Friday was the only overcast day we had while on the Isle of Wight.
We decided to visit Ventnor Botanical Gardens.
Again rather a lot of photographs - next year my maxim will have to be 'less is more'!
Fortunately this was another place where dogs were welcome (both in the gardens and the cafe) and they enjoyed their walk.
This was amazing the way the tree vine had grown curled around like a snake.
I was delighted to spot a red squirrel.
There is a tunnel in Ventnor Gardens that you can walk through at certain times of the day to the cliffs above the bay.
It is pitch black inside and little Percy was a reluctant walker through there, but Stanley had no qualms at all.
You an see Steephill Cove from the exit of the tunnel.
We enjoyed walking round the rest of the gardens and then walked along the coastal path to Steephill Cove.
A pretty little cove with some lovely quaint cottages and houses.
This property fascinated me - I bet it has some history to tell.
I looked it up on line and discovered it is called 'Cliff Dene' and was built in 1908 and sold this year for around the £1.5 million mark. It is going to be going through some restoration and changes - I hope the new owners are sympathetic to its style and look, it would be a shame to change it. There seems to be some plans for a kind of steeple which in my opinion looks a bit out of character and odd...but time will tell and we will look on in interest next time we visit this area.
It certainly commands an amazing view.
I think with work the gardens could look amazing again with the right planting and attention . Many years ago they used to be terraced apparently, but over time land instability and other things means they have been lost and to a certain extent neglected.
Looking over towards Ventnor, we enjoyed a short walk along here, up the hill and then back to Steephill Cove.
I spoke too soon on the last post! The botanical garden reminded me of one I visited on the Coromandel (not that it was the same....it just reminded me). The old house looks like it will need a great deal of money spent on it.
ReplyDeleteCan't complain though as the weather was still good enough to get out and about, and the sky did eventually show hints of blue towards the late afternoon.
DeleteYes I can well imagine a lot of money will be spent on that house.