2 June 2014 (cloudy, sunny patches, mild)

Another great sleep in the caravan which saw us rouse ourselves at 8am before showers and breakfast.  Then we loaded up the bikes on the back of Dools car and went for a drive along the south coast.  Had a stop at the lovely little village of Shanklin and took some photos there, before walking down to Shanklin Chine.  

the beautiful little village of Shanklin, Isle of Wight

What, you may ask, is a chine?  You are not alone, but thanks to google we found out it was a valley carved out by a river through soft rock so didn’t feel it was necessary to pay the £4 entry fee to go see it for ourselves.  Yes, having counted up our money this morning we realised it was time to be the tight, penny-pinching travellers of old with no more money going on frivolous touristy things.  We even took our campstove with us to make a cup of tea but it was too windy everywhere we stopped to use it so we made do with water, along with pork pies, oatcakes and apples to sustain us.  Then we visited the Needles, a series of eroded rock faces at the westerly corner of the island. 

Very impressive but cold and windy there.  Dools took the cable car down to the beach but we decided to walk and after that little excursion Pete and I took the bikes off the car and cycled to Yarmouth and then on to Newtown. 

We cycled part of an old railway line today - nice to be back on the bikes and away from traffic.

Very pleasant cycling and no pain in the knee.  It was nice to be riding the bikes without any luggage on them too.  This side of the island seems a lot better looked after but they have mastered the art of charging for everything.  Every little carpark, even in the middle of nowhere, was a pay and display.  Dools picked us up at Newtown and we drove to the city of Newport where we picked up some groceries before heading back to Bembridge where we made BLT’s for dinner in the caravan.
Pete now....Just finished watching a panorama program on Jimmy Saville. What a bloody slimebag, but how the hell he got away with his sexual abusing for so long is totally unbelievable. Never liked the guy even when I was living in England I always thought he was a slimey shit…! The people who gave him the opportunity to  offend at this level need to be held accountable, but I can guarantee they won’t be.

Did about 20km on the bikes today,which was just enough for Julia’s knee without putting it under pressure. Still very much like the mainland over here.  Hope to see some more over the next few days although the weather looking a bit dodgy on the forecast.  Welcome to a British summer.......