JILL DENBUTTER
AUTHOR
The Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is modest in size, an undulating
rhombus measuring twenty-three miles east-west and thirteen
miles north-south, yet geological processes have collaborated
to endow it with a kaleidoscope of natural phenomena:
marshland, sandy bays, steep chalk cliffs, open downland,
woods and lush undergrowth that are simply breathtaking, and
despite a succession of chronically inappropriate 'development'
projects, not altogether spoilt.
The rich soil that has prospered farms for generations
and provides a natural habitat for an abundance of wildlife and
birds has been coveted by many over the years, as the number
of forts, castles and other strategic sea defences bear witness.
There is something very clannish about the true
Islanders. They are resentful of newcomers, taciturn and
suspicious. You can live amongst them but not of them; learn
to love their Neolithic barrows dotting the sweeping downland,
Roman villas, Saxon villages and medieval churches; their
surging tides, dangerous reefs and rugged cliffs but never share
it as your birthright.
© JILL DENBUTTER. All rights reserved.
E-mail: jilldenbutter@gmail.com
