28/9/08 - Waiting at the Yarmouth ferry port, our small band of 7 islanders (plus Sasha the dog) were blissfully ignorant of the invasion to come. As the passengers descended the ramp, it soon became clear - there were 17 mainland visitors, encouraged abroad by the glorious sun of late summer.
Setting off along the coast path, heading east for a change, we were soon chatting happily and catching up with some old friends. Heading to the coast through Bouldnor copse we all strained to spot a red squirrel, sadly without luck. Through the damp undergrowth and dew filled spiders webs, we stopped for a brief drink on the cliff top. Through Hamstead with it's ecclectic collection of houses, we dodged the traffic of the main road again as we headed south inland towards Wellow.
Climbing over the Hamstead trail, we all got quite hot in the brilliant sunshine, but still decided to press on to the top of the Downs for lunch. Stopping atop Brook down we sunbathed as we ate our sandwiches and admired the misty coastline. Down through the golf course we paused in Freshwater Bay for essential loo visits and icecream.
Spotting the easy life, five mainlanders decided the bus looked fun and left us as we headed up the Yar through Afton Marsh. A further 4 hikers took the flat path down the old trainline to Yarmouth, while the rest of us took the "intersting" route along the Freshwater Way. Finding our first stile after 10.5 miles, we passed through fields and farm tracks before finally returning to Yarmouth from across the bridge.

Leader - Dave & Suzanne

Total Distance - 12 Miles