Culver Down, The Isle of Wight.
Hi Steemians! So, I've decided to actually do a full travel blog series on the Isle of Wight, UK. Each blog will be an episode and will be a special insight into the Island for my steem friends. I hope you enjoy. All photos were taken by myself.
I spent the weekend doing some touring of the Island while the weather is still nice and boy was it nice for October! Over the weekend I ventured out to a very special place called Culver Down.
Culver Down actually turned out to be one my absolute favorite spots on the Isle of Wight, it's a vast chalk down on the cliffs and overlooks a huge part of the island, most of the west side from north to south and a few places such as Brading, a village, on the interior can be seen as well as a lot of farmland. Anyway, on the Down you can park in many places, there are also many hiking trails to the down also. Let me tell you, the views from this elevated spot are incredible! well, you'll see from the photos I took..
In the first photo I was not so high up yet, the image is looking north towards Ryde, but way out in the background you may be able to see Portsmouth on the UK mainland.
In the photo below, I was facing north-west where you can see the edge of Bembridge (which will be part of the next episode)
Then I began walking towards the coast on the west side and as I looked back towards the south of the Island, I was awestruck by the beauty on show today, even the skies were putting on a show for me. The part of the Island that sticks out in the distance is Ventnor and Wroxall on the South.
In the photo below, I'm looking North-west. Even though it was a beautiful Sunday Afternoon, there were not many people and most of the ones out seemed to be in the pub haha..
There is one pub and no other businesses on Culver Down, I went in for a pint and while it was a nice, friendly pub, I think I tried the wrong ale, oh well.. we live and learn.
Inside.. although most people were sitting in the garden enjoying the views and sunshine..
And right next to the pub we had yet another giant, phalic state monument called the Yarborough Monument, this was put up by the aristocracy of course to commemorate some Barons. As you can probably tell, I don't particularly like these monuments, there is always one everywhere I go and they aren't monuments put up by the general public, which I would be supportive of.
Anyhow, back to the awesome views, this overlooks Sandown, a great place, more lively, lots to see and do over in Sandown and I'll no doubt be doing an episode on that place.
Getting a bit high up now, and what fascinated me was the ever changing skies and light, there were some lovely little fluffy clouds, just like in the Orb song, and much like the ones I remember from childhood. I didn't see a single chemtrail either so I'm happy :)
As I headed more inland on the Downs, I noticed these strangely formed trees, which were actually bending over inland through the sea winds hitting them over time. I thought they were cool!
I really liked how it looked in black & white, strange and eerie perhaps..
There is actually an old military fort on Culver Down, but due to it being "owned" by the national trust (the state) I was not allowed to go and have a look. It seems to be part owned by Microair.. some corporation, which was a real shame. But in the image below you'll see an old stone pointing the fort on the top of the hill, "W-D" on the stone stands for war department as it was used in WW2. Hopefully in the future, we can have peace departments, might work better eh? all very Orwellian to me.
Running up that hill..
As I headed back, you could see the Village of Brading in the background..
I hear there has been a spate of suicides, with people driving their cars over the edge of the cliff in recent years, which is really sad. On a brighter note, there is so much room here and so many places to sit and get in tune with the special energies that work through this place, again.. a great place to meditate, contemplate, read, think... and just get in touch with the higher self. I found this place to be very inspiring and recommend it if you visit the magical island.
Thanks for reading my post on Culver Down, I hope you enjoyed this episode and stayed tuned for more...
Also thank you for following me if you have and liking my posts, I'm very much enjoying writing here on steem and do really enjoy my trips out just a bit more now, writing about where I go is quite fun.
With love....
Jon :)
On some of your photos you seem to feel the wind.
Haha, it was actually very calm yesterday, those trees are permanently shaped like that over time if you're referring to the trees :)
Wow they have indeed an interesting shape, thought it s so windy :)
You are a very good photographer. It takes more than just having a nice camera, you are able to also capture the essence of the moment.
Wow thank you, I never thought i was any good at photography really, yeah I don't have a decent camera but i do enjoy taking photos and as you say, capturing the moment, usually in those quiet places in nature. Thanks for reading and commenting :)
Are you using any kind of filters for the sky shots?
Yes I used a filter on a couple of the sky shots, a black and white filter on some and then others no filter.
Always something nice to grab a view that gives you a sense of being rather small. The Sandown overlook does a nice job of this I think. Looking forward to more.
Oh yeah I agree. The Sandown overlook was my favorite view, you can just pull up in a car, if you're driving, get out a deck chair and sit and enjoy the views all day. Thanks for commenting!