Tuesday 11th
This was the day we visited Helen’s friend who is not very well and so well travelled to Shanklin and returned to the campsite in the early evening.
Wednesday 12th
After visiting the Vineyard shop and sampling some of the produce we intended to visit the Needles at the other side of the Island calling at Godshill. After Godshill our journey took a difficult turn. We somehow ended up in Ventnor even though we did not want to be there. After a couple of trips round Ventnor we discovered that our problem was that the coast road was closed to vehicles greater than 6’ 6” wide. Eventually we found the alternative route but it seemed to take ages. We were feed up and really hungry when we saw the Isle of Wight Pearl premises which had a cafe. The food provided was really welcome. Eventually we arrived at our destination the Needles Battery. This is an interesting Victorian fort or battery guarding one of the entrances to the Solent.
We had to park in the Needles car park and when we had seen the battery and returned
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| Needles lighthouse |
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| Don't Jump |
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| Alum Bay Cliffs |
we brewed a cup of tea and read our books in the motor home. The journey back to Shanklin somehow led us through the centre of Newport, the islands main town. After visiting our friends again we returned to the campsite around 10:00 pm.
Thursday 13th
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| Morning in the vineyard |
We headed back to the ferry at Yarmouth at about 10:30. The trip to Yarmouth was uneventful and we arrived early parking in a carpark overlooking part of the yacht basin. This was the most relaxing time on the Isle of Wight for us as for a little time there were no pressures on us.
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| Carpark at Yarmouth |
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| Yachts at Yarmouth |
After arriving in Lymington we lunched at the Filly Inn near to Brockenhurst. The food was good and it was really pleasant to be able to eat outside in October.
We managed to park alongside two other motorhomes in Lyndhurst and enjoyed our stroll around this village. Our campsite for the night was the forest holidays site of Setthorns. This was a really different site set in the woods. What amazed us was how full it was but also it was really quiet. The time there was relaxing except that I managed to reverse into a log and break one of the rear lights. This was unfortunate as I then spent some time worrying about where or how to get a new lamp fitting. We had a couple of good walks with sugar the dog on the Thursday and Friday.
Friday 14th
And off to Southampton to visit our son who has just bought his first house with his girlfriend. On the way to the campsite we visited a motorhome dealers but did not find any light fittings, nor anything else.
The campsite for the next two nights was SunnyDale Farm. this was a really well equipped site with level pitches and a new shower and toilet block. Unfortunately we did not spend a great deal of time at the site as we spent most of the time at our sons. On Friday afternoon we walked to Netley Abbey and spent a short time walking along the shorefront at Southampton Water.
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| Liners at Southampton |
Saturday and Sunday 15/16th
A lot of the time during these days was spent helping put up shelves, change locks and put handles on wardrobes.
On the Sunday morning I thought it was really cold when I woke up. when I managed to look at the thermometer it was 2o C brrr.
And so back home, we arrived at about 7:00 pm. this may be the last trip this year, we have not decided yet.
