Winter view from Eastern Lee

Winter view towards Yarmouth and the Solent, from the window of the bedroom with the 6ft bed at 'Eastern Lee'.
The view changes as the crops grow and the hedgerows 'green up'. It's always good to see the sea - even though 'Eastern Lee' is the furthest from Yarmouth, it has this view. Visitors who want to eat out in one of the restaurants or pubs in Yarmouth, have either walked the 2 miles or caught a bus. There is a late bus back or taxis from the quay where the ferry arrives in Yarmouth.

As the Island has amongst the lowest levels of light pollution in Britain, our houses here in the West Wight are great for star watching, so arriving back late in the evening has an extra benefit.
Come and admire the sky at night without sodium lights spoiling the view!

Time to fill in any cracks and bring decorations up to scratch at 'Eastern Lee' before people arrive for half term in February. With all the rain we need to check the gutters and drain pipes - and find out where the overflow runs to from the waterbutts. Great for watering the plants in summer, not needed at the moment.

Winter birdlife seen from Orchard Lee and Tudor Lee in the West Wight.

Wet and windy, but a treat in the garden outside Tudor Lee - a goldcrest darting around in the holly. It's only the second time in a year we've seen this tiny bird. The holly bush must have insect life providing food in the depths of winter. The berries went long ago.
Although the cold weather has been harsh for wildlife, it's brought interesting birds -plenty of redwings and fieldfares which have been easily visible from 'Orchard Lee' and 'Tudor Lee'.
The verandah along the front of 'Orchard Lee' provides a fine vantage point from which to watch birds of prey. Kestrels and sparrow hawks regularly patrol the field around the house. Feathers in the grass probably mark where there was one successful kill. The buzzards which nest two fields away make their presence heard as they mew overhead. There do seem to be plenty of raptors - no wonder there are fewer small brown birds.

First snowdrops at 'Tudor Lee', and a rare visitor, a snipe.

January 16th - first snowdrops through outside 'Tudor Lee', joining the hellebores ( Christmas roses and green) , the winterflowering honeysuckle and mahonia ( Charity, I think).
Hard frosts knocked the Christmas roses to the ground each morning, but left them undeterred and blooming prolifically. They were out, unusually, for Christmas. The snowdrops are 3 days earlier than their usual date of January 19th.

From the vantage point of the office in the farmhouse, we were fascinated to see a snipe speed walking and probing the orchard between Lee and 'Orchard Lee'. What a length of beak!
The old orchard supports varied bird life, giving us much pleasure - and wasting lots of time - as we watch little owls, kestrels and sparrow hawks, all also watching the ground below.
Last week, visitors saw our much loved barn owl on 2 consecutive days. Hopefully, the hard weather hasn't killed off too many of the smaller birds and wildlife that are lower down in the raptors' foodchain.

The pheasants who walk past the windows of 'Tudor Lee' each day, have clearly evaded the guns during the shooting season. They haven't much longer to go. No doubt, this summer they will be back to dust bath in our vegetable patch, which is not popular....

For anyone with even a passing interest in birdlife, the Yar Estuary, visible from Jubilee Villa, provides a great spectacle as winter migrants feed there at this time of the year.
There are ravens to be seen off the Needles - www.nationaltrust.org.uk- and at Newtown Nature Reserve, flocks pf waders to delight even those without binoculars.

Excellent bus service with free bus passes for the over 60'

Enjoy the view - Freshwater Bay, served by buses, accessible from our houses.

All of our houses are on bus routes - the West Wight is well served by public transport - and the Isle of Wight Council supports free journeys for over 60s at all times.

You cannot find a service to equal this in many other holiday areas. Here, you can travel by bus anywhere on the Island, enjoy your day out, and then hop on a bus back to our self catering houses.

Let the bus take you where you want, whilst you enjoy the view.

This link will give you all the information about bus times that you need.
http://www.islandbuses.info/routelist.shtml

Footpaths near our houses - and eating out!

Eastern Lee at Wellow (PO41 0TA) is the ideal base from which to explore the Island.

For those exploring on foot, just about 100m away in one direction is an access point for the long distance Hamstead trail towards the north, whilst even nearer, the path leads south towards the Downs and eventually the sea.

Footpaths on the Island are recognised as being amongst the best in the British Isles; here in the West Wight, all our houses are within 250m of a footpath - you'll be spoiled for choice.

So too, with locally produced food - always an important part of the holiday experience. The Island has many places to buy local food, from the Farmers Market on a Friday, through small local shops and stalls at the end of the lane.

We are off to try out the food from the new chef/owner of the Hambrough Restaurant this weekend. His many awards give us high expectations.
The link below will give you an idea of what to expect
http://www.thehambrough.com/

We can always quote you for your ferry costs, but do not forget to check out Wightlink's own website first for any special offers.

http://www.wightlinkferries.com/

Winter sunshine

Old Freshwater and the River Yar - an easy walk along the old railway line, about a mile, from Jubilee Villa in Yarmouth. There's the Red Lion pub for lunch, just opposite the church, and if necessary a bus back from the bottom of Hooke Hill. - named after an earlier resident, Robert Hooke.

We can offer weekend breaks at bargain prices between now and Easter.
Come and enjoy one of our warm houses, perhaps experience geothermal heating or a woodburner, the milder climate and relaxed days in winter and spring.

Booking Now
We are rapidly filling up summer holiday weeks. Book early to avoid disappointment!

Remember that the Isle of Wight has the best maintained network of footpaths in the UK
Do not forget the Isle of Wight Walking Festival 9-24 May can be found at the following link
http://www.iwight.com/home/news/2008/may/walking_festival/default.asp

Eastern Lee is close to the Hampstead Trail and Jubilee villa in Yarmouth is close to the River Yar walks to Freshwater

geothermal heating copes with sub zero weather

Our geothermal heating systems rose magnificently to their first major challenges - providing toasty warm houses for holidays during the Christmas and New Year sub zero temperatures.

The underfloor heating in 'Orchard Lee' provides an easy, very pleasant heat with the added attraction of a warm floor for thawing frozen toes after a long walk. The bathrooms have double quantities of underfloor heating loops - everyone hates a cold bathroom, dont they?
Although it seems counterintuitive to drop damp towels on the floor, it's where they dry best!

The heating is so efficient that, although people taking a winter break ask for wood for the Jotul woodburning stove, it hasn't been used since early autumn as the living room gets too hot. We're finding that setting the system at 23 degrees allows people to operate happily in tee shirts even when it's frosty outside. Although it's not a system which responds instantly, like the hideously expensive gas, 8 hours allows it to come up to full warmth, giving enough hot water to cope with large parties of 10 in the house.

It's great for us to hear people who've stayed at 'Orchard Lee' for a winter weekend, say they've been warmer than at home, and nice to see coffee being drunk on the verandah in the winter. After all, the views over the fields are spectacular and the winter bird-watching varied and interesting, even if a long country walk isn't called for.