Euro-Feejer
Well-known member
It's one of those nearby places that we tend to put off visiting... Less than an hour drive to the ferry in Portsmouth. The weather has to be just right, especially to justify the quite pricey ferry (known as one of the most expensive stetches per mile... 34 pounds [$57] round-trip for a motorcycle and 2 people).
We were motivated by some new friends in our neighborhood. They had just bought a nice Kawasaki 800 cruiser, and were familiar with the island through business trips and visits with a powerboat they used to own. A month ago, they'd booked their ferry, but health and weather issues led them to postpone. Last Saturday was the deadline for using their ticket. The weather reports predicted it being near 20c (70f) and less than 5% chance of rain. So we went for it.
Here's the map of our route. We decided to avoid the eastern towns, mainly because there the holiday weekend included a big scooter rally, and most of their activities would be on the east. We still anticipated seeing groups of them all over the island. However, thankfully, we never were bogged down behind any throughout our route.
As we headed toward the Portsmouth harbor, the morning was bright but cool (11c/52f). Always enjoy riding by the village of Arundel 15 minutes out, with its castle and cathedral (next two on-road photos courtesy of the little-lady pillion's phone camera)...
In good time for the 9am ferry (which allowed a slightly slower ride around the coast of Southsea/Portsmouth). My tourguide with his new Kawa in the photo...
Another view while waiting to board the ferry...
As the boat headed out, we could see parts of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, with several old museum ships and some newer navy ships in the military facility beyond (last time we toured that dockyard, a US sub was parked nearby with added security, and we heard that it had to be towed in, since regulations don't allow the nuclear engines to run near port)...
Leaving port with a view of the Isle of Wight...
As the ferry was landing, a group of scooters prepped to head out in front of us (but they headed east soon in town, so we had some nice clear roads to start our day)...
Fishbourne Marina and harbor (next to ferry landing on the Isle of Wight)...
Something the little lady felt like capturing on her phone as we rode through a town...
Our first goal of the day was to see the Needles, a natural wonder on the SW tip of the island. The first view from the parking lot...
Chairlift down to the beach saved us 180 steps each way (would've done the hike if not in my boots)...
Zoomed in for a closer look at the Needles. Those ominous clouds teased us the next hour or so, but never gave us more than a couple drops of moisture...
The cliffs have so many color shades of sand...
Riding on eastward we came across this thatched church in the village of Freshwater...
It was worth a short stop...
A nest of Swallows(?) in the eaves of the church...
Sweeping views as we rode eastward along the south coast of the island...
Zoomed in on more interesting rock formations...
Zoom out again for the foreground of scooters...
Quick stop for a view looking back at the cliff-top roads we'd just ridden...
Lunch-stop in the town of Ventnor...
The nasty-looking clouds finally passed on, and the little lady (aka California girl) soaks up some sun...
Heading inland on the way back (to avoid the scooter-mania further east)... The town of Godshill had a quaint collection of thatch-roofs...
Walking around Godshill (next two photos)
Drove up to the church to get the "postcard photo"...
And one with the machines...
Lower tide in the Fishbourne harbor as we waited to board the return ferry...
One last view as we floated back into Portsmouth...
It was a pleasant 134-mile day... comfortable temperatures, much less traffic than expected, beautiful scenery...
We were motivated by some new friends in our neighborhood. They had just bought a nice Kawasaki 800 cruiser, and were familiar with the island through business trips and visits with a powerboat they used to own. A month ago, they'd booked their ferry, but health and weather issues led them to postpone. Last Saturday was the deadline for using their ticket. The weather reports predicted it being near 20c (70f) and less than 5% chance of rain. So we went for it.
Here's the map of our route. We decided to avoid the eastern towns, mainly because there the holiday weekend included a big scooter rally, and most of their activities would be on the east. We still anticipated seeing groups of them all over the island. However, thankfully, we never were bogged down behind any throughout our route.
As we headed toward the Portsmouth harbor, the morning was bright but cool (11c/52f). Always enjoy riding by the village of Arundel 15 minutes out, with its castle and cathedral (next two on-road photos courtesy of the little-lady pillion's phone camera)...
In good time for the 9am ferry (which allowed a slightly slower ride around the coast of Southsea/Portsmouth). My tourguide with his new Kawa in the photo...
Another view while waiting to board the ferry...
As the boat headed out, we could see parts of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, with several old museum ships and some newer navy ships in the military facility beyond (last time we toured that dockyard, a US sub was parked nearby with added security, and we heard that it had to be towed in, since regulations don't allow the nuclear engines to run near port)...
Leaving port with a view of the Isle of Wight...
As the ferry was landing, a group of scooters prepped to head out in front of us (but they headed east soon in town, so we had some nice clear roads to start our day)...
Fishbourne Marina and harbor (next to ferry landing on the Isle of Wight)...
Something the little lady felt like capturing on her phone as we rode through a town...
Our first goal of the day was to see the Needles, a natural wonder on the SW tip of the island. The first view from the parking lot...
Chairlift down to the beach saved us 180 steps each way (would've done the hike if not in my boots)...
Zoomed in for a closer look at the Needles. Those ominous clouds teased us the next hour or so, but never gave us more than a couple drops of moisture...
The cliffs have so many color shades of sand...
Riding on eastward we came across this thatched church in the village of Freshwater...
It was worth a short stop...
A nest of Swallows(?) in the eaves of the church...
Sweeping views as we rode eastward along the south coast of the island...
Zoomed in on more interesting rock formations...
Zoom out again for the foreground of scooters...
Quick stop for a view looking back at the cliff-top roads we'd just ridden...
Lunch-stop in the town of Ventnor...
The nasty-looking clouds finally passed on, and the little lady (aka California girl) soaks up some sun...
Heading inland on the way back (to avoid the scooter-mania further east)... The town of Godshill had a quaint collection of thatch-roofs...
Walking around Godshill (next two photos)
Drove up to the church to get the "postcard photo"...
And one with the machines...
Lower tide in the Fishbourne harbor as we waited to board the return ferry...
One last view as we floated back into Portsmouth...
It was a pleasant 134-mile day... comfortable temperatures, much less traffic than expected, beautiful scenery...
... One place I never visited when I lived over there, wish I had now.Bet it gets busy in tourist season.
