Sunday 1 August 2021

Sea mark

As advertised at reference 1, I made it back to the sea mark on Ashey Down on the way back from Carisbrooke, even if BH sat is out in the lay-by adjacent. Not quite the highest point in the north eastern corner of the island, being pipped by the trig point on Arreton Down, a couple of miles to the west, at 135 metres. With the downs in the south western corner of the island being somewhat higher and the the downs round Ventnor down in the south east significantly higher at 200 metres. But none of that detracts from the sea mark's visibility from the sea to the north east. And maybe the owner of the top of Arreton Down did not want a stone tower on his land.

From reference 2, I find that we first visited the sea mark in 2010, and then again in 2011. Checking the references given for this last visit, I find that I am now denied access to 'kerrysblahblahblog' and I have no idea why there is a link to a chain of big shops in the Pacific North West of the US. With the Fred Meyer home page talking of what I take to be click-and-collect from Idaho Falls. 

Since that time, I have given up walking with cows, having decided it is no longer worth dealing with my nervousness around large animals. A variety of nervousness from which BH seems to be quite free; quite happy to face down cows, if not bulls. As it happens, one can see the relevant field as one approaches the sea mark from the west - complete with a rather odd corner - and on this day there appeared to be no cows, so I went up - and so it turned out to be. Just the odd cow pat, looking weeks rather than days old.

From most angles, the sea mark looks like a stone tower, albeit of curious shape, possibly Masonic or even anti-Masonic, for which see reference 3 for someone else's arty snap. But finding this hole, maybe it is a fake? Maybe what you see is just thin facing stone and the structure is mainly rubble concrete, after the way of many medieval castles?

In need of a paint job. The heritage people have been a bit slack.

Nearly 360° vision, just the odd interruption.

And so, rather appropriately, the sea mark closes this year's holiday to the Isle of Wight.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/08/carisbrooke-castle.html.

Reference 2: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/search?q=ashey+down.

Reference 3: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2015/07/tweet-tweet.html.

Reference 4: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/07/monster-mushrooms.html. This was also the day of the monster mushrooms.

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