Godshill to Appuldurcombe House.

Change of plan! Today we were supposed to be walking from the Crab & Lobster Pub to Whitecliff Bay but it was so windy we were worried we would be blown away if we walked near the coast :O) So instead, we walked inland from Godshill to Appuldurcombe House in Wroxall. It was still very windy as you can probably tell by some of the photos :O) The 'Sunshine Trail' takes you through farmland as well as country side and the first thing we saw today were some gorgeous miniature ponies. They were so sweet and didn't mind been made a fuss of at all. Of course Elena fell in love with them but what 12 year old girl wouldn't?We saw loads of other animals too including two different herds of cows, a wild rabbit who very kindly posed for us before hopping off into the hedgerow. Some sheep with curly horns, we named Ram~bo, were grazing in a field whilst on the other side of the path there were even more horses. The amount of wild flowers always amaze me too. Lots of Red Campion today and some yellow ones I don't know the name of. Please let me know if you know what they are :O)As you reach the top of the dirt track you pass the stunning 'Freemantle Gate'. There is a lot of history attatched to the gate as it was the former grand entrance to Appuldurcombe House. We passed a farm building that looks almost to grand to be a farm and we wondered if this had anything to do with Appuldurcombe years ago as it is situated half between the gate & the great house. It was blowing a bit of a gale up on the tops. The wind was howling through the trees like it was the middle of winter. Who'd have thought that we were sweating our socks off this time last week. Me & Elena had a quick snuggle to warm each other up!!And, I have to say, this is typical Andrew, everyone is freezing to death and he's still got his shorts on {lol}This is the bleak & misty view of the village of Wroxall. Another photo to show how windy it was :O)This is the flag that stands at the entrance to Appuldurcombe House. You can't see the house itself from the road as it's hidden by the trees. It's now owned by English Hertiage and you have to pay to get in. We didn't want to visit today as we are going to come back in July when they have the Medieval Spectacular. On the way back we had a fabulous view of 'Godshill Park Farm' who are responsible for all the animals. You can just see the geese on the edge of the pond. It was downhill most of the way back which Elena prefered. At the bottom of the lane is the main road into Godshill and just opposite the entrance to the Sunshine Trail is another of the Isle of Wight thatched cottages ~ Tyne House.
We got home just in time, just as we set foot through the back door it started to rain and the heavens opened.
Edited to say: One of my lovely HSPS friends Lin, has told me the yellow flower is a WILD RADISH (Raphanus raphanistrum) ~ thanks Lin :O)