Os melhores trilhos e caminhadas na Ilha de Wight

Vista fantástica a partir do forte

The climb is a bit steep, but the views are expansive, over land and sea. Don't be afraid, just respect the cows, goats, and dogs. Today they were all friendly and well-disposed.

The steep chalk cliffs and grasslands above Ventnor are made up of several downs, all offer amazing views out to sea and great walking country once you've completed the initial climb. Look out for the herd of goats introduced by the National Trust back in 1993, the striking and rare Adonis blue butterfly, buzzards and ground nesting birds like the skylark and meadow pipit.

Wonderful walk on the cliffs overlooking the sea, wonderful walk

Great view across to the castle as you cycle

These old windmills are the best proof that people were clever enough a number of centuries ago - long before the discovery of electricity and the inventions that resulted from it - to harness the power of the elements for their own purposes: no human or animal muscle power is required for the grinding process, but the wind captured by the wings is enough to drive the heavy millstones and thus, for example, to grind flour from grain (grain mills) or to press oil from olives (oil mills). Unfortunately, they are often only technical and historical evidence of a long tradition of craftsmanship, because most of the old mills have been abandoned over time.

Nowadays, only a few of them are still in operation in their original function, but are often just technical-historical monuments to a long tradition of craftsmanship: the heavy millstones inside were moved using the power of the wind as the driving force, for example to grind grain into flour (so-called grain mills) or to press oil from fruits (e.g. olives) (so-called oil mills). These old windmills are therefore the best proof that people were clever enough to harness the power of the wind a number of centuries ago - long before the discovery of electricity and the inventions that followed.

With Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, (or Alfred Lord Tennyson), to whom this monument is dedicated, we go back in time to the middle of the 19th century, because the poet, who was already a prominent figure at that time, lived from 1809 to 1892. I had to research the term “Poet Laureate” mentioned by mi1994, and of course Wikipedia also knows something about it: “In the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate is the office of a court poet whose job it is to write poems for official occasions and national events.” Tennyson was awarded this honorary office by Queen Victoria in 1850 and raised to the peerage in the same year.