h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Tennyson Trail - A87878263
Author: Bluebottle - U43530

A walk from the centre of the Isle of Wight to the Island's westernmost point.

If you find yourself going 'Aaarrrgghhhhh! SPLASH!' you've gone too far...

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for sometime this weekend

This sounds a lovely walk, with a lot of interesting things to see. You have done a very thorough job of describing it.

I was interested to read that, at Compton Down, the soil is described as 'acid', whereas much of the rest of the walk seems to be chalk. Is this sandstone? (We have similar patterns in Sussex.)

A couple of times you have put 'burrow' rather than 'barrow' - in the sentence beginning 'Soon you will pass by' and in the sentence beginning 'To reach the hill's summit'.

Thanks for those points, I've changed the borrowed burrows to barrows

You're right to question why a down (a chalky hill – which you would expect to be a touch alkaline) would be described as acidic. Although the down itself is chalk, the upper layer of the down is a gravelly, sandy soil. That is why the down itself is described as an acid grassland/heathland, although there are better examples of acid grassland and heathland elsewhere on the Island. There are also sandstone cliffs on the Island too, particularly in the area of the Undercliff, but the walk's all on chalk.

I've often wanted to spend more time seeing the Sussex downs and started planning to walk the South Downs Way with Peregrin. The Seven Sisters especially. (I don't feel an urgent need to cycle up Beacon Hill again, though).

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I see I measured my thumb and found it to be about the same size as yours , but didn't finish reading the Entry ...

You could put a link on Pooh Sticks

Ah, that's good that the forest is home to Red Squirrels

Up to Strawberry Lane

Pooh Sticks linked to

Don't spend too long on Strawberry Lane - you may be stuck on Strawberry Lane Forever

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Excellent - I enjoyed that

My only wonder was when you go past the golf course, do you have to take care to stay on the path because otherwise you're trespassing on private land?

I thought I'd answered this - I'd even written the reply back on the 17th October, I just didn't post it.

What I had said (but didn't post) was:

'They don't seem to patrol it too tightly, but if you stray from the path there is a very real chance you will be hit by golf balls or, perhaps more likely, paragliders and microlights. You have been warned (or as it is a golf course, should that be 'fore-warned'?)'

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We need a Tennyson entry to link

Good tweak

Yes indeed a Tennyson Entry would be good, but I'm not volunteering as I don't know much about him, sadly...

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Well done

GB