In the early Sixties, my family (Mum and Dad, brother and sister) spent a couple of summer holidays at a boarding house in Bembridge, Isle of Wight. The memories are among the most vivid of my childhood; the (probably-Victorian) boarding house with its dark corridors, the gong that sounded at mealtimes; the strong smell of soup; the serviettes in rings and those little curls of butter (that I invented a name for) in a dish. The coffee brought to my parents' room, accompanied by sugar in lumps... Then there was the beach; the wooded seafront, the smells and sights of the shore; the lifeboat station; seaweed, and of course, sunshine...
In 2010, I went back after 48 years. I picked up my camera and took the train to Portsmouth...
You can still get to the Isle of Wight by hovercraft, though their use for crossing the English Channel has long since ceased
The beach huts at Benbridge were an early memory; very probably the same ones as here!
The lifeboat station was there in those days, too...
Bembridge Marina shimmering in the late afternoon sunshine. I only realised the people were there later...
I love the patterns that the water has made in the sand!
The esplanade at Ryde with a hotel in the early evening
Your description of childhood boarding house seaside holidays reminded me very much ofmy own with my parents, at Portballintrae, N. Ireland... Freezing sea but we still bathed! Town of Portrush just 5 miles away, with Barry's amusement arcade, a child's paradise... I love the "What the butler saw" penny in the slot machine, and also the "Dracula's Castle" one... And the ghost train was a bit frightening, but great fun. Do they exist today? I'd never go on a ghost train today, it would be beyond terrifying... Great times!
@WalterF My similar memories of Clacton in Essex. Swimming daily in the freezing North Sea The gong being sounded for dinner in our Victorian guest house. Last day, fish and chips in a tiny cafe with steamed-up windows. Wonderful Pier, Penny Arcade, ‘ What the Butler Saw! My favourite too. A scary Ghost Train which I loved. There are still. Ghost Trains, we found a wonderful preserved one in Devon. What fun. Not as scary as when I was eight.
