30 Days Wild: Days 25-27

The end of #30DaysWild was in sight. However, instead of feeling relieved, I had become entranced by nature. Suddenly, I could see the magic that surrounds us. I didn’t want it to end.

It seems only apt that day 25 bought rainbows galore, which my partner and I admired from the comfort of a pub table under an umbrella, on Shanklin beach.

The rain had been heavy, but my partner’s excited cry of, “Come here,” will forever live on in my memory as the start of something wonderful. I followed his summons and was rewarded with a rainbow.

I’ve seen rainbows before but never one that stayed so solidly in the air, light glowing from it; and never one that decided to turn into a double rainbow to show that it still had more rainbow to give.

The light was magical. The atmosphere was smile-soaked. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. And I was sharing it with someone I love – and had introduced to 30 Days Wild.

Maybe we’d have seen the rainbow anyway but I like to think it was nature’s way of saying thanks (because I sometimes have an overdeveloped sense of whimsy. But you’d have been awed too.)

Day 26: 30 Days Wild

After the rainbow, afternoon tea for breakfast in fairyland seemed like a natural start to day 26. We didn’t mean to find fairyland. It just appeared in the back garden of the Old Thatch tearoom as we walked outside to enjoy the sunshine. The deeper into the garden we walked, the more magical it became.

The lovely owner told me the secret of the waterfall, which I would later put to good use.

And then, it was time to see the Needles, make a heart-shaped stripey sand ornament together then head to the ferry to feel the spray on our faces on the way home.

Day 27

We returned home, wishing we could stay longer. I would happily move to the Isle of Wight. It’s my idea of utopia: full of glorious gardens and wildlife – though we didn’t see any red squirrels.

There’s affordable rent, fossil hunting (Jurassic Jim is a whole other story but I’m saving that for a post all about him), seaside like it used to be with rock pools and multi-coloured seaweed, the natural (beautifully lit) Shanklin Chine and the educational, inspirational and eccentric wonder of Blackgang China.

I’ve fallen in love. I plan to develop the relationship further as soon as I can afford another holiday.

But it was nice to come home, see my plants (all survived though one needed removing outside) and walk along the canal.

We saw baby moorhens for the first time this year but they were too small to photograph. Here’s a parent getting them dinner though (we didn’t give them bread: I take bird seed).