Walk 41 The Warrior Trail - 4.5 miles

I had been meaning to try this walk since seeing it advertised by Southern Vectis earlier this summer, so when a sunny day dawned the day after buying a new camera, (Lumix TX60 for anyone who cares), it seemed the perfect opportunity. Full directions for the walk can be downloaded here and here.

The Warrior Trail is a walk around locations connected with the prominent Seely Family, especially Jack Seely and his famous horse Warrior, born at nearby Yafford. Jack Seely was born in Brookhill Hall in Nottinghamshire in 1868 and was a respected and adventurous figure in war and politics. He grew up in Brook House, purchased by his grandfather Charles, before serving in the Hampshire Yeomanry in the 2nd Boer War, taking with him his white horse Maharaja, dyed brown for camouflage. He became the island's MP and by 1912, he was Secretary of State for War. When he went to war in 1914 he took with him his horse Warrior and became a 'galloper' on the western front. Dubbed the horse the Germans could not kill, Jack and Warrior survived the Battle of the Somme, machine gun fire, gas attacks, was dug from the mud at Passchendaele and trapped in burning stables. Warrior was an inspiration to the troops and was awarded the PDSA Dickin Award for animal gallantry.

I began the walk on the Military Road, where Ridget Lane leads uphill to Mottistone, 

coming out opposite the 12th century church of St Peter and St Paul, where the ashes of Jack Seeley lie in front of the altar in the Cheke Chapel, but now perhaps equally well known as the scene of the wedding of Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter.

Inside the chapel is a small display of information about Warrior. 

The attractive Mottistone Manor house was built around the turn of the 15/16th century, though the house we see today was redesigned in the 20s by Paget and the 2nd Baron Mottistone, Henry Seely. Jack bought the property after the war and here Warrior lived out his last days. Now a National Trust property, the gardens are open to the public and are famed for their fine borders.If you choose to pay the entrance fee to visit you get a loo!

From the car park a path (BS43) leads up to the Longstone. Take the right fork marked "Footpath to the Longstone and Downs". This path dips down to the right a bit, skirting the garden grounds before coming to a kissing gate with a handrail on the right side. 

From here a path does indeed wind up and around the neolithic Longstone.The two pieces of local greensand stone are associated with a barrow mound to the west and are the subject of local legend as well the site of solstice celebrations. One legend holds that St Catherine and the Devil competed for control of the island by throwing stones; the larger stone was the winner, thrown by St Catherine from her downland to the east, signifying the triumph of good over evil.

 

The path runs off the the west past a red brick cottage, offering panoramic views of Brook Hill House and along the coast to the white cliffs near the Needles, though today was too hazy for the best photos. 

 

On entering a wooded area, you pass through a Ramblers gate

 then through a tall horse stile at BS39 onto a private drive skirting the lawns Brook Hill House. This is not the stile and path marked Strictly Private that you will pass just before! You can't see the house from here, but it appears later in the walk.Turn right onto the lane for a few yards then take the footpath towards Freshwater Bay.

Following the path S26, forking left after 50 yards, then left on BS89 brings you downhill to a seven bar metal gate then left on BS86 to a farm lane, on which turn left and here we will see Brooke Hill House up in the woods ahead. 

Brooke Hill House was built by Jack's father Charles, high in the woods for his bronchial condition but he died before it was finished, leaving it to his son Frank. J.B Priestley lived there from 1948 to 1959 when he regretfully left the island to be nearer to friends and family.

The path soon reaches Brook Church, where Jack's first wife Nim is buried, having died giving birth to his daughter Louisa.

 The church also contains a number of memorials to the Brook Lifeboat. The treacherous coast of the West Wight has seen many a shipwreck, both natural and deliberate, and the Brook Lifeboat station was set up in 1860, at the instigation of the Seely family. Jack was a coxswain from 1933-37, but as a 23 year-old in 1891 he was part of the lifeboat team who rescued the Henri et Leontine when it ran aground at Brook Chine. As the attempt to launch the lifeboat had been unsuccessful, Jack swam out with a line and rescued the captain and the rest of the crew, for which he was awarded the French medal of honour.

The church contains a memorial to the 1957 Aquila Airways Solent flying boat crash, when 45 people lost their lives when the aircraft crashed into the chalkpit at Shalcombe Down.

C. by J.Arthur Dixon via Wikipedia Fair Use

Another memorial reads...

Continuing left into the village, we pass the entrance to Brook House (see image), though the imposing grey stone building, where Jack and Warrior were based until 1925, cannot be seen from the road. Jack inherited this house from his father and sold it to his brother Charles when he moved to Mottistone. It now provides holiday accommodation.
Charles Seely, Jack's grandfather was a keen supporter of Garibaldi and invited him to Brook House, where he was painted by Manzini. He was welcomed at Cowes by crowd of 2000 banner waving islanders on 4 April 1864. He also visited Tennyson at Farringford and planted trees in both gardens. 

 Opposite the entrance to Brook House is a lane leading to the Sun Inn at Hulverstone, the nearest option for a refreshment break, about 7 minutes walk away.
Opposite the village green and pond is the Seely Village Hall. This room was donated to the villagers by Charles Seely as a reading room, supplied with newspapers and a billiard table. Among the rules of the Reading Room was "No intoxicating drinks, gambling, betting or bad language will be allowed". In its grounds is a monument to the Brook Lifeboatmen.

The lane now meets the Military Rd above Brook Bay, where Jack trained Warrior for battle by riding him into its rough waters.

 Beside the cottages, at the coast's edge is the old Lifeboat Station, which closed in 1936 after saving over 200 lives.

From here there is a last distant view of Brook Hill House.
As for Warrior, he died in 1941 aged 32 and was honoured by an obituary in the Times.

 The route completes by following the coastal path back to Ridget Lane, but I decided to call it a day at Brook and pick up the bus back to Newport. 

Walk Route

Walk Details
Start: Military Road at end of Ridget Lane
Finish: Military Road at Brook Village
Distance: 5 miles
Time:  3 hours with visit to Mottistone Manor
Bus: No 12 from Newport (every 2 hours) and Island Coaster in summer
Refreshments/WC: At Mottistone Manor (National Trust) when open. Entrance fee applies.
The nearby Sun Inn at Hulverstone.