It’s almost Coronation Day and I’ve just arrived on the Isle of Wight for a 5 day sojourn after my 14 day transatlantic cruise.

The cruise was great as well as disappointing – we lost 2 ports due to the threat of icebergs and Iceland was so bitterly cold (go figure) that I only went ashore for an hour so there were many, many sea days. Saying that Belfast, Dublin and Le Havre were all new stops for me and I enjoyed them very much.

Back to England! My cruise finished in Southampton and since the Isle of Wight was just a stone’s throw across The Solent I thought I’d should pop over and check it out. My Mom and John had been here a few years ago on a walking holiday and enjoyed it and so I wanted to see it for myself.

I was able to walk from the ship to the ferry dock, then caught a local bus once on the IOW to the main town of Newport, where I’ve a cute little mews apartment rented for 5 nights.

Days of good weather will be limited during my stay so I took advantage of the dry afternoon to walk down to Carisbrooke Castle.

Carisbrooke has a 1000 year history starting as a stronghold against Vikings and other invaders over the centuries but substantially reinforced in the 1590’s against the threat of another Spanish Armada. It’s most famous claim to fame is this is where King Charles I was imprisoned in 1647 after losing the Civil War, before actually losing his life in London in 1649.

After circling the ramparts I meandered back to my abode, stopping for supplies and another picture of another post box topper!