Tim & Denise Tiner Travels: 2023 England - September - Day 02

This is really our first full day on our trip. And we begin it on a Sunday in the city of Sandown which is a coastal town that has a nice beach front. Our BnB is about two blocks from the beach which makes for a very nice walk. Pat and I were up early and went for a walk down to the beach and around some neighborhoods. On High Street we found a Sainsbury’s (grocery store) that had all the basics that we needed for breakfast (juice, pastries, etcetera). Being Sunday, we needed to get ready and head to the only LDS congregation on the island. It is a 20 minute drive to get there.

We found the church very easily. It, being the first Sunday of the month, was Fast and Testimony meeting. We saw many familiar faces there. A few folks come to work in the temple and others are just patrons that come often. So it was fun to say hi to them. One couple had just been there to be sealed for time and all eternity with their beautiful family. Pat and Lisa escorted them that day. So they were thrilled to see them. The testimonies that were borne were beautiful…mostly about the importance of having a temple to go to and do work for their ancestors. I walked away from the meeting with a special spirit and feeling. I was so glad we made the decision to attend as we considered not going as we have little time to see the island. But going to church and taking the sacrament is always the correct choice.

After Sacrament meeting we headed to Osborne House. This is a home that was once occupied by Queen Victoria as a get away home for her and her family. It is an extremely large estate. The home is incredibly big. I’m always amazed how big these homes were. After touring the house we headed down to the beach which was about a 10 minute walk down from the house. On the beach we found quite a few people just enjoying the view as the water and air was a bit cool to get in. But they did have some activities going on. One activity was a puppet show which we watched for a second. It was kind of silly playing to young children. After spending a bit on the. Beach we headed to another small home that was built for the children. I guess it was a playhouse…but it was a big house.

After touring the Osborne house we needed to find some dinner. At the recommendation of a worker at the Osborne house we ended up at a place on a marina that was about a mile or so away. It was a nice place. We enjoyed the food and atmosphere there. But once done, we returned to our BnB to just enjoy the beach and the area at Sandown.

Pictures:

Selfie attempt at the beach at Osborne House. Across the water is Portsmouth.

A street leading to the beach in Sandown.

Sandown beach.

Sandown Pier. They had an eatery and Game Center for kids and families on it.

Old Parrish close to our BnB.

The Isle of Wight chapel that we attended.

Osborne House.

Crazy figurine to great you at the door. I always wonder what they were thinking when creating such things.

The puppet show on the beach at Osborne House.

The city of Sandown in the distance.

The stairs leading up to our room at the White Cliff House were we stayed in Sandown.

Denise liked this lady’s hat in church.

Osborne House courtyard.

This house (Osborne) was FULL of statues. Tons of them.

The house, as are all these houses, was filled with paintings like this.

Pretty crazy chandelier.

Bells that were rung to summon servants. Dowton Abbey like….

We loved that the Christus is found among this statuettes.

We loved this piano. Most houses that we have visited have a baby grand or a piano of some sort. Music was important to them back then. I guess it is today also.