Freshwater Bay holiday cottage, Isle of Wight, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
At any time of year you can see extraordinary and uncommon plants and trees near Rabbit’s Bothie.
In spring there are early gentians. Unique to Britain and now a national rarity, they have a foothold on Tennyson Down and West High Down. The downs look spectacular when the sea pink is out. Later in the year, at the end of June and beginning of July, pyramidal orchids put on a fine show in West Wight. Autumn is a good time to go to the Apple Farm, Newport Road, near Freshwater Bay. The Howgate Wonder apple was first bred on the Isle of Wight in 1929. It is a cross between an eating apple and a cooking apple and entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1997 as the biggest apple ever grown.
Red squirrels thrive on the Isle of Wight because there are no grey squirrels and no deer to eat the young trees and shrubs that they need for feeding. They live in woodland near Fort Victoria, Bouldnor Forest and the gardens of Mottistone Manor. At Park Hurst Forest you can settle into the hide and wait for them to appear.
Butterfly enthusiasts will find several species on the Island including the chalkhill blue and the Glanville fritillary, especially on the downs near Freshwater Bay.
At Rabbit’s Bothie we have created a haven for wildlife with bird boxes, bug hotels, herbs, fruit bushes and a colourful range of flowering plants and shrubs that attract butterflies, moths and bees. Our pond provides drinking water for birds.
We collect rainwater in three butts for the two bird baths, troughs and pots. Goldfinches drink from the pond which is home to water-boatmen and many other insects and bugs. In our first month here, blue tits raised a family in one of the nesting boxes. We also have insect hotels and regularly see ladybirds. The bird baths attracts blackbirds, robins, sparrows, wood pigeons, turtle doves, rooks and crows. Badgers are sometimes seen in The Square and birds of prey and bats fly overhead. There are bat boxes in Afton Road.
Protecting our past
We have joined the Friends of Granny's Meade, Bedbury Lane. Granny was the village midwife in the late 19th century. We are committed to ensuring that this ancient field with its wild flowers, native trees and hedgerows remains in public ownership. Close by, on the other side of Queens Road, is the recently restored stray animal pound.
One Horse Field, Totland, covers two hectares (five acres) west of the recreation ground. You may spot the rare orchid autumn ladies’ tresses and the corky-fruited water-dropwort or the wasp spider. In summer there are plenty of dragonflies. Oxeye daisies and selfheal attract bees. The unimproved grassland is home to strawberry clover, crested dog’s tail, red fescue, common bent and yellow rattle. The semi-improved area supports cocksfoot, false oatgrass and yorkshire fog. Flowers include yarrow, birds-foot trefoil and wild carrot. Badgers and foxes visit. You may also spot rabbits, wood mice and bank voles. Bird species include tits, wrens, woodpeckers and chaffinch. If left unchecked, the meadow would turn to scrub and woodland. This precious site is designated a site of importance for nature conservation.
When they first arrive we show guests that there are recycling boxes in the bin store at Rabbit's Bothie. We ask them to help us sort our recycling material ready for the local council to collect domestic food waste for composting, newspaper and glass. We also encourage our visitors to recycle metal, card, paper, batteries and ink cartridges.
Community
Guests have a folder with detailed information about local attractions, farm shops and places to eat. Walks focus on West Wight including Afton Down to Brook and Golden Hill to Fort Victoria and Norton Spit. There is also a collection of mini guides and leaflets for attractions and activities across the Island. Many of the local pubs and restaurants that we recommend use Island produce: the Red Lion, Old Freshwater; the High Down Inn, Totland; Barefoot on the Beach, Colwell Bay, and the Garden Restaurant at Farringford. The award-winning New Inn, Shalfleet, has an excellent reputation, especially for seafood.
We tell visitors about the light meals, teas and coffees at the Apple Farm, Newport Road and can certainly recommend the lunches, cream teas and home-baked cakes at the Cameron Tea Rooms, Dimbola Lodge. There is a handy grocer's, Orchards, that stocks local produce including bread from the village bakery, and a post office, just a few minutes’ walk from The Square. The lifeboat shop sells souvenirs to raise funds.
Fostering friendships
A special project that we initiated in 2011 is the mosaic on the sea-facing wall of the lifeboat station. We worked with a local artist who designed the picture and then involved people from across the community who put the pieces together. By selling small squares of the mosaic we shall raise more than £5,000 for the voluntary lifeboat service.
We are also members of the Woodland Trust, National Trust and English Heritage and support the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust at Dimbola, the Farringford Tennyson Society and residents’ associations and encourage our visitors to join one of the regular meetings... especially the Open Mic nights at Dimbola. We enjoy various walks and talks and have worked with West Wight Alpacas, Wellow, to help the animals get used to people.
Something different
Supporting local crafts and culture is important to us. We invite our guests to join us at the Open Studio events in July. There is a patchwork quilt hanging on the wall in Rabbit's Bothie. It was made by a local artist in Freshwater. We recomment Made on the Isle of Wight, the only one-stop-shop for Island products, and Shared Earth for its Fair Trade handmade gifts, jewellery, stationery and recycled products.
Rabbit's Bothie always has the latest brochure from Quay Arts, Newport. We recommend the gift shop. It is an excellent showcase for Island craftmakers including ceramics, glass, textiles, metalwork, wood and jewellery.
The first Friday of each month is Open Mic night just round the corner at Dimbola Lodge. We always ask visitors to join us at this lively mix of folk songs, poems and recitals.
Landscape
The chalk spine of West Wight’s distinctive landscape is visible as the Needles and surrounding cliffs. The near-vertical layers of rock at Alum Bay show us how the land has buckled and twisted under the pressure of ground movements.
The Poets and Pines Histree Trail, a four-mile easy walk round Freshwater, explores trees that inspired the poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson. We also recommend Afton Marsh, the local nature reserve, close to the Freshwater Way. It is a flat, easy walk from the picturesque causeway, along the route of the old railway line, by the side of the river Yar to Yarmouth.
Cherished character
Slightly farther away are the chines, unique clay habitats near the sea for plants and animals, at Brook, Compton and Chale. We recommend these as the best access points to the long beach. The stream passing the water mill at Calbourne meets the Solent at Newtown with its former salt pans and harbour. The shore here is clay and sand. We advise guests that this is popular spot for bird-watching. Shorwell is in a wooded valley with three Jacobean manor houses and a 12th-century church with a 15th-century fresco of St Christopher. The Victorian church in Brook, St Mary the Virgin (not to be confused with the church in Brighstone), has memorials to local lifeboat crews.
In Gate Lane, Freshwater Bay, just round the corner from Rabbit's Bothie, is St Agnes church built in 1907 on land given to the community by Hallam, Baron Tennyson (the poet’s son). Don’t be fooled by the date 1622 on the stone by the porch. The church is built with stones taken from the farmhouse where the scientist Robert Hooke was born.
Nearby in Old Freshwater is All Saints where Emily Tennyson and Hallam are buried. The church is listed in the Domesday survey of 1086. Christ Church in Totland has a lych gate made of timbers from HMS Thunderer, a ship that fought with Nelson at Trafalgar. The Roman Catholic church, St Saviour’s, is very distinctive with its Italian style. It was built in 1923 by the Ward family of Weston Manor. People are always surprised at what we know and can tell them about.
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