Shanklin Chine | Isle of Wight

Tucked away between two cliffs just beyond the chilly beach is Shanklin Chine. A small gorge like geographical feature, Shanklin Chine is one of the Isle of Wight's first tourist attractions. Scattered Victorian structures within the Chine give you the sense of being thrown back in time. During the fall and winter the Chine is practically empty allowing you to walk through the thick trees in complete isolation. The Chine itself was absolutely beautiful and I was amazed at its natural features.

We only spent about twenty minutes in Shanklin Chine. Although beautiful and quiet, I'm not exactly sure why adult tickets are 4 pounds. The entire area is fairly small and isn't exactly much of an adventurous hike. However, the views were breathtaking and well worth a visit if you are in the area! 

Happy Sunday!

xoxo

Shanklin | Isle of Wight

Our adventure continues on the Isle of Wight! 

After a short trip to Sandown, Elle and I were ready to head to our next destination: Shalkin. Elle, having done far more research than I, knew it was only a short trip away. Yet the distance of the two cities on the map didn't seem walkable, so we opted for the bus. But after waiting an hour for the bus only to be told it didn't go to Shanklin, Elle and I settled on taking a train. The train station in Sandown sparked much debate on horror movies and being murdered in the middle of nowhere but once the train came we were instantly put at ease. 

Five minutes later, we were in Shanklin. We walked up to the coastline and looked down. There, in the near distance was Sandown Pier. Yep, we had waited an hour and some to get to a city we could have walked to in 15 minutes. Our spirits, while slightly defeated, were ready for Shanklin. Shanklin is a beautiful Victorian seaside resort. Every other building was an inn or hotel, all of which looked closed for the winter. The beach itself looked too cold for a dip, but was a perfect spot for a few "profile pictures". Shanklin was by far my favorite stop on our visit to the Isle of Wight so I highly recommend it! Stay tuned for Shanklin Chine!

Happy Thursday!
xoxo

Sandown | Isle of Wight

Warning | This post is very picture heavy.

Now that I have established I took a lot of pictures on the Isle of Wight, let's get to my visit to Sandown with fellow Texan living in Bristol, Elle. Located on the east coast of the Isle of Wight, Sandown is home to a pier, a candy shop, and one hell of a pretty beach. Sandown was easy enough to get to (we bought an Isle of Wight day bus ticket), but extremely hard to get out of. We waited an hour for a bus only to be told it wasn't going the direction we wanted to go (even though the sign clearly said it did)! All in all, Sandown is worth a the visit to the beach, but plan ahead to use the train system and not the buses!

Happy Tuesday!
xoxo

By The Sea | Isle of Wight

On a Wednesday morning not to long ago I woke up at 5am to catch a train. Elle, a fellow Texan living in Bristol, and I had decided to make a day trip out to the Isle of Wight. Two hours on the train followed by a twenty minute ferry ride and we were on the beautiful island.

Located just south of Southampton, the Isle of Wight is England's largest island. Well, other than the island of Great Britain of course. Its history predates Romans, and even governed itself as its own country for some time in the 15th century. The island is famous for dinosaur bones and fossils, and even has a theme park dedicated to it. The entire island is 148 square miles, and is home to 138,000 people. 

To be honest, I found the Isle of Wight to be a strange but amazing place. The island was unlike anything I had seen in England, making the theme of our trip to be "that's so random". From the beaches to the gorges to the piers to the candy shops, the Isle of Wight is the perfect place to visit if you're looking for a quirky yet beautiful holiday. 

We managed to visit five cities on the island during our short visit, so there will be a few more posts headed this way within the next week!

Happy November! 

xoxo