Sandown; Friday, 13 September, 2024

I had a half day’s leave, so after powering down my laptop at lunchtime I headed over to the station to catch the train over to East Croydon to pick up my train down to Portsmouth. However, whilst on the train to Croydon I got an alert to say that my Southern train had been cancelled as the driver had been taken sick. The next train 30 minutes later would take longer and would miss my connection in Portsmouth meaning I’d then have another hours wait there for the Hovercraft.

Thankfully I’d booked a flexible ticket so on arrival at East Croydon I immediately hopped on a train back north up to Clapham Junction to catch the South Western Railway service down to Portsmouth, which was a quicker but less scenic journey and also only gave me 10 minutes to make the connection to the Hoverbus. Thankfully the train was on time so in Portsmouth I had an easy connection onto the Hoverbus round to the Hovertravel terminal in Southsea and then onto the Hovercraft over to the Isle of Wight.

On arrival in Ryde I had originally planned to catch the train down to Sandown. However, on the Monday the railway line had closed for a month for engineering works, so rather than paying for a train ticket all the way through and having to take a replacement bus, I opted to get the 48 rover ticket for the local buses, which included access to the open-top sightseeing buses and as I left the hoverport there was a Downs Breezer waiting ready to depart so I opted to take the longer and more roundabout route to my hotel, but the novel approach of having an open top bus ride in the warm autumn sun to my hotel.

Because it was a sightseeing tour the timetable is relaxed, so I ended up arriving into Sandown a good five minutes early, and only about 10 minutes later than if I’d waited for the regular bus. From the bus stop I walked the short distance down onto the Esplanade and along to my hotel to check in.

After dropping off my stuff I headed out for a wander along the seafront at Sandown. The town was once a bustling seaside resort, but with the advent of the package holiday it’s fortunes have waned, and today whilst it still boasts the only pleasure pier on the island and a long stretch of sandy beach the number of large abandoned (and burnt out) hotels on the seafront don’t help with the sense of slight decay. The fact that the almost new Premier Inn that I was staying in was already falling apart with broken lifts, vending machines and check-in kiosks didn’t help the sense of a resort past it’s prime.

However, despite the air of past grandeur the town was still, in mid-September, busy with tourists so it clearly is still thriving, despite everything the economy is trying to throw at it.

I stopped off at the Sainsbury’s Local on the high street to pick up some items for dinner before heading back to my hotel room for a hotel picnic dinner before heading back out again at sunset for a longer stroll, wandering down the pier at sunset to take some photos of the end of the day from out at sea before heading for a longer walk along the esplanade first towards Shanklin and then heading back past the pier to the War memorial.

By the time I was heading back to the hotel the funfair on the end of the pier had switched off it’s lights and the stiff breeze coming off The Solent reminded me it was now mid-September as the temperature took a distinct dive and I decided to head back to the hotel to grab a quick nightcap and then an early night.