To steal liberally from Mr.Bryson
Me, Idris, and the two dawgs are on the Isle of Wight in the Crossover Camping Vehicle, dang it's hot been in the sea every day, but at least we have moved the young dawg on from panicked doggy paddle to smooth otter ( in bits) like her older aunty.
Easy transition over on Red Funnel from Southampton, after dragging the CCV through some Back streets due to blocked roads. The Ferry has a dog lounge so everyone catered for
Never really done the Island other than sailing to the north coast, getting P***ed, and sailing dangerously back
Deeply impressed, Am near Ryde and Ryde is really nice, Ok Sandown and Ventnor are v rough in parts, but loving the rest Unique mix of Victorian Architecture with an Italianate bent.
Had fresh dressed crab salad on a floating dock in Bembridge Harbour, superb but 16 quid each GULP!!!!
Two points of interest, the roads must be the smoothest in the UK, even when dug up they put them back smoooooth
The mobile data coverage is appallng, move the phone around 4 inches and you go from 4g to nothing via Edge and 3G
Off to explore the rocket testing site
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>> The mobile data coverage is appallng, move the phone around 4 inches and you go
>> from 4g to nothing via Edge and 3G
Just back from the Hebrides where a significant amount, quite bit from the EU, has been spent on infill for 4G. We stopped by a newly installed mast on the Golden Road by Lingrebay (Harris) which carried signage as to its purpose and funding. Small/remote communities etc.
There's also similar stuff for high speed internet.
I suspect the population of the IoW is such that commercial solutions are the order of the day. Same round here, some of the smaller villages get FTP funded. Larger villages like this one fall between the stools; to big for central funding but not big enough for commercial viability.
>> Off to explore the rocket testing site
I love the West High Down on a summer's day.
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West high down, weather was gorgeous walked the Tennyson way. Where I could see half the island clearly and could get no data signal
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 16 Jun 21 at 15:50
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Is it still good for chalkland butterflies?
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Did you visit any hostelries or eating establishments? I'm just back from Eastbourne where apparently these places are suffering enormous staff shortages. 20 minute wait to get a pint in Wetherspoons ( yes, I know there are other pubs!) - hotel breakfast took 25 minutes to arrive one day. Young, English and probably inexperienced staff seems to be rushing round a lot looking busy but achieving very little, and very little sign of anyone with any maturity and previous managing them. I suspect we've lost a pool of European workers due to Brexit and/or Covid but it must be a bigger problem than that.
We were in one of the tired old hotels right near the pier (the Burlington) who hadn't thought to do it up at all when it was empty, though I do get that they had no income then so maybe it seemed a good idea to leave painting the only access corridor to the dining room till they were reasonably full (thx to a Groupon deal).
However on the whole we had a great time and of course the weather absolutely made it. Lovely.
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>> Did you visit any hostelries or eating establishments?
Not the Isle of Wight but we visited a few on our trip to Harris.
First stop was the Premier Inn at Fort William. The restaurant was over subscribed so no tables until around 9pm - we'd started from the S Midlands at 07:00 and by 19:00 were tatered and starving. Fortunately the same menu was served in the bar. Breakfast would have been OK except for lack of vegan indications on the menu. Staff member assured me that Muesli was milk free but (as I suspected when I asked) it was a Kellogg's product the ingredients of which included skimmed milk. The (European) member of staff, when challenged, denied saying it was milk free; "you never asked" and stalked off. I should have complained properly; Mrs B is Vegan by choice but milk is a significant allergen for some people.
Hotel Hebrides in Tarbert, Harris was excellent both for a bar meal (6 of us in week 1 as both 'kids' and their partners had joined us) and in the Restaurant (Just the 2 of us week 2). Staff were all Scots, some local some summer temps. All were excellent but the 3rd year student summer temp who served us in the restaurant was excellent. Lots of conversation starting with admiring Mrs B's periodic table mask (the lass was a science student) and some joshing about no Mussels due to a contamination issue - they were doing us a favour. She was absolutely super and hit just the right spot for informality without familiarity. Service was quick and attentive. Ordering steak rare is always a gamble and I might have been better with medium rare but it was a melt in the mouth fillet.
Return via the Premier Inn at Glasgow Airport £29.99 room only. Was fine. Didn't need Dinner but Breakfast was good and when we twigged that there was lots of Vegan scope on the full Breakfast as opposed to Continental Mrs B was allowed to upgrade at no charge.
Server was (I guess) a local lad but had the job down to a tee.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 16 Jun 21 at 17:49
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>> Did you visit any hostelries or eating establishments? I'm just back from Eastbourne where apparently
>> these places are suffering enormous staff shortages. 20 minute wait to get a pint in
>> Wetherspoons ( yes, I know there are other pubs!) - hotel breakfast took 25 minutes
>> to arrive one day. Young, English and probably inexperienced staff seems to be rushing round
>> a lot looking busy but achieving very little, and very little sign of anyone with
>> any maturity and previous managing them. I suspect we've lost a pool of European workers
>> due to Brexit and/or Covid but it must be a bigger problem than that.
Alot will have walked due to the on/off nature of the covid rules, the uncertainty of their future (even with gov support) and wages. Plus alot of such places are small family businesses and they tend to be either brillant or hopeless at best and haven't the slightest clue how to talk/treat people.
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>> Alot will have walked due to the on/off nature of the covid rules, the uncertainty
>> of their future (even with gov support) and wages.
OK if they're furloughed but for those with pre-settled status (ie fewer than 5 years in UK) claiming Universal Credit as a Job Seeker is a nightmare. They need to claim very quickly so they retain 'worker' status otherwise they're treated as not being in the UK.
There's a case (Fratila) teed up for the Supreme Court but the likelihood is that if the Government lose they'll take advantage of Brexit to re-legislate.
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I wasn't talking about people from Europe working here, more of those of all nationalities.
What numbers are there likely to be, hundreds, millions?
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>> I wasn't talking about people from Europe working here, more of those of all nationalities.
>>
>> What numbers are there likely to be, hundreds, millions?
Sorry, I linked your comment to Smokie's reference to a pool of European workers.
In terms of numbers I'd say major UK tourist destinations have lost a lot of EU workers, perhaps high hundreds or thousands per resort, who've given up and gone home. Brexit - including it's licensing of xenophobia, Covid, a weak £ and better opportunities at home all play a part.
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I think during the pandemic everybody who could go home has gone home. Whatever their nationality, including the British.
It'll take some while to get back to a reasonable level, but I'd be pretty sure it will do so.
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In terms of numbers I'd say major UK tourist destinations have lost a lot of
>> EU workers, perhaps high hundreds or thousands per resort, who've given up and gone home.
>> Brexit - including it's licensing of xenophobia, Covid, a weak £ and better opportunities at
>> home all play a part.
Is that a lot, in those resorts? I guess it's hard to put into context. How many people ended up staying in the end?
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My new lady friend lives in Eastbourne and I am regularly there at weekends.Every day we take a 2/3 mile walk on the front or onto the South Downs Way.Ideal during lockdown but not so good now lockdown is easing, too many tourists . We usually have a drink at the beach bar by the pier, pricey at £4.80 for a pint of Becks but table service by a nice young lady and good for people watching.
So we may well have bumped into each other on the prom last weekend Smokie.
I do agree that lot of Eastbourne front hotels and parts of the town centre are very tired . Lots of dossers congregate in the centre and drink and hassle you for change.
I am not saying the population is elderly but the Next store there is an undertakers.......
Last edited by: helicopter on Wed 16 Jun 21 at 20:18
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>> the Next store there is an undertakers.......
As a young goat, I lived in Tabard St,. sowf lunden. There was an undertakers in said street by the name of Knox.
Everyone called it Knox's boxes.
:o}
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... and now just back from 4 days in Minehead. The staff shortages were not quite so impacting but still noticeable. The guy at the hotel said Minehead will get really busy when the Butlins fills up after the schools break up.
The odd thing about Minehead was that nearly all eateries closed all day Monday, so we had little choice of evening mean. Also the pub/hotel we stayed at (Stones, near the seafronts) stopped serving drinks by 10, apparently that's their normal hours until Butlins brings in the crowds.
I don't see these places coping too well once that happens, though if we are allowed to go up to the bar to order and collect a pint rather than wait for someone to notice that you are waiting for a drink then waiting for it to be delivered it might help - certainly the thirsty ones, but I suppose there will then also be standing customers, which aren't allowed now.
Minehead was OK, not a lot there for us, and as the weather was crappy on Monday we drove along the coast (via Porlock Hill and another even steeper non-A road hill) to take a look at Ilfracombe, Bideford, Woolacombe and places on between, all of which at a glance looked pleasant enough. We paid £12.50 for two toasted teacakes and a pot of tea in a country cafe somewhere en route - very nice but about the most expensive we can remember.
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As you know the SWCP starts at Minehead..my first day backpacking it a few years ago ended with a very wet tent at Porlock Weir.
One of the highlights of that stretch was two nights camping on Lundy Island. Very spontaneous trip there from Ilfracombe as I was walking through...
I’ll return there one day.
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We went for a wander past the start of the SWCP and beyond the lifeboat house etc, intending to stay on the fairy level for 4r or 5 miles which is about our usual comfort zone. Ended up seeing a sign to the Minehead Beacon and thought that'd be worth a look. Still did less than 5 miles but almost half of it felt virtually vertical upwards (it felt). And not much to see once we were there. Still, it warranted rest day the following day :-)
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Chalkland Butterflies? Didn't see many, but some smallish blue ones about. Shedloads of skylarks, it was noisy with them all.
I was most amazed tho to see a red squirrel drinking from the dogs bowl at the back of the van, never ever seen one in the wild that close to habitation
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That’s what happens with a posh cross over caravan. Obviously that red squirrel had good taste.
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>> Chalkland Butterflies? Didn't see many, but some smallish blue ones about.
>> Shedloads of skylarks, it was noisy with them all.
We holidayed at Freshwater Bay for a week or so in either June or July/August from c1963 until 1971. Walks on either Tennyson's Down (I.e. the West High Down) or Afton Down were part of our routine between or after meals on full board at The Albion Hotel. In the early years rocket tests were either ongoing or recently ended resulting in the down being fenced off well above The Needles. The Needles Fog Horn was also audible on danker days.
Mum and I got quite fascinated with the Butterflies on the Down, various blues were common as well as other species and I've still got an observer Book of Butterflies bought c '68.
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Notes from a smaller island - Bromptonaut
