Postcard from the Isle of Wight - the model village!

We used to take our children to the model village in Godshill umpteen years ago, but it's still just as wonderful as ever.

It actually *is* a model of the village...and contains a model of the model of the model.



The topiary is quite something in itself.



1:10 turns out to be perfect meerkat size!





Cricket on the village green...



Look at the dog being a nuisance! There was (of course) a soundtrack for the bandstand - and hymns issuing forth from the church!



There's a wedding at the model church - notice the cottages in the foreground?



These are the real-life cotages in front of the real-life church - if you look at the top of each roof, you can see they've even copied the detailing on the thatch!

Postcard from the Isle of Wight!

We walked along the coastal path again today, from St Lawrence towards Niton. Although the path follows the coast it is mostly along the cliff top.









Sometimes the path was WAY too near the edge for my liking. You can see clumps of earth just begging to be allowed to fall.





Now this is a rockery - au naturel!





Lots of cinnabar moths about. I was struggling to remember their name all morning, got back, turned on the laptop to fire up google and remembered instantly!

YAY for the Isle of Wight!

We've come to Ventnor in the south of the island to a tiny self-catering cottage. Didn't get here till evening, so a quick meal of salad and roast chicken (thank you supermarket for cooking!) and a 10 minute stroll down to Woody Bay. We could see the sea from the end of the drive - bliss!



The tide was in, looks like it'll be a great spot for scrambling in rock pools tomorrow. Tonight there was just a lone fisherman on the rocks below the cliff,and his long suffering wife sitting nursing a flask of tea.

Alum Bay

We've been to the Isle of Wight so so many times, and Alum Bay is on the "must visit" list. This shot is looking down at the Bay and the Needles from the top of the cliff.



Sadly it's been completely commercialised now, which I think is a big shame. Piped music, tacky souvenir shops - but at least the stripy sands (as we've always called them!) are still there.



The brave (or foolish) go down to the beach by chairlift. I walk down the steps!



The cliffs have been tilted at 90 degrees over the ages, the vertical stripes are formed by layers of sediment that were (of course) deposited horizontally.



The colours are amazing. The tourist info states there are 21 distinct shades, and I can well believe it.

Fourth of July on the Isle of Wight

We took our oldest son and his girlfriend for their first geocache expedition while we were on the Isle of Wight. This one at Fort Victoria was in the most fabulous (and reflective!) container.



I was really pleased because it was 4th July, and one of the items in the cache stash was a textile badge in the shape of the American flag.



I'm wearing the badge while taking the meerkat for a dolphin ride ;-)