The town all about was built to the shore-line with piers, warehouses, quays, and the like, and many small boats and drays made their way about the harbour, in the first instance by water, and in the latter on the beach to meet the fishermen and carry their catch quickly to the port for sale on the mainland. Scattered about were the new houses built by prosperous merchants from Southampton, or captains and others who had made their fortune by the late war. The small hills and cliffs of the island made for many suitable locations for an house and small park, commanding a situation which afforded good prospects over the sea or the Solent. A few ancient buildings were in view, but the beauty of the area, indeed of the Isle itself, lay in the neatly arranged fields, houses, and farmsteads that were among the most well-ordered and productive in all England.

As they were to spend three nights in Yarmouth, the first morning, the Darcys hired horses for the duration of their stay and drove south toward Aston House, and, crossing the bridge, continued along the far western shore to view the singular sights of The Needles, The Shingles, and the White Cliffs. The road could not get immediately near to the cliffs; as a result, it was necessary to leave the carriage and walk a short distance to reach the shoreline. The light-house on the cliffs west of Freshwater Bay was a curious building, looking more like an ancient keep than a tower modern-built for the purpose. The English coastline from St. Alban’s Head in Dorsetshire all the way to Lymington could be seen from the High Downs. The scenery of that side of the island was indeed sublime: the chalk-white of the cliffs, seen against the green edges of the down, with the summer sky above, and a calm sea below. Picturesque cottages and mansions were located at agreeable intervals, the natural beauty of the prospect enhanced by boats of many sizes and large ships passing in the middle distance; looking farther, the multitudes of sea-birds gave a sense of grandeur to the background. Walking eastward from Freshwater Gate, the Arched Rock suddenly appeared in the opening of the trees, an immense isolated rock with an arch-shaped void along its entire width, created by the forces of the dashing waves. It was necessary to make a short excursion by boat to properly view the extreme western cliffs, so the Darcys engaged the waiting owner of a small-boat at Freshwater Gate for that purpose.