Saturday, July 17, 2010
Sea mark
Yesterday a veggie day with island new potatoes and broad beans for tea. Very nice they were too, the only catch being that the BH woke up to a rather pungent bean smell in the kitchen in the morning.
Compensated to some extent by the sight of a red squirrel scampering across the back lawn. Rather dark red and rather small. One can see why they get seen off by their grey cousins.
Set off to Newport bright and early, sufficiently bright and early that we worked out how to get at the sea mark on Ashey Down, something that we have seen in previous years and that we have seen several times this year but never got to.
It turns out to be an irregularly triangular, tapering masonry piller about 25 feet high and maybe 10 wide at the widest point. Sloping flat top. Bottom 8 feet painted black the rest white. Built in 1735 in the reign of good king George II, presumably as a sort of low maintenance lighthouse. From the base we could see nearly all the sea east of Wight, so presumably the ships on the see could see and navigate by the mark. Also some sea in other directions.
Considering that the thing was only 130 metres above sea level - maybe half the height of St Boniface Down - got a splendid, near 360 degree view. Removed a lump of flint as a souvenir.
Reminded to wonder how level the sea is. It is certainly not the same level all over but on earth how does one measure? Clearly a ponder for the pub.
Compensated to some extent by the sight of a red squirrel scampering across the back lawn. Rather dark red and rather small. One can see why they get seen off by their grey cousins.
Set off to Newport bright and early, sufficiently bright and early that we worked out how to get at the sea mark on Ashey Down, something that we have seen in previous years and that we have seen several times this year but never got to.
It turns out to be an irregularly triangular, tapering masonry piller about 25 feet high and maybe 10 wide at the widest point. Sloping flat top. Bottom 8 feet painted black the rest white. Built in 1735 in the reign of good king George II, presumably as a sort of low maintenance lighthouse. From the base we could see nearly all the sea east of Wight, so presumably the ships on the see could see and navigate by the mark. Also some sea in other directions.
Considering that the thing was only 130 metres above sea level - maybe half the height of St Boniface Down - got a splendid, near 360 degree view. Removed a lump of flint as a souvenir.
Reminded to wonder how level the sea is. It is certainly not the same level all over but on earth how does one measure? Clearly a ponder for the pub.
# posted by Jim @ 5:03 AM 
