STEEPHILL CASTLE, VENTNOR.—Within a mile of Ventnor, and close to the Town Station of the Isle of Wight Central Railway, is Steephill Castle with its beautiful and extensive grounds. From every point outside the Castle is well embowered in trees, only the tower being visible. It was built in 1835 by I. Hambrough, Esq. The architectural features are well displayed from inside the garden. The view from the tower is very fine. In 1874 the Empress of Austria stayed here, and hunted with the Isle of Wight hounds during her visit. It is occupied at the present time by Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Richards, the parents of "John Oliver Hobbes" (Mrs. Craigie), who is a frequent visitor.
Appuldurcombe Abbey.
APPULDURCOMBE ABBEY.—The ancient seat of the Worsley family, the present building was erected in the eighteenth century by Sir Robert Worsley. Here the Benedictine monks had a Priory in the time of Henry III. It was dissolved by Henry V, Sir Richard Worsley died in 1805, and the house became the property of the Earl of Yarborough, who had married the niece and heiress of the family. After being used as a school for many years, it is now occupied by Benedictine monks, In a beautiful park of four hundred acres, with a lofty down behind it, the house appears to be a well secluded and charming retreat. There is a public footpath through the meadow in front of the house.
Steephill Cove,
near Ventnor.
STEEPHILL COVE, NEAR VENTNOR.—Taking the cliff path from Ventnor to the west within a little more than a mile there opens out to view this pretty Cove. It is a place for painters, and its loveliness in all varieties of Nature's many moods, has found admirers. The cottages nestling under the banks, its parti-coloured gardens, with enclosing pebble walls, its boats and crab-pots, with the distant cliffs in succession, all combine in a composition that strikes the beholder with a conviction of its beauty.
Shanklin Esplanade,
from Rylstone.
