Walk 23 Whippingham to the Folly Inn - 1.2 miles

Today's walk began at St Mildred's Church, Whippingham. This beautiful church was built from 1855 to 1862 by Albert Jenkins Humbert and since it was the nearest church to Osborne House, Prince Albert is thought to have guiding hand in its design, which accounts for the Norman, Romanesque and Gothic features.

 

In the churchyard are the graves of Prince Louis of Battenberg, and his wife, Princess Victoria of Hesse, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, the parents of Earl Mountbatten and grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Near the north wall of the churchyard is the grave of Uffa Fox, the renowned yachtsman and designer.

These gargoyles adorn the corners of the tower.

I had to test the zoom on my new camera and was quite pleased with these two shots.

The nave has no aisles and has Norman style transepts. A mirror is strategically placed to allow visitors to observe the pyramidal tiled roof with its octagonal lantern and pointed spire

In the Battenberg Chapel are monuments to Prince Albert, Princess Alice, and Prince Leopold. Prince Henry of Battenberg, who died in the Ashanti War of 1896 is buried alongside his wife Princess Beatrice in the church where they were also married. Opposite is the Royal Pew where Queen Victoria worshiped.

A replica of Princess Beatrice's wedding dress is also on display here.

The Almshouses nearby were built in 1876 for six elderly retainers of Queen Victoria's estate. She had a sitting room here, where she would meet parishioners after church.
Just beyond the churchyard wall is a footpath leading down to the River Medina at the Folly Inn, half a mile away across a field and a patch of woodland, giving views of the harbour.

The path comes out on Folly Lane, leading down to the Folly Inn, a large riverside pub popular with yachtsman sailing downriver from Cowes.

From our table we had a fine view of the yachts moored up, just a day before the start of Cowes Week.

The yachts moor up and are ferried to the jetty by harbour taxi.

After lunch, we boarded the Folly Water Taxi which connects with East or West Cowes in about 10 mins.

We passed the "floating bridge" or chain ferry which connects the two sides of Cowes.

As we pulled into Cowes we could see the ferris wheel set up in the ground of Northwood House for Cowes Week.


Walk Details
Start: End of Beatrice ave, Whippingham
Finish: Folly Inn
Distance: 1.2 miles
Time: 45 mins
Bus: No 5 from Newport
Refreshments and WC: Whippingham Church café and Folly Inn

Walk 13 Newport to Cowes Cycle Path - 3.75 miles

A lovely sunny day gave way to a grey and cloudy evening as I met a friend to walk the cycle path from Newport to Cowes. With less than a week to go until the Isle of Wight Festival, the tents and flags were going up on the other side of the Medina.

This rusting hull is now known locally as the paddle-steamer Ryde Queen was launched as the HMS Ryde in 1937 as a passenger ship for the cross Solent traffic. She was called into military service as a minesweeper and anti-aircraft ship taking in the D-day landings being commemorated this week. After a spell in London as a floating gin palace, she returned to the island as a disco boat, but once it closed the steamer has been left to rust away in the river mud.

Across the river, the spire on the hill is the church of St Mildred's at Whippingham, Queen Victoria's place of worship during her years at nearby Osborne House. Prince Albert worked with Albert Jenkins Humbert to design the church, where there is an exhibition of Royal memorabilia.

© Copyright John Salmon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Walk Details

Walk Details

Distance 3.75 miles each way

Start:Newport bus station

Finish: Newport bus station

Time: 2 hours

Bus: No. 3 Ventnor to Newport

Refreshments and WC: Newport and Cowes town centres