On the buses (I.O.W. part 2.)

The best way to travel around the Isle of Wight is on one of the many buses run by Southern Vectis.

It costs only £24 a week for unlimited journeys on their regularly scheduled service. It’s just not worth the expense or hassle of having a car over here. 

However, since many island roads are quite narrow, it can occasionally become a little unsettling on the double deckers when large overhanging tree branches hit the sides and roof of the bus as it hurtles along.

How it feels to be on top

 

Since all the Southern Vectis bus routes go through Newport in the centre of the island, the town has become our obvious basecamp for exploration this week.

                                                           Newport

Newport

 Newport (pop. 25 000) is the biggest town on the Isle of Wight, and the capital. 

However, it was rather sad for us to discover that although some parts of the town are thriving, the High Street, unfortunately, has not adapted well to change in recent years. 

Run down shops

Like other towns, Newport has had to contend with out of town supermarkets, internet shopping as well as the recession.

 In the High Street, in particular, it seems as though everyone has just given up trying to save it.

The old signs above the shops are seldom repainted when new businesses arrive. It is almost as though the new enterprises are expecting to go bankrupt sooner rather than later. 

The old post office

Even the magnificent post office building that once dominated the upper High Street has been abandoned, with nobody willing to take it on for a new purpose.

I know that I am being nostalgic for a time when every high street had its own butcher, baker and candlestick maker and that I must accept that change is inevitable. But still, I do think that Newport should make a little more of an effort if it wants to be known as the capital of the island.

A recycled chapel

However, not all is gloom and doom in Newport. The local chapel just around the corner from the High Street has been modernised, for example.

 In the past such a building once inspired the population of Newport towards the greater good.  Now that the building has been converted into a pub I wonder if people will draw inspiration from it again. 

It certainly inspires me J