It was a lovely morning; not too cold, and with the promise of a beautiful sunny day. I hadn't got my ticket in advance, but luckily the booking office at Waterloo was empty, so there was no problem in getting my ticket in the 15 minutes I had to spare.
The journey to Southampton is roughly an hour and a half, depending on how many stops the train makes, and once at Southampton Central, I got one of the free buses to the docks, where I got a ticket for the ferry to West Cowes - it only cost me £8.90 return with my £10 special ticket on South West Trains. The Red Funnel ferries run from Southampton to both East Cowes and West Cowes, but the one to East Cowes is the car ferry and takes twice as long. So I got the passenger one to West Cowes, arriving just as they were about to close the gates.
The crossing was great - the sea was so absolutely calm, that even I could manage not to be seasick. Also, of course, modern ferries have stabilisers, which also helps. There weren't many people on the ferry going over to the Cowes, but there was a queue that snaked right back to the ticket office at West Cowes, of people waiting to go to Southampton. Considering the time, I presume most of them were going to work, although there were a few families with children amongst them.
I arrived at West Cowes before 9.00 a.m., before anything much was open, and got a bus to Newport, which is the capital - although its size hardly warrants such a grand title. The journey took about half an hour through very pretty countryside, and once in Newport I found a little cafe to have a late breakfast. Cafes on the Isle of Wight, I found, tend to be a bit pricey, although the food is quite reasonable. I just had fried eggs on toast and a cup of tea, and a bit later a lemon cake which I got at a bazaar at St. Thomas's church hall.
I also had a look at the church itself, which dates back to the 12th century, although most of the building is rather newer, dating from 1854. It was originally dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury, but Henry VIII declared him a traitor, so the "of Canterbury" bit was quietly dropped, and everyone came to assume that it was the apostle who was being referred to. Today it is dedicated to Saints Thomas, presumably incorporating both the apostle and the martyr.
St. Thomas's is also the resting place of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, who with Henry, one of her brothers, was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle. An extremely intelligent and educated girl, speaking six languages, she died soon after she was imprisoned, still aged only fourteen. and now rests in front of the alter. Queen Victoria presented a large marble statue of Princess Elizabeth as a memorial to her, and this lies in a chapel in the north aisle.
Another noteworthy statue is one of Sir Edward de Horsey, who was governor of the Isle of Wight from 1565 - 1582.
Newport is surprisingly small, and it doesn't take long to wander round all its streets, so I got a bus out to Alum Bay, where the Needles are. It is also the site where Marconi made his first telephone calls, and a plaque commemorates his achievement. Unfortunately, the visitor centre wasn't really open until the end of March, so I just spent about twenty minutes there before catching the bus back to Yarmouth.
Yarmouth is small, but a very pretty little place, and must be lovely in the summer when it is full of visitors. I had a look at St. James's Church, which is right in the centre of the town. One of its most notable features is a monument to the seventeenth century Admiral Sir Robert Holmes, who was based in Yarmouth. The monument started out its life as a statue of Louis Xiv of France. It, together with the sculpter, was captured from a French ship by Sir Robert Holmes, who decided that it would make a rather nice monument to himself, and so ordered the sculpter to put his head on the body which he had already carved, which was possibly rather fitting in view of the fact that the French had destroyed the church in 1377.
Whilst in Yarmouth, I got talking to the manager in one of the shops, and found out why there were sandbags everywhere - in the recent storms, the Isle of Wight had been badly bit, and Yarmouth itself was flooded by the sea.
I don't think there is a direct bus route from Yarmouth to Cowes - if there is, I didn't see any - so I got a bus back to Newport and then back to Cowes, this time going to East Cowes, where the car ferries come in. East Cowes is rather smaller than west Cowes, and the only way to get from one to the other is via chain ferry at the mouth of the River Medina. it goes back and forth all day, and while cars have to pay £2, foot passengers go free. Apparently, the Town Council considered building a bridge, but were put off the idea by the £20m cost, so it's either the ferry or a very long journey.
Whilst in Cowes I visited St. Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Church, which from the outside looks like a rather elegant house, but inside is rather beautiful, with lots of statues and paintings. I wanted to have a look in St. Mary's Church, which is obviously quite old, but the doors were locked.
Two things particularly noticeable about the Isle of Wight. Firstly, the number of collection points for food banks - one got the impression that food banks were all the rage there. Secondly, the size of the people. Not their height, but their girth. I don't think I've ever seen so many overweight people anywhere. else. There is obviously a market for slimming clubs on the island!
The weather was ideal for a day out - bright, sunny and almost like summer, although by the time I came to catch the ferry back to Southampton, it was starting to get just slightly chillier.
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