A gentle mini-adventure

Savouring good food, greenery galore, and precious conversations

Spring wildflowers, Isle of Wight

Recently I organised a mini-adventure for myself. Pete was working off-island for a few days, so I planned a lunchtime outing to visit Pete’s mum, who lives across the island. By taking the train to Ryde, and changing to a bus I could get there in about 45 minutes. And on the way back I was planning to skip the bus and walk back to Ryde, which according to Google should take a little more than an hour. 

Even though most of my route was known, the walking part was a new route, so in my mind it gets classified as a ‘mini adventure’. Not scary or out of my comfort zone by any means, just a nice new thing to try.

I started off the day going first to my favourite Deli where the owner Sarah had mentioned in her newsletter that she had quiche & salad boxes to take-away. I knew how much Pete’s mum loves quiche, and any leftovers of salad or quiche would be good for her to have ready to eat later. She sometimes doesn’t bother to eat so we try to eat with her a couple of times a week as incentive, and leave some food behind as well. 

Fabulous quiche & coleslaw (and photo) by Sarah James, It’s About Thyme Deli, Shanklin

Sarah whipped up a delicious duo of quiches and a variety of spicy and traditional salads (you can guess who got what!) whilst we nattered away. After packing them carefully in my bag, I wandered a few blocks to catch the Island Train. This train line runs between Ryde and Shanklin, so it’s a great way for us to get to Ryde for shopping or to get the passenger ferry to the mainland when we can’t be bothered to drive.

Unless you take it everyday, I think taking a train automatically qualifies as a bit of an adventure. These trains are refurbished London Underground cars, which now rumble smoothly along through the countryside, stopping at a few towns along the way. The first time we rode this train, about 4 years ago, they had very old underground cars, with no suspension in cars or the seats. As we flew along the fast bits of the track, we bounced painfully up and down and weren’t sure if the whole car might fly off the track. Now it is generally quiet, some cars have USB ports for plugging in devices, and the seats are clean and well-padded. And most importantly,  you feel like the car will stay on the track.

New (left) and old (right) Island Line train carriages. Photo courtesy South Western Railway.

We roll past the coastal clifftop towns, and down through the open pastel-coloured wetlands, with tufts of wheat-coloured reeds poking up from the sky reflected in the ponded water. On into the darker thickets of forests now unfurling tiny leaves of lime and chartreuse green; twinkles of bright white hawthorn blossoms stand out starkly. I am still so amazed at the amount and speed of wildland creeping in just over the suburban fences, and beyond the allotments. Once it isn’t actively tamed, the heartiest botanicals race in to partake of the fertile soils, pleasant temperatures and consistent rain. It looks just like I imagined rural ‘England’ as described in my early literary reads, or enjoyed in galleries featuring Turner and Constable landscapes.

Painterly landscapes, Isle of Wight

Instead of getting on the bus just next to the Ryde Esplanade Station, I wander up the High Street to nosy around and see what new shops may have opened (or shut) since I last visited. There is a new restaurant to research, a couple of refreshed art galleries, some professional businesses moved, and a little more tourist traffic than last time I was there. Tourism will increase throughout May with three Monday holidays this year, continuing until the population on the Island peaks in August. 

At the top of the high street, I jump on the bus and in 15 more minutes have arrived at Pete’s mum’s house. This was the house we lived in for most of last year, so I walk right in and make myself at home. She is delighted to see me and after I make a cup of coffee we sit down for a long chat. Well, I have a long listen, and Pete’s mum tells me stories and information I need to know. Her stories are delightful: there are only a few I have heard before, and I always learn some good tidbits about the family, as well as English social history in general.  

During lunch I tell her a few anecdotes I think will amuse her or that she will be interested in. And she is, and she laughs heartily, and even remembers some of the things I tell her, as she mentions them again when I am leaving. We both tell each other how great it was to have lunch together, and we both really mean it. 

Now for the mini-adventure part of the journey! The first half of the walk to Ryde is the route that Pete and I walked everyday the eight months we lived with Pete’s mum, so I know it well. There is small lane with a few houses through a dark glade of trees and eager flowers that also serves as the cycle route and walking path towards the car ferry. After passing the car ferry terminal, there is another small lane leading up into the Quarr Abbey grounds, passing rotating fields of sheep, cows and random pheasants and rabbits. 

Closer to the Abbey is the pig enclosure where last year we saw the new piglets. This day there are only the slow moving sows. Beyond the pens are the vegetable gardens and the Abbey itself standing proud. If you visit, be sure to check out the delicious cafe, the shop with lots of local products, and the small art gallery with a rotating series of local artists. And of course peek inside the stunning Abbey itself, if there is no service going on. 

Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight

Once I have gone through the gate rather than turning around at our halfway point, this part of the path seems vaguely familiar, and as expected, there are signs pointing the way at crucial junctions. As it is early mid-afternoon, my only company is a few mothers walking sleeping babies, or a couples on their holiday walking quietly. I walk fast as is my nature, but stop abruptly now and again to photograph a tree, some light, a pathway. I guess this is something like what forest bathing feels like!

Eventually the quiet dirt path through the woods turns into a small road, then another path named “Ladies walk” which is a nicely paved path suitable for strolling and cycling, although it does cross through a golf course, and there are a few unladylike grunts and shouts now and again. Up, up and up the path rises, until we reach the busy road again, but a new path deftly curves us back away until we reach the end of a quiet residential road, the other end of which is in Ryde itself. Instead of trees and woods, I now have gracious old houses and gardens to admire, and glimpses of the sea since we are skirting near the edge. 

Ladies Walk, Isle of Wight

I look at my watch and realise I have about 8 minutes to catch the next train and wonder if I can make it. I speed up my pace a little more and scurry around the tighter bends as I get into town and find the square grid pattern of blocks.

When I approach the train station, which is currently (endlessly?) under construction, I encounter a loose-knit bunch of tourists looking perplexed and also blocking the narrow path I need to pass through. Fortunately I see someone else is asking them where they want to go, so I slip past and run the last few metres through the station and see the conductors standing idly away in front of the train. Whew. They nod at me and I walk casually to the nearest open door and find a seat.

I look at my watch and see the walk has taken me exactly one hour, about 6 minutes quicker than Google estimated, so I feel a tiny bit smug. It’s not like it would matter if I missed the train; there is another one a half hour later. But it feels good to just make a train rather than just miss it, no matter how long the wait or unimportant the consequences.

I settle in for my return journey home, happy with a full belly, a relaxing and beautiful walk glowing within my soul, many photos on my phone camera, and a warm memory of a jolly lunchtime with Pete’s mum. There aren’t an unlimited number of those left, so I’m cherishing every one. 

Happy to hear from you as always!

Do you ever create your own mini-adventures? Maybe you don’t need to! Do you like to take new routes to the same places, or find new paths to follow? Do you bracket activities to incorporate something else that you’ve been wanting to do? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time,

Sabrina xx