IoW

The Big Dipper (Ursa Major) above The Solent, Totland Beach, IoW @ 60s, f2. © Magnus Andersson


The Solent from Yarmouth, IoW. © Magnus Andersson


The Needles as seen from a boat ride, IoW. © Magnus Andersson


Chair lift ride next to The Needles, IoW. © Magnus Andersson


A kestrel scanning the hills next to our restaurant The Waterfront, Totland beach, IoW. © Magnus Andersson


Beautiful Victorian house on the street we were staying at in Totland, IoW. © Magnus Andersson


Prime example of the micro climate on IoW, where the sun was always shining. Look across The Solent towards Portsmouth and you'll see the rain they had. © Magnus Andersson

All the images jumbled on top of each other, novelty idea for the blog and this is what you get, OK.

Another week goes past in the blink of an eye and the juicy stories I was hoping for failed to materialise. Never mind, I was away for a long weekend at the gorgeous Isle of Wight (IoW) and my girlfriend and me had a wondrous time. The sound of stones on the beach being washed out by the incessant waves I will never forget!

I first ventured to the IoW many years ago and stayed in Shanklin on the east coast, but being born and bred on the west coast of Sweden, I insisted on a location where you could see the sun setting in the sea.

The IoW tourist board warned me that it would be a lot more quiet on the west coast, as if that was something to be afraid off! Bring it on, I said, and soon enough we had booked a place in Totland, about as far west as you can get and a mere two minutes walk from the most amazing of beaches. Warm waters and clean too!

Driving down from London in the early hours of a Friday morning meant that we beat the rush hour and could catch the 7:00 ferry from Portsmouth, 30min before the ferry we where supposed to be on, and once we arrived at Fishguard it was a simple matter of taking the scenic route around the island to our rendezvous.

While on the island we got very lucky with the weather. Across the Solent we could see the heavy rain clouds unloading on Bournemouth and Portsmouth, whereas on IoW it was glorious sunshine in their fabled micro climate, with lots of late-afternoon-swimming on our behalf.

Its well documented that I don't tan well, and this trip was no exception, but I take sunshine before rain any day! My holidays continue and all that is left now is some minor preparation for the trip to Visa in Perpignan (I'm packing light, only the trusty LX3 and an iPhone, no SLR or laptop for me) , where my room mate Mattias has just returned from another island experience in Ireland. Nothing about that on his blog though...

I checked the forecast for Perpignan earlier today, it looks good!!! This time I'll bring the sunblock. I am soooo looking forward to bumping into fellow photographer friends Rii, Charly, Marco and Orhan, not to mention the 30-odd Swedish photographers that I'll be joining forces with for the first time, but no matter what; it is going to be a good trip, yup!

So far though, nothing beats the sound of round pebbles being thrown up and down the beach by continuous waves. Simples, aight?