Isle Of Wight - What’S To Do There?

Smowball | 14:05 Fri 18th Oct 2019 | ChatterBank

49 Answers

Anybody ever been to the Isle of Wight? What’s it like? What’s there to see/do? Mr Smow has a week off in December and he randomly suggested it but I know absolutely nothing about the place.

Board Games Please

It Looks Like A Long Night.

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237SJ

That might not be anything to do with flying though.

237SJ

I`ve seen an awful lot of medical situations over the years but at the very least, I would say at 10% (probably less than that) are exacerbated by flying. Still, Google is a wonderful thing.

Mamyalynne

It may well be enough to unnerve someone.

I'm sure Smow will explain if it's anything different.

Hope you find somewhere nice for a break Smow.

237SJ

Yes, forgive me as what do I know?

Canary42

Yes, I often pop over to the Isle of Wight (mainly in the summer). There are a lot of attractions there. Here are a few I have visited together with my opinions (and winter opening details where I can find them).

Sandown and Shanklin - lovely sandy seaside resorts in the summer - extremely bleak in the winter.

Ventnor - another seaside resort, small beach not very sandy, but it tends to be a bit milder being on the south coast and has some interesting Botanic Gardens (open all year). The town is on a very steep hillside. It boasts a tiny harbour built mainly of the large granite rocks which are now so popular round the UK coastline, mainly used for fishing boats. Also a paddling pool with an island replica of IOW in the middle - be a bit nippy in December (it may even be drained in the winter)

There are several small beaches along the south coast with lots of sand, and possibility of fossil finds – erosion however is rampant so watch the cliffs.

Sandown Zoo - awful

The Needles - the headland is closed in the winter

Roman Villa @ Newport - very small

Roman Villa @ Brading - much better (not impressed with restaurant there)

Garlic Farm - lots of garlic items in shop, restaurant very popular (but a bit pricey)

Freshwater Bay - bleak but attractive bay (very cold in December, and not a lot to do except admire the coast/sea, it’s close to ...

... Dimbola Lodge. A small museum/galleries of photography mainly dedicated to Julia Margaret Cameron, but other exhibitions are held there. A small cafe. See website for December opening hours to appear later! http://www.dimbola.co.uk/visitor-information/

Newport – the island capital - quite a lively little town, not far from...

...Carisbrook Castle - Charles I went to the gallows from here. You can walk round the battlements, and visit the chapel. Weekends only in Winter.

Yarmouth - a tiny port/yacht haven, ferry destination from Lymington. The home of Yarmouth Castle - very small, not very interesting, best bit is small terrace overlooking the Solent. Weekends only in winter.

Osborne House. Queen Victoria's island residence. Large grounds/gardens, but the jewel is the House which is magnificent.

Steam Railway - very limited opening in December (Xmas specials), but worth a visit and an interesting museum with restorations on view. See website https://www.iwsteamrailway.co.uk/opening-times.aspx

Godshill Model Village. This really is one of the best such places I've visited, and is very well maintained. It seems to be closed in the winter. https://www.modelvillagegodshill.co.uk

Donkey Sanctuary @ Wroxall. OK if this takes your fancy - several fields/paddocks containing rescued donkeys. Seems to be open all the year.

Word Limit approaching – to be continued

Canary42

Ryde. A nice sandy beach but the town is a dump (but there is a tiny little museum of Donald McGill postcards with most of his prolific output on display - on the walls and the ceiling!). The ferry terminus from Portsmouth for catamaran and hovercraft. The former docks at the end of a very long pier, which can be very uncomfortable in winter (but you can catch a refurbished Tube Train into the island to Sandown and Shanklin). The latter comes right up on the beach obviously (at low tide after crossing a wide expanse of mud/sand)

Fishbourne. Car Ferry terminus from Portsmouth, nothing else going for it.

Cowes. Ferry destination from Southampton. The top yachting place in Summer, with a wide esplanade and some quaint streets of shops but decidedly uninviting in Winter. There is a chain-driven car ferry across the Medina River which cuts Cowes in two - but beware of the fairly new ferry which is notoriously unreliable, it's frequently breaking down, and cars are damaged on disembarking if you're not careful. Cowes also boasts a Boat Museum which currently has sites on both sides of the river but I believe there are plans to amalgamate them.

The island is renowned for Walking - lots of reasonably signposted footpaths which can be very peaceful, and give wonderful views.

There are quite a few children-oriented attractions (Blackgang Chine, Robin Hill Adventure Park, Alpaca farm, etc) of which I have no experience, but I would imagine winter opening is likely to be restricted.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Try this website for much more But IOW does target itself towards summer family holidays, but as you will have gathered (hopefully) is not devoid of other interests. A December visit however may well put you off the place, especially if the weather is bad (high winds at times cause cancellation of the hovercraft).

Personally I love the place, but it can be expensive - ferry charges from the mainland are exorbitant, especially the car ferries (Wightlink from Portsmouth and Lymington, Red Funnel from Southampton) and once over there admission prices soon mount up. I usually use the pedestrian catamaran from Portsmouth, then use my free bus pass on the island – the place is quite well served by the local bus company. They do daily/weekly run-about tickets for the younger folk who don’t have free passes ;-)

This report doesn’t cover all the attractions, I would advise you to explore the website https://www.visitisleofwight.co.uk for further material.

Hope this helps.