A visit to the Isle of Wight – 20th June 2012
I spent a great day out in the field with Gordon Adamson, visiting stores on the Isle of Wight.
The day began with an early alarm and I emerged to glorious sunshine.
I’d arranged to meet Gordon at Head Office in Newbury at 5.30am. Surprisingly, there weren’t too many other people around at that time of day!
Gordon drove us down to Portsmouth where we were able to catch a ferry over to the island shortly after 7am.
Boats in the harbour at Portsmouth
While not being the most luxurious vessel, the good ship St Clare proved more than adequate for our needs and we enjoyed a perfect crossing.
Portsmouth in the early morning light
Looking back towards Portsmouth
Our first call of the day was in Cowes, where we arrived at the store minutes before it was due to open. After a successful visit, we asked advice pertaining to the best place to enjoy a hearty breakfast in Cowes. We were told to continue down the street and look out for a yellow-fronted café.
After some confusion where we managed to locate two yellow-fronted cafés, we found ourselves inside The Octopus Garden enjoying a delicious breakfast.
A welcome breakfast after some five hours on the road
After we’d finished our breakfast, I snapped a couple of photos of the harbour before we moved on to our other store visits in Newport and Ryde.
Looking out of Cowes harbour
Cannons outside the yachting club at Cowes
Eventually, it was time for us to leave the island and we duly boarded our ferry for the return trip back to Portsmouth.
A view of St Clare, which passed us on our return journey
Sailing in the Solent
A peaceful Solent
Portsmouth under blue skies
The Spinnaker Tower
It had been a memorable day in many ways. We were fortunate to have gone when we did as the island became virtually gridlocked a few days after our visit, as heavy rain blighted this year’s Isle of Wight Festival.
My thanks to Gordon for putting up with me for a day.
A couple more photos from the day will be coming up on my other site over the next few days.
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