Isle of Wight--Exploring the island. . .

The Isle of Wight is only twenty-three miles by thirteen miles, and it has a ton of stuff that we could have done.  Carisbrooke Castle (where we were staying) is in the middle of the island, so nothing was too far away.  We decided to go and explore; our only plan was to head to the west side of the island to Alum Bay because we hoped to get a little beach time.   When we went to Dover, it was Charlotte's first time at the beach. . .and it was pebbles.  We had to find some sand for that girl!!

Driving on the island is quite scenic:

The rocks at the end of the ridge are The Needles at Alum Bay.  The bay is named after the alum that was once mined there, and the cliff walls are full of multi-colored sands.  The girls had a lot of fun finding all the different colors. . .but we still hadn't found a sandy beach.  Maggie especially like skipping stones into the water.

Above and below is the view of the ground that Maggie and I had on the chair-lift down to the beach.  Keith, Hannah, and Charlotte are on the stairs (he's wearing bright orange).

I had to take this picture. . Keith was a perfect match to the bright orange rocks!

ROCKS AGAIN?

 

Luckily, Colwell Bay was just a few miles north along the shore line--with a real, sandy beach!!  We thought it was just a beach, but like everything here, there is a history.  Soldiers were once encamped here, fearing an invasion by Napoleon.

 

The sun was bright and beautiful, but it seemed no where near warm enough for full-on sunbathing!!  Guess this guy disagreed. . .

We had a nice couple of hours playing in the sand. . I can't wait until the spring and summer when we can go to the beach again.  But I am pretty sure that the temperature will still feel too cold for swimming to us!!