Take a little road trip.
Brading
The U.K. has so many different areas to explore, each time I visit I like to hire a car and do a road trip. On my last trip the Isle of Wight was on my itinerary. I picked up a car at Heathrow, then drove down to Portsmouth to catch the ferry across to Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight. There are other entryways to the island but I decided on using the Wightlink ferry from Portsmouth. The ferry terminal is well signposted in Portsmouth, it's easy to find and board the ferry, then at the other end, Fishbourne is quite small so again quite easy to disembark and get on your way.
I'm interested in history that relates to royals so I wanted to stay in the northern part of the island as that was closer to Osborne House. There are two main towns situated there, Cowes and Newport with lots of accomodation but I had a car and parking was an issue so I selected a B&B in Wootton Bridge, basically 5 minutes drive from the ferry terminal.
Where to stay
Ivy Hall in Wootton Bridge
Enjoyed my stay here and the owner was lovely, giving me recommendations each day on places to see, eat and discover on the island. Here's my little review of Ivy Hall.
Ivy Hall
What to see
There's more on the island than what I covered in the three days I was there, but I started with what drew me to the island in the first place, its royal connections.
Carisbrooke Castle
Osborne House
Osborne
I then explore further afield, my first major discovery was Shanklin. That came about just through chatting with other guests at the B&B who were planning on going there as it had been recommended to them. I loved everything about Old Shanklin as soon as I saw it. The old part of the town is 'chocolate box' pretty!
Old Shanklin Village
The Isle of Wight is known to Brits as a summer holiday destination and Shanklin has a popular beach area.
There's also the Shanklin Chine, which is a garden ravine with waterfalls and lush vegetation. Unfortunately I didn't manage to go into the ravine, but then it's important to leave something for the next visit!
Entrance to Shanklin Chine
The western side of the islands had a rock formation called The Needles. There's also a chairlift which takes you down to the beach where you can see the coloured sands. The needles are stacks of chalk that come out of the ocean, there's a lighthouse on the last one, which kind of spoils the view of them. (But a misty late afternoon, low sun and you practically can't see it in my photo!)
The Needles
Where to eat
Gossips Cafe, Yarmouth
This was a recommendation from the B&B owner and I enjoyed the location, as it was over the water and looked out into the Solent. The food was lovely as well.
Driving around the island was quite easy (a satnav helped finding places!) and it going through some lovely old towns was a bonus. Brading on the way to Shanklin was one of those towns, the High Street is a narrow road with beautifully maintained old buildings lining it.
Brading High Street
Ryde is a seaside town on the north-east coast of the island an is a major gateway. There's a hovercraft link to Southsea (Portsmouth). (Something that surprised me I didn't think there were hovercrafts around anymore) As well there's catamaran ferry, again to Portsmouth. (Yarmouth has a ferry that goes to Lymington)
Seafront, Ryde
Hovercrafts in port.
View from Ryde Pier across the Solent to Portsmouth. The tower can be seen quite clearly.
The Isle of Wight has more to offer than what I was able to see in three days, I didn't even get to the southern coast. There are two major festivals held on the island, mid-June sees the Isle of Wight Music Festival, held over a 4 day weekend in Newport. The first week on August has the regatta known as Cowes Week, with yachts competing in a regatta out on the Solent.
There are some places I visit that I think 'one visit is enough, I've seen what I want to' and there's other than leave me with a desire to return as there's so much more to explore and experience. The Isle of Wight is one of those places and so it's on the list for a return visit.
The U.K. has so many different areas to explore, each time I visit I like to hire a car and do a road trip. On my last trip the Isle of Wight was on my itinerary. I picked up a car at Heathrow, then drove down to Portsmouth to catch the ferry across to Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight. There are other entryways to the island but I decided on using the Wightlink ferry from Portsmouth. The ferry terminal is well signposted in Portsmouth, it's easy to find and board the ferry, then at the other end, Fishbourne is quite small so again quite easy to disembark and get on your way.
I'm interested in history that relates to royals so I wanted to stay in the northern part of the island as that was closer to Osborne House. There are two main towns situated there, Cowes and Newport with lots of accomodation but I had a car and parking was an issue so I selected a B&B in Wootton Bridge, basically 5 minutes drive from the ferry terminal.
Where to stay
Ivy Hall in Wootton Bridge
Enjoyed my stay here and the owner was lovely, giving me recommendations each day on places to see, eat and discover on the island. Here's my little review of Ivy Hall.
Ivy Hall
What to see
There's more on the island than what I covered in the three days I was there, but I started with what drew me to the island in the first place, its royal connections.
Carisbrooke Castle
Osborne
I then explore further afield, my first major discovery was Shanklin. That came about just through chatting with other guests at the B&B who were planning on going there as it had been recommended to them. I loved everything about Old Shanklin as soon as I saw it. The old part of the town is 'chocolate box' pretty!
Old Shanklin Village
The Isle of Wight is known to Brits as a summer holiday destination and Shanklin has a popular beach area.
There's also the Shanklin Chine, which is a garden ravine with waterfalls and lush vegetation. Unfortunately I didn't manage to go into the ravine, but then it's important to leave something for the next visit!
The western side of the islands had a rock formation called The Needles. There's also a chairlift which takes you down to the beach where you can see the coloured sands. The needles are stacks of chalk that come out of the ocean, there's a lighthouse on the last one, which kind of spoils the view of them. (But a misty late afternoon, low sun and you practically can't see it in my photo!)
Where to eat
Gossips Cafe, Yarmouth
This was a recommendation from the B&B owner and I enjoyed the location, as it was over the water and looked out into the Solent. The food was lovely as well.
Driving around the island was quite easy (a satnav helped finding places!) and it going through some lovely old towns was a bonus. Brading on the way to Shanklin was one of those towns, the High Street is a narrow road with beautifully maintained old buildings lining it.
Ryde is a seaside town on the north-east coast of the island an is a major gateway. There's a hovercraft link to Southsea (Portsmouth). (Something that surprised me I didn't think there were hovercrafts around anymore) As well there's catamaran ferry, again to Portsmouth. (Yarmouth has a ferry that goes to Lymington)
The Isle of Wight has more to offer than what I was able to see in three days, I didn't even get to the southern coast. There are two major festivals held on the island, mid-June sees the Isle of Wight Music Festival, held over a 4 day weekend in Newport. The first week on August has the regatta known as Cowes Week, with yachts competing in a regatta out on the Solent.
There are some places I visit that I think 'one visit is enough, I've seen what I want to' and there's other than leave me with a desire to return as there's so much more to explore and experience. The Isle of Wight is one of those places and so it's on the list for a return visit.
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