Friday 8 May 2009

Godshill, Isle of Wight

I have discovered this week, that a lot the American and Canadian book bloggers seem to have a fascination with little old Blighty, so I thought I would start to share more photos of some of the wonderful places in our country that I have visited. So today, I am going to start with a lovely, picturesque village situated on the Isle of Wight, called Godshill. This has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The streets are full of quaint little thatched cottages like the one below. I stood outside these two houses for ages, wishing I was lucky enough to live there. This little back street to the village, was completely off the tourist map and when hubby wondered off for a cigarette, he found it by chance. I don't condone his smoking, but he was on to a winner this time. I don't think the picture does it justice. I felt like I had stepped back in time, just by turning a corner.

I just love this road sign!
The temptation to knock and ask for a viewing was overwhelming!
The village is situated on the island between Newport and Ventnor and has a lovely model village that you can visit. It also has a Cider Barn, where you can taste every different type of cider possible. Is it real or is it a model?

In village, there are lots of interesting shops, such as the Chocolate Shop, where you can see them making all the chocolate and this little shop called The Christmas Shop run by an artist called Nicola Gibbs. She has her own website here where she rents out the cottage through the year.
Chocolate heaven!

Here is a little bit of history about the reason the village is called Godshill.

Tradition tells us that the original site for the church was towards the south west but each night the stones of th
e church were moved by an unkown agency onto the hill where the church now stands. The builders of the church wanted to discover who was moving the stones and placed two guards at the site. While keeping watch they were astonished to see the stones move up the hill of their own volition. This was taken as a sign from God that the church should be built on the hill and the site was called Godshill afterwards. In some traditions it was the fairies who moved the stones.
Isn't that fabulous!

10 comments:

  1. Aww...it's like a fairy tale village!

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  2. I'm so jealous :-D What great pictures! I really hope to make it over there one day...

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  3. I loved seeing your pictures and reading the history. Wonderful.

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  4. Thanks for posting the gorgeous pictures! I think some of my relatives came over from the Isle of Wight. Or the Isle of Man? Either way, very lovely.

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  5. I just loved this post! I was definitely one who was more curious. I'd sure love to visit there one day. The history behind why the village is called Godshill is terrific. Thanks for sharing more of this wonderful little place with us, the pictures are just amazing.

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  6. I would definitely love to be a part of that village! It's so magical and fairytale-like. Thanks for sharing all these lovely photos with us!

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  7. oh my gosh, what a great post. I love the pictures, Godshill looks like a cozy village. Beautiful!
    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

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  8. Oh! It's just SO cute! I would just love to visit someday :)

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Hiya, thanks for stopping by, it is always nice to hear what you have to say, so do leave a comment if you have time.