Final thoughts on this tour

We have made lots of lovely memories on this short cycling trip here are some of the highlights

Favourite things:

Emily: visiting the different campsites

Tom: cycling, swimming and camping

Hannah: crazy golf and swimming

Daddy: Carisbrooke castle, cycling

Mummy: Osbourne house, sunny weather

Take a look at the blog of our French family cycling adventure to see the kit we took and how we cycle as a family. I re-read the blog before leaving for the IOW to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. We only changed a few things this time...

Chairs: I promised myself after France that I would research lightweight camping chairs  as I'm getting too old now to sit on the floor for days at a time. We took adapters to France with us which changed our thermarests into a floor seat with a back, but it still wasn't the same. This time Adrian and I bought Helinox chairs - they were very comfy for their weight and fold up quite small - the kids were certainly jealous whenever we kicked them off back onto the picnic rug!

Sharp knife: Adrian was not happy with the blunt knife I took to France and the absence of scissors so we now have a small sharp knife in a sheath - it's a lovely purple colour!

Full waterproofs: we only took jackets to France - this time I packed waterproof legs for everyone too, but in fact we didn't wear them - however the English weather could have been so much worse - we were very lucky and it wasn't worth not packing them. 

Cold weather clothes: I packed extra cold weather clothes - skins for the kids, extra sleeping clothes for me and a new downs jacket which packed up really small but was super warm (I even sneaked in a hot water bottle in my bags - a real weight luxury, but I NEVER camp in England without one)

Tarp: I did quite a bit of research for a tarp to protect us from the British weather and we went for a tunnel tarp to put over the tent in the end. After a bit of trial and error it was a useful addition to our kit.

So, our packing was actually a little heavier than in France for a shorter tour but we were having to be prepared for greater changes in weather. On the plus side, I had room as the twins were carrying all their own gear this time where as in France I had their stuff in each of my front panniers.

The fail of the trip:

Our vango tent leaked spectacularly!.... The first 5 days we had no rain, but every morning the dew / condensation had leaked puddles throughout the porch area and even dripped through into the bedroom area in a few places. Even waterproofing it didn't seem to make a huge difference. It has been used on two tours and the odd one nighter in two years so it is rather disappointing - I will contact Vango this week to see what they suggest - we will not be able to risk it in heavy downpours..

The family cycled 50 miles / 80km in total over the 6 days we were away.

I'm really glad we decided to keep up the momentum and do even a mini tour this year. Here's to planning another European tour sometime in the future.

Tom's IOW cycling tour blog

Tom's cycling holiday blog

First day:

We drove to Portsmouth and when we got there we parked on somebody's drive and we got the bikes off the top of the car and put the panniers on the bikes. We cycled to to ferry. We had to wait to wait for another one to come and we got to cycle onto the ferry and were the first people on. Me, Hannah and Emily rushed to the top of the boat to look out of the side. When we started up it was quite a bumpy journey. It took about half an hour to get there. We were the first to get off and cycled on the road. We went up and down hills. The order was daddy, me, Emily, Hannah and mummy. It was quite tiring with all the up hills but we had all the downs as well and plenty of jelly babies. When we arrived at the campsite I thought it was all tents but actually there were lots of holiday houses. The lady put us in her back garden by ourselves, but there was a boat and a playground.

Day 2:

We cycled to Osbourne House. The lady gave us a trail to do and we had to find letters in the different rooms which spelt a word which gave the final clue, which was queen Victoria's black gloves under a lamp. 

We went out of the house and got on a bus to queen Victoria's private beach and watched a Punch and Judy show. Afterwards we went to the Swiss Cottage which was queen Victoria's children's playhouse. The boys had a fort to play in and we made a new friend in the playground. Then we cycled back to the tent, had a quick dip in the pool and went on the chain ferry to a restaurant called The Globe for tea. I had a mini burger,  some lettuce and lots of chips, but we weren't allowed up on the roof because it was over 18s only. We then got back on the chain ferry and went to bed really late!

Day 3: 

We packed up and got on our bikes and cycled to Carisbrooke Castle. We told a man to guard our bikes and climbed up 70 steps to walk on the battlements. We looked down a well, it was about 120 feet down. We looked at the medieval market where there was wool, bows and arrows and other stuff that taught us how people in medieval times lived. Then we watched a falconart display. The lady asked someone to take their dog inside the tent so the hawk wouldn't crush the dogs scull! I volunteered to put my arm out to have a bird fly to it, but I didn't get chosen. Next there was the jousting. I voted for 'good', but evil won! There was a lady knight and she had a really feisty horse! Mummy, Emily and Hannah stayed at the arena to watch a jester, daddy and I had a go at shooting a crossbow. I got 4 goes, it was really hard and I only hit the target on the first time. 2 men and 1 lady came and played some medieval music on strange instruments that looked like bagpipes and a guitar while I sat on a canon! Then me Hannah and Emily went to the shops and bought a think each. Emily and I bought swords and Hannah bought a diabolo. Then we went back on our bikes, went down the hill and to the campsite. Daddy and mummy put up the tent while we explored the campsite. There was a swimming pool, a games room and a tv room. After tea we went for a late night swim.

Day 4:

First we went to the swimming pool for a long, long time. When I got out I made friends with 3 boys. We played lots of games and went on the see-saw. Then I went out with daddy to get shopping for lunch. It was really hot with a little breeze. After lunch I went in the pool again then we walked Shanklin and played crazy golf. Hannah won a free game but we couldn't use it because we didn't have time. I liked golf, but it was quite hard. After golf we had fish and chips and walked home in the darkness.

Day 5:

We cycled to the donkey sanctuary and we saw lots of donkeys and horses. I had a pasty for lunch and I loved it. We went into the shop and I bought a Lego tractor. When had finished, we went back to our bikes and cycled home. We went for a swim and had curry for tea.

Day 6:

We packed up the tent and cycled to the ferry. We were the last to get on the ferry and we watched the ferry leave the Isle of Wight. When we got to Portsmouth we cycled to the car, packed it and drove home.

THE END

Emily's IOW cycling tour blog

Emily's cycling holiday blog 

Us on the ferry

Day 1 and 2

We set off on a wonderful ferry. We could see the water flowing by the sides of the boat. When we got off the ferry, we started out bike ride. At first it was hard and wobbly carrying all of our clothes. It was very hilly and when we got to the first hill, I nearly fell off my bike. But the best thing was when we got to the first campsite, we went to Osborne House we got to go down the hill! At Osborne house we did a trail and had to find lots of letters.

We then went down to queen Victoria's private beach and watched a Punch and Judy show. We then went up to the Swiss Cottage which was built so Queen Victoria's children could learn about how normal people lived. We had a little play in the playground then got our bikes back to the tent. We then walked to the chain ferry across to west Cowes to have fish and chips for tea. 

Day 3

We packed up our tent and cycled to the chain ferry with all our bikes and gear. We cycled off the ferry and cycled along the Red Squirrel Trail to Newport. We cycled up a really steep hill to Carisbrooke Castle. In the castle, we looked around the battlements. There were really high walls and deep dungeons. We then went to look at the medieval market where saw a man making bows and arrows and lots of people dressed in medieval costumes. We then went through a little tunnel in the wall to watch a falconry display and after that we watched real jousting! One of the Knights was a lady but her lances kept on snapping. 

After the jousting we watched a really funny jester who told mummy off and made everyone boo her when she said we had to go! There was a huge queue to get back through the tunnel and on the other side some people were playing medieval music. On the way out, we went to the shop where Tom and I bought wooden swords and Hannah bought a Diablo. We got the spending money from daddy who dared us to eat a big piece of liquorish!  

We got back on our bikes and cycled to the next campsite in Shanklin. We had pasta pesto for tea and then went for a late swim while daddy went to the shops to buy breakfast. 

Me eating Jelly Babies!

Day 4 

We got up very late (7am!) and wrote postcards and then went for another swim. 

In the afternoon we walked to the beach at Shanklin and played Pirate Crazy Golf - there was a blood red river and fountain! After we had fish and chips but the fish was really big and none of us could finish it. We took the long lift to the top of the cliff and then walked home in the dark. 

Day 5 

We woke up really early, had breakfast then got our bikes ready because mummy and daddy told us we were going somewhere for a surprise. We cycled to a donkey sanctuary!  We looked at lots of the donkeys, there was a blind one called Poppy and a foal who was only 11 days old. The donkeys were really cute we stroked them for ages. I had a sausage roll for lunch. It was really yummy!  After lunch we went to look at the horses. We went to the shop and I bought a toy donkey called Luna. She's adorable and she rattles!

After we cycled back to the tent, we went swimming again then had curry for tea with poppadoms then hot chocolate with some battenburg for pudding. Yummy!

Me with Emily the donkey!

Day 6

We packed up the tent and cycled to the ferry port. It was rainy and I wore my long leggings and waterproof trousers for the first time! It was really hilly today.

Hannah's IOW cycling tour blog

Hannah's cycling holiday blog

Day 1:

First day - after getting up early we got into our packed full car and set up to Portsmouth. After a long journey we finally got to the harbour, a ferry was waiting there. We went into the ticket office to get our tickets, but when we came out, just our luck, the ferry had left! Luckily there was another in about ten minutes.

As the ferry came steaming into the harbour we caught our first proper glimpse of the island. At first site we saw much greenery, but later they turned out to be hills and trees. 

When set off we were a bit wobbly due to getting used to our heavy loads, but we soon straightened out. There were many hills and we slowed down, but we sped up on the down hills.

When we finally got to east Cowes campsite we put up our tent and went for a long swim in the pool which had a slide.

All in all, day 1 was a great day.

Day 2:

We woke up early and had a delicious breakfast of cereal and croissants which I went to buy and then headed off to Osbourne house which was owned by Queen Victoria. Us children had a trail to do so we set off to look in the house. We had to solve puzzle in a booklet and find letters and clues.

Because the ground were 250 acres, we took a minibus to queen Victoria's private beach which was on the other side of the property. There we watched a funny Punch and Judy show and then walked to the children's private house. We saw how the children lived and what games they used to play. Queen Victoria had 9 children, we learnt about them and looked at pictures of them. 

Next we went into the children's playground and played tag. We then looked at the children's own museum. 

For tea we went out for tea to west Cowes on the chain ferry to a restaurant called The Globe. I liked day 2 a lot!

Day 3:

We got up early on day 3 because we had a long journey ahead of us and we set off. We caught the chain link ferry across to west Cowes. Next we cycled to Carisbrooke castle a place well recommended. There were battlements that we climbed and we watched a falconry display. There was a hawk which could crush a dogs scull and a there was a golden eagle.

Next, we watched some real jousting with horses and lances. There was a lady doing it and her horse was very feisty. Then Emily and I watched a really funny jester.

Later we set up the tent and had pasta pesto for tea, then we had a late night swim from about 7.30-8pm.

Day 4:

We had a lie-in on day 4 because it was a rest day and when we eventually got up we went to the swimming pool. We stayed in the swimming pool for all of the morning and most of the afternoon. When we eventually got out we walked to Shanklin and played an amazing game of crazy pirate golf. At the end we could try and get a golf ball into an impossible hole. Everyone failed badly except for me, I got it right in, and that meant we had a free game of golf. Next we had a good tea of fish and chips, walked back and fell asleep exhausted.

Day 5:

When we woke up we were very tense to know where we were going because it was a surprise. When we cycled to the place we found out it was a donkey and horse sanctuary. There were nearly 100 donkey and my favourite was a pale brown one called Polly and my favourite horse was a Shetland pony. He was a baby and his fur was really soft.

In the evening we had curry for tea and went to bed tired and exhausted.

Day 6:

We got up early because we had a big day ahead of us. We decided last night that we would not stay another day as we wouldn't be able to cycle because it would be too windy so we cycled all the way to the ferry.

After we got our bikes on the car we went to an amazing restaurant, you could have as much salad as you wanted. It had amazing food and when we came out we were all stuffed. We then drove home. I enjoyed the Isle of Wight and am very thankful for the lovely weather.

Day 6: Friday

We were up promptly this morning to pack up and head off. It was drizzling on and off, the kind that can soak through so everyone was dressed in waterproofs for the first time this holiday. The wind had definitely picked up from the previous few days, but nothing in comparison to what is being forecast for Saturday. We loaded the bikes with the panniers and then had breakfast before sending the children off to the games room to stay dry while we finished packing up. We left the campsite at around 9am having made the decision to take the shorter route north rather than the diversion east to see the Bembridge windmill.

Waterproofs for cycling in today

The first few miles were on the bike path and then it was minor roads and lanes for the remainder of the journey. There was a fair bit of traffic about on some of the roads today but nothing compared to the A-roads we were consciously avoiding. There were some heavy downpours on our way and one rather large hill which we all admitted defeat to and walked up, but we were then rewarded with some spectacular views from the top and a lovely long descent where I got to go up front for a change and left the others behind enjoying not having to keep my brakes on the whole way down behind little people! 

Views from the top of the hill

Further on we were lucky to see a hunt dog pack being exercised and we pulled to the side of the lane to let them all go past - the children loved it and the dogs were very well behaved and under control.

Two cycle incidents today - the first crash of the tour from Emily. Picture the Rio Olympic road races and it was something similar but heading up hill slightly rather than a steep descent. We were on a newly tarmaced road with a camber/drop-off onto mud and grass, I shouted up to warn of an overtaking car and rather than just keeping her line, Emily moved towards the edge of the road - I could see what was going to happen before it did and shouted out again, but it was too late and the bike had gone from underneath her... She was fine, just shaken and had in fact done quite a good job of getting out of the way of the bike on its way down. After a quick check for injuries (there were none thankfully) and cleaning of glasses we headed off again.

The second incident was our first puncture which came from Adrian - we were about a km away from the ferry and we were loath to stop. Adrian felt it had enough air to get him to the ferry despite pulling the trailer so we carried on. While waiting to load the ferry he gave it a quick pump up and it lasted until the car on the other side - the full repair will have to wait until we are back home.

We made surprisingly good time considering the hills and rain and arrived at the ferry and were on our way to Portsmouth by 11.45am. We were able to stand up on deck as the skies had cleared by then and the journey wasn't too rough. A lot of holiday makers were also leaving a day early to avoid the storms.

Waiting to board 

All boarded and ready to set sail!

The Killicks on tour!

Bye bye IOW 

A short cycle through Portsmouth and we found our car parked safely on the driveway where we left it. We loaded the car and I did a swift clothes change behind some dustbins and we were back in the comfort of the car. We stopped at the Harvester on the way out of Portsmouth for lunch and the children loved the salad bar (I remember these from my youth - stopping with my family and my twin brother, Andrew and me going up for seconds). By now it was raining really hard and stayed that way for the next few hours!

The car journey back to Bristol was pretty tedious with quite a number of motorway queues, eventually arriving back home having stopped off for milk at 6.30pm. Now for all the washing and packing away. I hope the weather improves so I can dry the tent at some point!

11 miles cycled today

Day 5: Thursday

We were not moving on today, but decided to unlock the bikes and visit the donkey sanctuary.

There had been rain over night and the tent is still leaking through the roof as well as under the loose ground sheet. Adrian and I cleared out the bedroom and porch areas to let the air and sunshine dry it out. It got hot quickly this morning, the sun burnt through the clouds, so the tent dried quickly. After a slow breakfast (2 cups of tea for me) we repacked the tent and headed off to the donkey sanctuary. We got to cycle most of the way there on bridle ways and part of the red squirrel trail so although it was slightly uphill most of the way, it made for very pleasant cycling with generally good paths. A few of my limbs were aching today, it must be my old age, so I took it quite easy. The last 500m or so was on a main road which was fine until my sunglasses fell off into the road! I did manage to stop and collect them before they got squished under the cars in the queue of traffic behind us and, more importantly, Hannah and Emily managed at the back without me when I abandoned them on my rescue mission! We had kept our destination a secret from the children so it was a lovely surprise when we arrived at the entrance sign and a field of donkeys. The 'meet and greet' attendant in the car park said he would keep an eye on our bikes and we headed across to stroke and enjoy the almost 100 donkey they have at the sanctuary along with a number of ponies. It relies totally on donations, so we bought lunch at the cafe followed by tea, cake and ice creams.  Emily found a donkey named 'Emily' and they all enjoyed lots of stroking.

Emily with 'Emily'!

We left just before 3pm and once on the bike path, it was a gentle down hill all the way... Lovely. We stopped at co-op for dinner and breakfast provisions and headed back for a late afternoon dip in the pool. We had popadoms with dip and curry with naan bread for tea which was delicious followed by mini Battenberg cakes (Hannah's choice) and hot chocolate for the kids. 

Adrian chilling after tea before the mist rolled in when the sun went down.

After the children had gone to bed, Adrian and I spent half an hour or so packing up a bit for tomorrow and weather-proofing our kit from the rain that's coming overnight. We have lifted everything off the ground into the trailer, closed all bags and covered them with a bin bag, so hopefully if the rain comes in anywhere nothing should get wet.

We've made an alteration to our itinerary based on the weather forecast for Friday and Saturday. Friday is due to be wet all day - we need to cycle north tomorrow so there is nothing we can do about that, but although Saturday looks better the wind is due to pick up to 50km/hr (with gusts up to 72km/hr!)... We don't fancy cycling against that or taking a ferry so we are going to bypass tomorrow's campsite, which will also save unpacking and re-packing a soggy tent in the rain an extra time and we'll head straight to the ferry tomorrow afternoon. 

The original hope was to divert to the east coast to see the Bembridge windmill, but that will almost double the distance. We will just wait and see now what the weather is like in the morning and make our decision then.

9 miles cycled to the donkey sanctuary today.

Day 4: Wednesday

Rest day today. We woke up earlier than I would have liked and got up just after 7am. We enjoyed the breakfast Adrian had bought last night and then I did a hand wash of all the cycle clothes from yesterday - you wouldn't believe the dirt that came out! 

Hannah practising with diabolo she bought at Carisbrooke yesterday

Tom and Emily playing at being Knights!

Adrian supervised postcard and children's blog writing! The increasingly familiar plastering in sun cream (I'm not complaining as the weather is amazing and due to turn tomorrow so I made the most of it today) and we all headed to the pool about 11.15.am. Later, Adrian took Tom to Morrisons whilst Hannah Emily and I played water polo in the pool with a ball we found! We ate a lunch fit for kings and queens at about 2.30pm before heading back to the pool and an icecream. I sunbathed today like I would if I was in Spain! It was scorching round the pool!

Ice creams at the pool - thanks Nanna for the holiday icecream money!

At about 5pm we headed out to walk to Shanklin, the bridle path was very pleasant in the late afternoon sun, but we took a wrong turn and added a good 15minutes to the journey! 

We headed down to the Esplanade, played (pirate) crazy golf, ate fish and chips and played on the beach before taking the cliff lift back up to the main town to head home. Adrian was the crazy golf victor, I was second, Hannah beat Tom into third by one point and Emily came in fifth with her particularly unique hockey technique/swing!!

Unfortunately it was too late to explore the old town. The walk home was dark along the bridle way so walking faster we made it in 20 minutes rather than the 45 it had taken us to get there.

It clouded over while the kids were on the beach for the first time since we arrived on the island, the wind is picking up and the rain has just started to fall lightly.... Tomorrow's looking cloudy so it's back to British weather from now on. Oh well, it was amazing while it lasted!