29/06/2021 - IOW Coast Path Day 3 - Ventnor to Brighstone

Distance - 13.1 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Places of Interest - Blackgang Chine

Previous Stages - Day 1, Day 2 

There is rather an important football game on tonight.  Bus Times require an early start and a bit of a route march to get to the only return transportation that guarantees being seated in front of a TV at 5pm.

Not that there is much on this stretch of the IOW Coast Path to delay us.  It is remarkably bleak.  The sea fret not helping with things.

Exiting Ventnor provides all of today's geocaches.  A wild camper - in an unfathomably large family tent - is guarding one particular ground zero.  My ferreting at fence posts awakes him and he comes out to pontificate about today's game - claiming to both hate football and be very anxious about the result.  We assure him we are not the tent inspectors and head off - leaving behind some pretty beaches and coves to get up onto high farmland.  We could be walking anywhere.

Coves, just outside Ventnor

Up on field edges - with the Sea Fret obscuring views

Progress is marked by passing the most Southerly part of the Island - St Catherines Point.  It's that grim a day that the lighthouse is turned on.

If I had timed the photo better, you would have seen a flash

Even on a tight schedule, refreshment stops need to be made.  The map has a big blue cup of joy in Shale - but will it be there and will it be open?  Fortunately, the Wight Mouse Inn is operating as a hotel - so once you can find access via a convoluted covid one way system - that has completely flummoxed the pensioners exiting through the in door - we have liquid refreshments at 11:50am.

Shale Church

Back on the road at 12:20pm

The cliffs are regained - along with a confusing notice that they are dangerous and the path is closed but offering no detour or indication of how long the path is closed for.  We press on, hugging the farmers fence and learn the meaning of a "Chine".  It is where water meets the coast and due to the the cliffs being basically made of mud - significant detours have to be made inland to get around them.

Blackgang Chine is the first and most significant - with a family fun attraction that must be closed - judging by the empty car park.

The crumbling mud cliffs of South Isle of Wight

A less significant detour is met at Whale Chine and finally, at Shepherd's Chine - the coast path disappears and we give up on it. 

We know that we will have to come inland to reach the bus stop at Brighouse at some point - so this seems as good a point as any.

The next 2 miles is a lane based trudge that could put you off walking for life.

We arrive at the Three Bishops Pub at 2:40pm, meaning we have 20 minutes to convince the surly barkeeps that we deserve a drink before the bus on the hour.  Three inquires, and eventually we are served by the cleaner.  The real bar staff more interested in putting up (or taking down) St George's Cross bunting.

Surly service at the Three Bishops

Not a huge amount to recommend the walk but we met our goals and despite everyone in Newtown clocking off work early for the game and clogging up the roads - we get back to our accommodation for 4:40pm.

Mrs M luxuriates in the bath, the game kicks off and then the boiler explodes.  A cascade of water gushing from the bottom, I charge around trying to simultaneously find receptacles and read the manual to find the stop cock is located.

The emergency plumber was delighted to get a call 20 minutes into the game.

He turned up 5 minutes after the final whistle.  Informing him we had beat the Germans in a competitive game for the first time in 55 years didn't cheer him up as much as I would have expected.