There's little point in updating this if we're not travelling - that's writing for the sake of it!
So - Thursday
We had a great day, doing pretty much...... nothing!
We got up as late as we dared for breakfast (spoilt a little by obnoxious small children) and afterwards walked through the shopping area of Worthing.
Worthing has a fine selection of shops and it's well maintained.
Afterwards, we sat and watched the offshore wind turbines, I drew a drawing and Sacha read a book.
We had a cuppa and some stale carrot cake and people watched next to the lido, before we walked along the prom' to the park at the end of world. We sat in Denton Gardens, I drew a drawing and Sacha read a book. (Copy & paste!)
We had a nap before tea.
Tea (or dinner if you're posh) was in the very splendid restaurant at the end of the pier. Sacha eat too much (not helped by a pint of cider).
We sat in their lounge, drank coffee, and watched the sea and the starlings.
A great day!
And Friday
Was more straightforward than I'd thought it was going to be, but a lot more tiring than expected.
I'd had a dreadful night - possibly only 3 hours sleep - for no apparent reason, but on the positive side I discovered direct trains from Worthing to Portsmouth, which cut out one slight complication.
We had a cup of whatever Costa Coffee sell in Portsmouth, and got the H1 bus to the Hover Terminal.
The bus and the hovercraft were included in the one train ticket from Worthing to Shanklin.
The terminal was shabby and crowded, and it was very poorly ventilated. On top of that the staff were dealing with an abusive passenger (who was ultimately denied boarding) which delayed the 'flight'.
The Hovercraft was full, and again hot for the ten minute crossing to the Isle of Wight. It was slightly bumpy but not unpleasant apart from the noise. It was the future 50 years ago, but the future doesn't seem to including fuel guzzling hovercraft.
Of course there's a long trek to get the train in Ryde if you can't climb the footbridge! But the rebuilt tube trains are very airy, and smooth, and also very busy
In Shanklin there didn't seem to be much of an alternative to walking from the station to the cliff lift - it isn't far on the map, but the map doesn't show the hills!
Still, we got to our hotel, and jolly fine it is too with glorious views over the beach from our room windows.
I went to the local coop and bought a picnic tea which we're thinking of having on the beach soon.