29/1/06 - A bright but cold day greeted the 17 of us at Freshwater Bay. Despite the lure of a warm coffee stop in the pub, we were all ready to go at the appointed time and were only mildly surprised to find Andy waiting for us round the corner insisting that, contrary to the accepted wisdom of temporal physics, 10:34 is in fact early for a 10:30 start. Heading up behind the Farringford Hotel, we passed underneath Tennyson's private bridge (with some debate over where he was going in private). Along the bottom of the downs, we headed across the valley and up Headon Warren to examine the mysterious tank on the top - no definitive or amusing suggestions what it's for. After a quick break at the gun emplacement (we didn't hit anything), we fought our way through the deserted Alum Bay shops and up to the Battery above the Needles (but not the one with the coffee shop!) Turning east along the precarious cliff edge to the Tennyson Monument, we battled against the chilly wind before descending back to the car park via one of Geoff's nuances.

Leader - Geoff

Total Distance - 8 Miles