A short boat right away..............

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Today was a day for a bit of exploring. Stuart dropped me off at 8:45 at the Red Funnel ferry terminal in Southampton so that I could make the 9 AM departure to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The island sits as a natural barrier/protector for the harbor at Southampton. The conventional ferry takes just about one hour . Upon arrival, I bought a day bus pass and set out for Newport, the largest town on the island. After taking a look at 1400s this and 1500s that, I took another bus to the southeast and the town of Sandown. This was a very scenic ride over hill and dale; down tree covered lanes that barely allowed the bus and a car to pass, thru housing estates and small towns that only seem possible in travel brochures.....all within 30 minutes. Being right on the ocean, Sandown has those beachside hotels that were all the rage in the 20s and 30s, yet still manage to exist today. It even has white cliffs that made me think of Dover. One can also take a 10 minute hovercraft ride back to the mainland. I would have loved to try it, but already had a return ticket from West Cowes.

Boarding another bus for Ryde, the bus driver spent a long time examining my ticket to be sure it indeed was valid. Ryde faces the mainland and has a seaside promenade and some of the steepest hills I ever seen lined with stores. Fortunately for me, I only had to go downhill !!! After some pub grub of fish and chips, I was on my 3rd bus of the day back to East Cowes. Getting off the bus at Osborne House (Queen Victoria's favorite home away from home, I found I had missed the last tour of the day, so on another bus to East Cowes.

I had arrived on the convetional ferry and wanted to try the fast catamaran back so I had to walk from East Cowes to West Cowes....but how does one get across the river? On the "floating bridge" of course. This is a little ferry boat that pulls itself on a chain for about 5 minutes til it gets to the other side of the river!!!! Really unique. West Cowes is a sailboat town par excellence, and already they are gearing up for Cowes Week which is the last week of July. The fast cat came in at 3:55 and sailed out for the 22 minute ride back to Southampton at 4 PM.

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