Isle of Wight

 

Being were we are on the coast you get so used to seeing the Isle of Wight a certain way, from Purbeck though you get to see it from a whole other angle. It's always nice to get another perspective on things. The island looks so different too, much bigger. Until 100 thousand years ago Purbecks' Old Harry Rocks and the Isle of Wights' Needles were part of the same a chalk ridge created at the time of the Cretaceous Paleogene extinction event. Time and the elements did for that though.

Old Harry Rocks and one of the Pinnacles

At the furthest east point of the Purbeck Ridge are Old Harry Rocks and the Pinnacles; if you look east in the distance you'll just see The Needles and The Isle of Wight, once these two chalk headlands would've been joined as a continuous chalk ridge. If you know Purbeck and you ever visit to the The Isle of Wight you'll spot the similarity in geology and environment immediately.

Moody morning

A moody scene on Barton undercliff this morning.

 

Barton view

A clear blue sky reflected in a millpond sea; what a beautiful day for a walk on the beach.  A view of isle of the Wight and the Needles from Barton undercliff this morning.

Winter beach

Considering the coast is at the end of the road, 10 minutes walk away, we don't walk there as much as you'd imagine. We should really, it's lovely walking, with great views. It's funny how you can overlook what's right under your nose.

Holding the line

Remnants of a time when we needed to protect ourselves from a threatened invasion from an increasingly agitated and aggressive Isle of Wight still litter the intertidal of East Dorset and West Hampshire. Thankfully a treaty was signed with the mainland promising to leave the islanders in peace, and invasion was averted. That was nearly 40 years ago now, and still nothing has been heard or seen of the illusive islanders. The mind can only boggle.

Installation.

Cycling along the top of the sea wall between Keyhaven and Lymington I could see something in the distance which I couldn't make out, something new.  The sea wall route to Lymington is a favourite of mine for two reasons. Firstly, the salterns behind it are always teeming with birds of all types and I've had the opportunity to see some great sights, like birds sweeping up fish and rare visitors to our shores. Secondly, the views out over the Solent and onto the Isle of Wight, that mysterious isle, where they say the inhabitants don't have thumbs! Well, that's what I've heard.  Anyway, as I got closer two black shapes came into view. At first I thought they might have been hides for bird watching, a common activity in these parts, but no, to big.  The closer I got didn't make an interpretation any clearer.  Of course it wouldn't, it's art! These two 'buildings' are an art installation called 'The Observatory'; one structure is open and creates a shelter for you to observe the surroundings, the other structure an enclosed artists work space for resident artists. The Observatory will move between four sites over two years and is currently here. You can see the buildings are of a modern design, and can be rotated (I think), they're clad in charred wood, which is interesting and the enclosed one is half glass, so you can peer in at the art in progress. Nice. There should be more space for art, more energy focused in that direction. It's great to come across art in unexpected places, it enriches.  Get down there and have a look, I don't know how long they'll be there, mind.