today’s programme: safeway at newport (another round at the ATM-fruit-machines), freshwater bay (deposit easy-vauxie at the park & display), dimbola lodge (for lunch), tennison downs (walk), the old fort at the needles (for the ritual viewing of the needles)

as northcourt still does only accept checks or cash and we still don’t do the former anymore (or rather swiss banks don’t) we need to obtain another round of the latter in newport. having learnt from our previous round of playing the zero-armed-ATM-bandits we go for the nat west ATM and also strike gold (respectively, pounds) with the ATM next to it. then it’s a brief sortie inside to buy enough stuff to have a £ 5.00 bill and get free parking just buying a couple of mineral water packs and some apples (as we did last time) won’t be to clever: we still have one 6-pack of mineral water (each a whooping 1.5l) to go through, so:

• we start of with today’s guardian, followed by
• a copy of the latest topgear magazine (very useful as it contains a preview of the highlights coming bbc 2 topgear series [starting may 22])
• some typical british toffees (“werther’s original”)
• some apples

…and walk out of the store with a £ 10 bill.

after having stocked up on £-notes, apples, toffees, and topgear magazine — in short: the essential stuff — we are off to freshwater bay via the less scenic route through the north west of the island (instead of along the coast). the weather is, again, fantastic: lots of sunshine and a stiff breeze (“moderate breeze” as we find out later in the lighthouse café at the needles). we make it for an early lunch at dimbola lodge café (one of our favourite places on the island) and then are off on foot across tennyson down to the needles.

despite the fantastic weather very few walkers are out and about, and we have the whole of the downs for ourselves most of the time. the wind is lending a helpful hand and pushing us uphill and we arrive rather quickly at the memorial of alfred lord tennyson. the view is breathtaking (especially if you turn into the wind but with the very strong wind blowing it’s not really a good place for reading the papers — and we are off again: the needles.

taking a more southern course across the down we approach the the needles battery from the top past the old guards’s cottages. the whole of the needles battery (and tennyson down, really) are national trust property and as we pay for our entry i keep thinking that we really ought to join the national trust one of these days as we enjoy their properties very much and it’s a rather good cause. the national trust’s motto — “for ever for everyone” — sets a much welcomed counter point to most of the one-quarter-horizon thinking and mentality and brings the long now project to mind, another project with a long term view of things.

having seen most of the museum exhibitions at previous visits we head for…the café from where we enjoy a splendid view of the needles, have a nice cuppa, and learn from the installed wind meter (the kind blowing outside, that is) that we’ll be facing a “moderate breeze” on our way back — although, judging by the force of the wind we face later, i’d argue that the anemometer must have been having a cuppa as well, inside, the wind speed was more that of a “fresh breeze”, really…

after tea we descend from the café (it’s located in the top of the tower) and go underground to reach the headland viewing point for a view towards the needles!

on our way out i decide that now is as good a time as any to join the trust: the national trust volunteer is almost more excited than i am and is very friendly, fills out the forms, hands us the national trust welcome pack (oops, there go another 2 pounds of our weight allowance) and heartily welcomes us to the national trust (and, also refunds the today’s entry tickets).

on the way back we have tennyson down completely to ourselves, which is a fantastic experience — inspite of the “fresh breeze” trying to keep us at the needles…

so: for ever for everyone