The Ise of Wight

Vectis:  The Romans called this island Vectis, and I presume that is where Wight come from.   The people here still find the word useful for naming bus lines and home businesses. After a ‘full English breakfast’ I headed to the nearby Southern Vectis bus stop, paid for a day pass, and spent the next 10 hours wandering around the island.  This piece of real estate is actually bigger than you think, and I didn’t cover nearly as much territory as I wanted.  It wasn't just distance that slowed me down.  I decided to do some walking.  It seemed like the island was made for walking, the walking festival (really!) had just ended, and walking paths (bridle trails, too) zig-zag all over the island.  I rode the bus to just beyond a very special little village called Freshwater. 

From there, I walked to the western tip of the island to see “The Needles.” I needed a little physical geography, I suppose.  What element of physical geography comes immediately to mind when I say English Channel?  Chalk cliffs, I hope.  Remember we are not far from the 'white cliffs of Dover.’  That chalk formation extends all along the south coast of England.  I walked to the top of those cliffs here on the Isle of Wight and from there viewed a series of small sea stacks at the end of the peninsula.  Yes, they looked like needles.  The disappointing side of the story was the human geography.  Naively, I thought I was going to hike to the end of Wight and have the territory all to myself.  Instead, fleets of buses kept disgorging passengers at the tourist souk that lined the way to the beach far below.  There were steps that led down, but after that long walk, I decided to take the chair lift.  Plus, it looked like fun and I got some really good views. I then hopped on a Vectus bus back to Freshwater, where I wrote some postcards over a cup of soup at the only restaurant in town, the Hong Kong Express.

Two-decker Buses on Two-lane Roads:  On the Isle of Wight, there are only 2-lane roads, something very typical of rural England.  The large, double-decker buses, however, were not designed for such carriageways.  You have city-sized buses on country-size roads.  That’s what we call a scale issue.  The bus drivers did a magnificent job, but other drivers often had to stop, pull over, or even back up.  Still, the buses were well used.  I caught a bus about 9:25 am, and at each bus stop after mine long lines of people boarded.  It seems that pensioners get free rides after 9:30, and at each stop they were waiting.  I suspect this might be a popular retirement island.  For tourists it is nice to have a top deck.  The views are great:  newly plowed fields, grazing sheep, medieval villages, country churches, thatched roofs, chalk downs, hedge rows, flowering shrubs, walking paths, coastal vistas, tree tunnels. The only frustration with bus travel is that you can’t stop and take pictures whenever and wherever you want.

Geographically yours,

D.J.Z.