The Isle of Wight

Moody skies on the ferry over from Portsmouth | walled garden flowers at Osborne House | various doorways at Osborne, including the Ice House | insect life at Osborne | oranges and pinks at Ventnor Botanic Garden | moss from the Ice House, flowers and a visitor relaxing at Osborne | one of the very cute donkeys at the sanctuary, and some close ups of a friendly fellow who fell asleep with me stroking him | ribbons on the little outside shrine made in memory of Dillon, the donkey who started the sanctuary when he was given to the founder as a present for being a good postman! | blue skies and seas at Ryde | graffiti in Portsmouth

A few of my favourite photographs from my very whirlwind two-day trip to the Isle of Wight, courtesy of my very kind friend Matt! I'd never been to the Isle of Wight and definitely didn't guess that's where we'd be going when he told me he'd pick me up at 6:30am and to pack my camera. Our first stop after driving off the ferry was Osborne House, the estate that Queen Victoria made her holiday home on the island. Over the next two days we went horse riding on the beach, visited Shanklin Chine, saw giant waterlilies at Ventnor Botanic Gardens, bought vintage books and chatted to a book conservator, ate pasta three times in twenty-four hours, climbed trees, got a lot of sea air, got a bit lost (though Matt's directional skills are pretty great, luckily), hunted for crabs at Ryde and played with donkeys like children at the Donkey Sanctuary. You'll soon be able to see the rest of my photographs from the trip on my photo diary.