Isle of Wight holiday!

In July 

we had a fantastic holiday in the Isle of Wight. Hubs had booked to do the Wiggle Around the Island bike ride, so we booked Zalia Wight for the week. We love the Island, and can't remember how any times we have stayed. 

The house was fab, very new and clean, plus they welcomed dogs... thank you! It felt instantly like home for us. The best part was waking every morning to a view of the sea from the huge bedroom window. Morning after morining I enjoyed several cups of tea in bed watching the ships sail past and reading my book! To me that's the way to begin the day. 

The house is in Bonchurch, a secret little corner of the island, that feels quite special. We enjoyed several lovely meals at the pub in the village. The best fish and risotto! The Seapot, on the way to Ventnor is a must. The crab sandwich is the best I've had, and I've tried a few. Hubs tried the honey, peanut butter and banana bagel, which soubded awful to me, but has since become one of our favourite sandwiches to make st home! All with a fab view! 

Lovely walks both ways to Ventnor and Steephill Cove or Shanklin make it all round a great spot! 

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight

While hubby was cycling the 70 mile Wiggle sportive today, woofa and I opted for walking. Although we did find some lovely tranquil spots to laze in the sunshine and read my book too! 

Mevagissey, Cornwall

Coastal walk from Gorran Haven to Mevagissey

We took to the coastal path to visit Mevagissey, enjoying the 3 mile walk in the spring sunshine. While in town we enjoyed lunch and a glass of wine followed by a little wander around the harbour and town, before heading the 3 miles back. All very pleasant!

St Mawes, Cornwall

We enjoyed a lovely day in St Mawes, and even took the ferry to Falmouth for little wander around.

Easter in Cornwall

Oh my goodness, can that holiday really have been our Easter break? Sunny days and a sun burnt nose? What a joy! Blue skies and blue waters... with a refreshing breeze! (wind!)

 

Gorran Haven, Cornwall

New Year in Dartmouth, Devon

Dartmouth was delightful. As usual! The town was open and bustling and the weather pretty wonderful. Expecting the worst we went prepared to hunker in, books and bubbly a plenty. Luckily, the weatherman got it wrong.

But frankly, Gooder House was beautiful, I wouldn't have minded not getting out of bed for 4 days! Newly refurbished and very nicely done. It felt calm and tranquil. Perfect for a R&R escape from Christmas! We did however venture out. Just! 

I even indulged with a morning at The Dart Spa. Heaven. Much needed too! A spot of lunch in the very civilised lounge followed. Earl grey tea and a huge sandwich. Awfully lovely, thank you! Hubby didn't join me, opting for a 40 mile cycle ride. Good on him! 

Our days involved refueling regularly. Us, not the car. That stayed in the garage ! A cosy beer in The Cherub on Monday afternoon, tapas at Bayards Inn on a winters evening, lunch at the Floating Bridge on New Years Eve, warming soup and mulled wine late afternoon at Dart Cafe and of course fish and chips! Can that be all ? 

So, Christmas seems a long distant memory and I'm looking forward to work on Monday. A successful break! 

View from my window.

Dartmouth, Devon looking glorious from our window!  

North Devon

I love being by the coast in Autumn. Wrapped up snug and warm, enjoying hot drinks and homemade cake in little teashops...

We knew the weather wasn't going to be good, the 'big' storm (worst for years?) was due to hit mid holiday. In fact, it wasn't so bad. We booked a lovely large family house with an indoor swimming pool, so there was room for us all to chill and have fun, adults, kids and the dog together.

We haven't really explored North Devon, but we did manage to dodge the rain to see some of the best bits.

Croyde bay was great to give the dog a good run.  Watching the crazy surfers when we could barely walk on the beach for the wind was fascinating too! We experience every weather condition in the space of 5 minutes!

Clovelly was lovely. Very pretty and the sun came out too! We enjoyed ice creams on the way down, tea and cake in the harbour and a hearty ploughman's mid way back up. That's a good day out for us.

Barnstaple was a pleasant surprise too. A busy bustling high street with some nice independent shops too. The dog was a bit bored though!

We dropped by Appledore to get some nice things for tea and discovered a great Londis shop, selling local quality food... that was an unexpected delight.  We had another tea and cake stop.. well it did start to rain again!

Most of all, we had a really good family break, where everyone relaxed and had a giggle. I think we were all in bed by 9pm and up at 7am to swim and walk the dog. We cooked hearty breakfasts, and warming evening meals so we didn't have to brave the wintery nights. Stormy weather does have it's benefits!

Newtown, Isle of Wight

This place is a special one. Just visit!

Just another day of tea, cake and walking!

We never go far without a stop for cake, and this is my perfect spot.

We might just say here one day, it reminds me of Maine, New England rather than Steephill Cove, England.

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One very happy dog!

Day three on the Isle of Wight

We popped into Newport into the morning for hubby to sort bike things, and realized it must be all of a few hours since we went to the beach!  A few of our favorite beaches which we had researched and found to be dog friendly, had signs up saying otherwise, but eventually we found the one end of Freshwater beach to be kind to us.

Looks tropical

Freshwater beach ( the dog friendly end)

That's a storm brewing, but it missed us completely.

Evening walk to Monks Bay to give the dog her evening swim

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A kiss at the end of another good day.

Steephill Cove and coast path walk, Isle of Wight

Taking the coastal path from Steephill Cove westwards

A isolated beach reached by a precarious path down the cliffs

Just me and the woofa on a lovely beach; that is perfection. Hubby would have made it perfect, but he opted for a long cycle route instead!

Welcome refreshment at the Beach Hut in Steephill Cove. The dog got a treat and her own bowl of water delivered to the table.

Steephill Cove (I love it out of season, but be prepared for completely different place in the summer holidays!)

It's unique charm!

Tea and scone with hubby at out meeting point in Ventnor.