Day 9 Arundel - Portsmouth - Ferry - Isle of Wight

Had to include a photo from my bath last night- the bath gel went mad while I was running it and Graeme had to take the excess out!


We had a super early night last night as our eyelids kept closing without our permission - and I was sitting up! We crashed at 8pm and da-da.... didnt wake until 5am- yay! Had a lovely brekky to order in the ornate dining room then out for a walk in the crisp morning air (minus my running shoes which disappeared along the way somewhere- spot the kiwi then..... cold enough to form condensation when you talk - and Im in jandals!)

We had an easy drive to Portsmouth where we parked and went into town to replace my footwear, the town is nicer than I thought it would be- not too small or big but pretty relaxed with a feel like Hamilton. Then putting our faith in the GPS, we drove to the docks down little streets that had Graeme worried, but it led us straight there (would never have found it without it!) and onto the car ferry. They put us on the earlier ferry cos we were there and were in Isle of Wight by 12pm. They have the whole ferry operation running seamlessly.

Drove to our B & B in Shanklin - for some reason I thought the island was the size of somewhere like Waiheke but its way bigger. Walked into town for a look around at the shops. I fancied a cuppa and a scone, Graeme suggested a beer and hot chips in a pub- guess which won!

Our B & B

We walked into town and went to an authentic Italian restaurant which served the most massive meals I couldnt finish,the cherry cheesecake for dessert was y.u.m. It was obviously a family run business and with 3 generations in the restaurant all speaking Italian to each other- sounded lovely! Wandered back with full tummies to relax.