Isle of Wight Guide
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a roughly diamond-shaped island off the south coast of England. It is separated from the county of Hampshire and the towns of Southampton and Portsmouth by The Solent.
The Isle of Wight is the largest island off the coast of England and designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
The island is known for its beaches, festivals and generally mild climate. It has been a popular resort since the Victorian age.
Mainly rural the 380 km2 island boasts attractive chalk cliffs and substantial collections of fossils and dinosaur bones.
The main towns are Cowes, Newport, Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor and Yarmouth.
Ferries from Southampton, Lymington and Portsmouth and a hovercraft from Southsea near Portsmouth to Ryde connect the Isle of Wight to the mainland of England.
History
Inhabited since the Stone Age, the Isle of Wight was occupied by Celts, Romans and later invading Jutes. The Vikings were also frequent visitors. The remains of several Roman villas have been excavated on the island, the most famous being Brading Roman Villa.
During the Norman period of English history, the Isle of Wight, came under the control of a Norman "Lord of the Isle of Wight" and the stone Carisbrooke Castle was constructed.
The site of Carisbrooke Castle has probably been occupied since pre-Roman times. The site became an Anglo-Saxon stronghold during the 8th century. Around 1000 AD, a wall was built around the hill in order to defend against Viking raids. Between 1066 and 1086, William FitzOsbern was granted the Isle of Wight, and he probably built the first castle to secure the island for the Normans.
Protecting the southern coast of England as it does, the island has always been strategically important. The coast was fortified by Henry VIII and later in the mid-19th century the Needles Batteries and Fort Victoria were built to protect against any threat of invasion.
Attractions
The island's many attractions include The Needles rock formation, Carisbrooke Castle and the Tennyson Memorial.
Famous long and short-term residents included the poets Swinburne, Keats and Tennyson as well as Queen Victoria herself, who grieved for her husband here after his death.
Charles Dickens wrote much of David Copperfield on the Isle of Wight and the pioneering Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, a friend of Tennyson, lived at Dimbola Lodge near Yarmouth for many years. The French Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot also painted on the island.
The Needles
The Needles are a row of tall, pointy chalk cliffs that are located off the coast of the Isle of Wight. They are the Isle of Wight’s most iconic and popular tourist attraction.
The cliff called Lot's Wife which gave the Needles their name, being the only needle-shaped rock in the row, collapsed in a storm in 1764, but the name has stuck ever since.
Due to the popularity of the Needles as a tourist attraction, a small amusement park was opened at Alum Bay, where the Needles are located, as well as a chair lift that allows a better view of the Needles than you can get from the headland.
Also located on the headland are the Needles Old Battery, the Needles New Battery, and the High Down Rocket Testing Site. The Old Battery was built between 1861-63, designed to defend against enemy ships.
The New Battery was then built after there were concerns that the firing of the guns from the Old Battery was causing the cliffs below to crumble. The New Battery was built further up the cliffs and was completed in 1985. Both of the buildings are Grade II listed buildings.
Carisbrooke Castle
Historic Carisbrooke Castle is located in the village of Carisbrooke, near Newport. King Charles I was imprisoned at Carisbrooke Castle in the months leading up to his trial and subsequent execution in 1649.
A museum on the premises describes how he tried to escape from the castle in 1648, but was unable to get through the bars of his window. After his death, his two youngest children were confined in Carisbrooke Castle, and Princess Elizabeth died there.
The visitor to the castle can climb the seventy-one steps leading up to the keep which commands a fine view. Domestic buildings, which are mostly from the 13th century, occupy the centre of the castle enclosure. Some of these buildings are in ruins, but the main rooms served as the official residence of the Governor of the Isle of Wight until the 1940s, and they are in good repair. Rooms open to the public include the Great Hall, Great Chamber, and several smaller rooms.
Tennyson Memorial
At the top of Tennyson Down at 147 meters above sea level, stands a huge granite cross, the Tennyson Memorial, commemorating the life of the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. Tennyson Down itself is a hill at the western end of the Isle of Wight near Totland. The poet Lord Tennyson lived nearby at Farringdon House for nearly 40 years.
Tennyson Down is part of a chalk ridge that ends with The Needles. The Down is owned and managed by the National Trust.
Osborne House
Osborne House in East Cowes is a royal residence built for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert from 1845-1851. Prince Albert designed the house himself in Italianate palazzo style. After the death of her husband, Victoria spent much of her time here and died at the house in 1901. English Heritage maintains the building, parts of which are open to the public including the magnificent State Rooms and more intimate Family Rooms. Visitors can visit the Queen's private beach, Osborne Beach, and her bathing machine. The Swiss Cottage was where the nine royal princes and princesses would play. Wandering the ornate gardens is also a delight and there are splendid views out to sea.
Dinosaur Isle
Dinosaur Isle in Sandown opened in 2001 and has 40,000 specimens from nearly 200 types of dinosaur. It is Britain's first purpose built dinosaur museum and is constructed in the shape of a giant pterosaur.
There are life-size replicas of such dinosaurs as as Hypsilophodon, Iguanodon, and Polacanthus as well as dinosaur skeletons. All in all, it's a fun day out with the kids.
Isle of Wight Steam Railway
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway runs a scenic five and a half miles from Smallbrook Junction to Wootton Station, through the pleasant village of Havenstreet. Altogether the heritage railway has four stations at Wootton, Havenstreet, Ashey and Smallbrook Junction. The Train Story Discovery Centre, museum and workshops are all at the 1940's Havenstreet Station.
Ventnor Botanical Garden
The pretty resort of Ventnor lies at the foot of St Boniface Down, the highest point on the island. Ventnor Botanical Garden on the Undercliff is home to over 6,000 species of plants on 22 acres including giant echiums, eucalyptus trees, puya from South America, magnolias and Britain's oldest palm trees.
Cowes Week
Cowes Week takes place in the waters of Solent in late July/August ever year and was first held in 1826. One of the largest regattas in the world, 100's of boats take part in races with social events taking place on shore. Near the end of the week is a fun firework festival.
Ryde Pier
Ryde Pier is the world's oldest seaside pleasure pier. It first opened way back in 1814. Ryde Pier Head Station is at the (sea) end of the pier and connects with Wightlink fast catamaran ferries to Portsmouth. At the land end of the pier is Ryde Esplanade Station. Both stations are on the Island Line to Shanklin on the east coast.
Quarr Abbey
Quarr Abbey (the Abbey of Our Lady of Quarr) is a functioning Benedictine abbey dating from the early 20th century. The brick building was built by French Benedictines close to the site of an earlier Medieval abbey. The architect was one of the monks, Dom Paul Bellot (1876-1944) and its architecture is much admired. The community maintains a tea shop and farm shop and offers monastic internships for young men.
Brading Roman Villa
Brading Roman Villa is one of the finest Roman sites in the country. Visitors can see a number of mosaics among the ruins including one featuring a cockerel-headed figure. The modern Exhibition and Visitor Centre encloses the site. A reconstructed Roman garden has also been planted in the grounds with plants and herbs that would have been grown during Roman times.
Festivals
The Isle of Wight is famous for its many and varied festivals. For popular music lovers the Isle of Wight Festival dates back to the 1960s with the 1970 festival featuring Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and Jethro Tull a legendary event.
An estimated half a million people may have attended and a worried government pulled the plug until the festival was revived in 2002. The event takes place at Seaclose Park recreation ground just outside Newport usually in June but will be held in September in 2021.
Bestival was held on the Isle of Wight from 2004 until 2017 and now takes place at the Lulworth Estate in Dorset.
Other music festivals on the island are the 4-day Wight Proms at Northwood House, Cowes in August combining classical music, comedy and theatre and Jack up the Summer, a retro music festival, held on North Fairlee Farm in Newport also in August. Rhythm Tree in July is a family-friendly music festival in Calbourne.
Ventnor Fringe Festival in late July attracts artists from all over the country and is a big hit with families with children.
For vintage car enthusiasts, the Isle of Wight Classic Car Extravaganza takes place on the Esplanade in Ryde in early September and draws historic vehicles from all over the country and even Europe. Over the August Bank Holiday Weekend, Sandown Airport hosts the Isle of Wight International Scooter Rally with DJs and bands adding to the excitement.
Walkers and hikers can enjoy the Isle of Wight Challenge and Walk the Wight with Mountbatten. The former is an endurance event and the latter a series of more graded walks. Both are part of the Isle of Wight Walking Festival usually held in May. Walk the Wight is the longest walk crossing the entire island from Bembridge in the east, via Carisbrooke to The Needles in the west.
The Round the Island Race is another yachting event held in early June and a prelude to Cowes Week.
Access - Getting To The Isle of Wight
Air
The nearest airport is Southampton Airport. The U1C bus runs daily between the airport to Southampton University, the city centre and the Waterfront.
Southampton Airport Parkway Station is right at the airport with trains to Waterloo Station in London (70 minutes), Winchester, Bournemouth and Reading.
Southampton Airport Airport
Southampton Airport (SOU) has connecting flights to Alderney, Aberdeen, Durham/Tees Valley, Chambery (winter ski season), Edinburgh, Geneva, Glasgow, Guernsey, Innsbruck (winter only), Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester Airport, Newcastle, Stavanger, Stornoway, and Wick.
Overseas destinations in Europe departing from Southampton Airport include Alicante, Amsterdam, Avignon, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Brest, Brussels, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Faro, Frankfurt, Hanover, La Rochelle, Malaga, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-CDG and Rennes.
Ferry
Wightlink Ferries has regular passenger ferries from Portsmouth to Ryde. It also operates car ferries from Portsmouth to Fishbourne and Lymington to Yarmouth. wightlink.co.uk
Hovertravel has hovercraft services for foot passengers between Southsea and Ryde. hovertravel.co.uk
Red Funnel has car ferries between Southampton and East Cowes as well as high-speed passenger-only boats from Southampton to West Cowes.
Island Line
The Island Line railway connects Pier Head Station in Ryde with Shanklin on the east coast. There are stops at Ryde Esplanade, Ryde St John's Road, Smallbrook Junction, Brading, Sandown, Lake and Shanklin.
At Smallbrook Junction the Island Line connects with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
There are typically two trains an hour in each direction with fewer services in the evening. The complete journey takes about 25 minutes.
Buses
Ryde Bus Station is the main hub for buses to other destinations on the island. Southern Vectis (islandbuses.info) operates bus services to both the more populated eastern part of the Isle of Wight as well as to towns in the west. There are 24 and 48 hour bus tickets available as well as Nightrider tickets for unlimited travel between 7 pm and 7 am.
Car
Both Ryde and Cowes are good places on the Isle of Wight to hire a car.
Accommodation
Cowes, Newport, Ryde, Sandown and Shanklin offer the most accommodation options.
Some recommended places to stay on the Isle of Wight include The Leconfield in Ventnor, Shoreside Inn, 2.7 km from Sandown Beach, Villa Rothsay Hotel in Cowes, Sentry Mead Hotel in Totland, The Havelock in Shanklin and The George Hotel in Yarmouth.
See here for a complete listing of accommodation on the Isle of Wight.
Southwest England Related
Isle of Wight Map
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