Walk 59 Ryde to Seaview

 https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2280015

This walk was planned to find somewhere to take friends for a meal, but frankly, not much choice!

I started at St John's Church, Oakfield. At the junction, Appley Lane leads straight to the beach walk, but I took Appley Rd by mistake leading through Puckpool Park to join the coastal path near the Dell cafe (35 mins).

Then follow the path passing the beach huts to the Boathouse pub (50 mins) .

 Along the way, Portsmouth and Spinnaker Tower can be seen across the Solent, then the Solent Forts.

Enter Seaview along the Esplanade past the sailing club to reach The Old Fort.(1 hr 10, 2.4 miles).As the tide was in, I couldn't continue to Seagrove beach via the coast so retraced steps along the coastal path, passing Appley Tower. 

Pass Appley Beach cafe and above it is Catch restaurant.

Beyond the boating lake, pass through the fairground to reach the marina. Here is Harbour House,  a tapas and cocktail bar.

 Return to the main road to come to Ryde Castle, the Hoverport and bus/train terminal.

Walk 59 Ryde to Seaview https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2280015
 

Walk Details

Start: Bus stop at St John's Church opposite Oakfield School
Finish:  Seaview
Distance: 5.2 miles
Time: 1 hr 10 each way, total 2 hrs 20
Bus: No 3 from Newport, No 8 from Seaview
Refreshments/WC: Puckpool Park, Old Fort Seaview, cafes along coastal path

Walk 43 Ryde to Quarr Abbey - 2.5 miles

Thick fog encased my house but I had hopes of better weather elsewhere so I crossed the island to Ryde for a my first photowalk of the year, from Ryde town centre to Quarr Abbey, starting at the High Street, then via Star St to Queens Rd, right on Pellhurst Rd until coming to the car park by the golf course. 

The coastal path to the right of the clubhouse leads down through the golf course, known as Ladies Walk. We soon come to the Church of the Holy Cross at Binstead, with 11th century origins but this church dates from 1844.

In the churchyard, look out for a tombstone of a man mistaken for a smuggler which is carved with a boat in chase of a sloop and which reads: 
"To the memory of Tho' Sivell who was cruelly shot on board his sloop by some officers of the customs of the port of Portsmouth on the 13th June 1785 at the age of 64 years leaving a disconsolate widow and family." 
A gateway to the churchyard features a Sheela-Na-Gig or "Saxon idol". 

By PFR Forster (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0  via Wikimedia Commons

We pass the attractive thatched cottage Key Lodge before coming to the ruins of the ancient abbey of Quarr, founded in 1132 by Baldwin de Redvers, later Lord of the Island, who brought Cistercian monks from Savigny Abbey, in Normandy. 

The abbey, named after the nearby quarry, had a library and an infirmary as some of the monks were doctors and pharmacists who tended islanders. The remaining Savigny monks arrived in 1147; the monks fortified the site and nearby villages with gun ports in the 14th century,when marauding French ships sailed in the Solent as the ferries do today. It became the largest monastery on the island; however, Henry VIII dissolved the Abbey in July 1536 and the last abbot, with one of his monks, left for Beaulieu.

 The visible ruins include parts of the infirmary chapel, kitchen and refectory.

Next, we come to Quarr Abbey House, built from recycled stone from the old abbey. It was the home of Sir Thomas Cochrane, whose daughter Minna was lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria's daughter Beatrice, who honeymooned here when she married Prince Henry of Battenberg. Queen Victoria was a regular visitor and her son the Prince of Wales watched the Cowes Week sailing from the balcony with Kaiser William.(Wikipedia).

In 1907 Quarr Abbey House was bought by Benedictine monks who had been leasing the Appuldurcombe House near Ventnor and it formed part of the new Quarr Abbey monastery buildings, seen below in a picture from 1910.                                                                          A few yards futher on, we come to the Quarr Abbey, an imposing red brick building inmodern Moorish style. It was founded by exiled French monks who first came to Appuldurcombe House from Solesmes in 1901 and then bought Quarr Abbey House, where Dom Paul Bellot designed a new monastery and, in 1911, the church.

Most monks returned to France in 1922, but 25 remained to found a new order. Inspired by his time in the Netherlands, Bellot chose to work in Belgian brick, building on to the older Victorian buildings and using only local workmen. An arched doorway leads into the nave with its patterned brickwork.

Concerts in Gregorian Chant are sometimes held in the Abbey, which is still home to Benedictine monks.

 

 In the gardens can be seen two statues, one of Our Lady of Quarr and one of St Benedict.

The Abbey is open to the public and the monks look after visitors who come to stay or who visit  the monastery shop, or the tea garden. Others produce food, growing vegetables or fruit, or looking after the pigs, cattle, or bees. They also maintain the buildings, or work in the gardens or on the estate. There is also a book bindery on the site and regular art exhibitions.   Passing the piggery we return to the main road to pick up a bus towards either Ryde or Wootton Bridge.

Walk Details
Start: High St, Ryde
Finish: Quarr Abbey
Distance: 2.5 miles
Time:  50 minutes
Bus: No 9 from Newport via Staplers to Wootton Bridge
Refreshments/WC: Quarr Abbey Tea Gardens  

Walk Route

Walk 26 Coastal Path Ryde to St Helens - 4.85 miles

Another stage on the coastal path, having gone a bit out of sequence on my clockwise route. I started at Appley Sands just outside Ryde and more or less followed the path into St Helens. Before writing this post, I came across a new HDR photo editing app, which explains some of the unnatural images...just a bit of fun!

I was quite pleased with the way my camera handled these shots across the Solent, after all the coast is about 7 miles away. The nearest of these Solent Forts is No Man's Land Fort, and behind it is Horse Sand Fort, both built as part of the Palmerston defences and now  hospitality centres.

On the north-eastern tip of the island is the village of Seaview; originally an Edwardian holiday resort and the village is comprised largely of holiday accommodation and second homes, making it very seasonal in character.

 This view taken around 1900 shows the old suspension bridge.

The latest additions are these upmarket beach huts with space for one's boating equipment below and living space above, but at over £199,000 and no sleeping permitted they didn't appear to be very much occupied this week.

A feature of Seaview Harbour any time of the year are the Sea View One-Design Dinghy class of up to 180 classically designed wooden racing boats built by a local family firm.

Even in August the huge expanses of beach from Appley to Seaview are virtually empty.

Looking across to Portsmouth one can see the Spinnaker Tower and the Gunwharf Tower Building.

Rope Walk leads up to the village by the Yacht Club.

Today was the Seaview Regatta, with sailing races and traditional family events such as climbing the Greasy Pole and fireworks.

 

I lunched here at the Old Fort Bar/Café.

Yachts sailing past No Man's Land Fort.

From Seaview I followed the sea wall, which can only be done at low tide; Bembridge Lifeboat Station is the the background.

The next bay is Seagrove Bay, popular with families playing beach games.

Priory Bay is around the next headland. I tried to follow the coast through the woods, but there is not really a path round these days, so the official coastal path route goes inland at the end of Seagrove Bay...route map here.

I took this ladder into Priory Woods and eventually found a route along the edge of the golf course to reach the coastal path again, descending across fields to St Helens.

Baywatch on the Beach is a popular café on the sea wall.

Walk Route

Walk Details
Start: Appley Rd
Finish: St Helens
Distance: 4.85 miles
Time:3 hours
Bus: No 8 to Ryde
Refreshments and WC: Puckpool, Seaview and St Helens