Nunwell clockwise

The Nunwell clockwise might be characterised as a circumnavigation of the Wellingtonia first noticed at reference 1, the tree being in view from various points of this walk. The approximate position of the tree being marked with a blue spot and that of our cottage with an orange spot on the snap above.

So up the lane then turn right to go up the edge of a ripening field of oats. Up to the edge of Nunwell Down where we turn right again, to head approximately ENE through the woods, woods which include a fine line of trees, some of them planted as far back as the 17th century. As far as I can make out now, the one above appears to be an unusually tall horse chestnut.

And this one a tall beech.

Turn right to go around the coach house, now detached from the big house, as explained at reference 2 and head for Nunwell Farm, taking in one the giant echiums escaped from the Botanic Gardens at Ventnor, noticed in these pages from time to time. According to reference 3, probably Echium pininana.

One of the old park trees. Quite a lot of which were used to build the battleships for the Napoleonic wars.

A close-up of the same or a similar tree. Presumably cut about in youth, so accounting for the shape in old age.

The last leg of the footpath got rather lost in the grass and finally came to an end at a gap in a hedge - through which there was another field of oats with no path to be seen at all. Going along the edge didn't seem to be an option either, so we headed for the road through some rather long grass. Collecting the odd bite on the way.

Somewhere along the way, tweeting a swallow and getting a closer than usual sight of a buzzard (or something of that sort). Plus a hedgerow version of the oleaster I felled back in May, noticed at reference 4.

All of which was followed by the first of two visits to the best dressed crab shack on a pontoon in Bembridge Harbour, the shack to be found at reference 5. The blue shack in the snap above. I snoozed on the far end of the pontoon for the hour or so we had to wait for a table to be free. While BH watched the comings and goings of the harbour master, who appeared to double as the ferryman.

Our crab salads were very good, even if the small baguettes which came with them had only recently emerged from a freezer. Wine satisfactory too, with Chablis beings something I usually steer clear of in restaurants, on the grounds that while Chablis can be very good, the sort of Chablis that I can afford is restaurants is often not so good at all. I recognised the label, and on checking I find that we last had this wine in September last year, having bought it from the Morrisons behind Sandown. A bit more sniffy about it on that occasion. See reference 6.

The heritage fishing boat outside our window. Not yet found out where the number, K41, came from.

Ambience good, various chatterings with other senior parties. One of which had cycled across from the south of the island for their lunch and one of which knew Dawlish Warren very well.

PS 1: dreamed that night of picking my way through a very narrow, winding path through a field of near ripe wheat. No doubt a shrink could explain why the oats got transformed into wheat.

PS: later: reference 7 suggests Kirkwall (in the Orkneys) for K, which seems rather a long way away. But, maybe, if you want heritage, that is where you have to go.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/07/wellingtonia-83.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/07/wellingtonia-84.html.

Reference 3: https://www.botanic.co.uk/news/flower-of-power-echiums/.

Reference 4: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/05/oleaster-down.html.

Reference 5: https://thebestdressedcrabintown.co.uk/.

Reference 6: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2021/09/iberico.html.

Reference 7: http://jg.ten27.org/jg49.htm.