Newport, Cliff Walk

One of our favorite things to do in Newport was taking the 3.5 mile walk along the edge of a cliff that runs in back of several Gilded Age mansions.  The views were most impressive.  The trail runs from a beach on one side to a major road at the other end.  There were paved and easy to negotiate sections and then some rugged sections as well.  All of it was worth walking.

A view across the way from the small bay where we started the walk.

Quite the house and lawn.  

Where we started the walk.  Those are 2 houses.  We couldn't believe the owners
allowed the cliff walk to be built but then read that it was built by the original owners
and after the houses changed hands, the new owners didn't want to maintain it any more
so they sold or donated their section to the government.  Some owners go to great lengths
to keep you from entering their space with 10 foot high thorny hedges or the more ugly
10 foot high fences topped with razor wire..

This Chinese tea house was straddling the path with a tunnel running underneath.

One of the easy sections of the walk

That is a private club and  beach at one end of the walk.

The opposite end of the trail.

One of the many overlooks and craggy inlets.

This was a restaurant along the way.  We didn't feel dressed for the occasion
although David did have his nicer shorts on..

One of the smaller, less ostentatious mansions.

The Marble house was open for tours but we didn't have enough time
to justify the admission price.

The trail winds through a lot of fields on the cliff's edge.

This small pond of fresh rainwater was home to several types of plants.

The wild roses were all over the hillsides.  They had mostly gone
to seed but I can imagine how gorgeous they are in bloom.

The Salve Regina university sits along the Cliff walk.  7 families donated
their mansions surrounding properties to the school.  It would be hard for
me to concentrate on a lecture with the view outside the window!

One of the tunnels through the hillside.

The sign warns of dangerous loose rocks and steep path so stay out.  From
the well worn path, you can tell the warning is widely ignored.

From the hill, you look out on the Rhode Island Sound.  We were so lucky
that the weather was clear the day we took the walk and the vistas seemed endless.

The beach at one end of the path.