 Holidays
don’t have to been about strict schedules
and structured days out, sometimes it’s simply
nice to enjoy doing nothing in particular! Here
are few tasters of things to do (or not to do)
while taking a ‘break’ on the Isle
of Wight.
Simply hangout…
Yep… do nothing! Lose the pessimistic attitude
and stop counting down the days until you have to
return home, you don’t have to cram everything into
the week, the great thing about Island life is that
although we are far removed from the hustle and bustle
of the south east we are still only a few miles off
the coast, so if you can’t fit it in come back
another time. So hanging out… strolling around
Cowes on a sunny afternoon, ice-creams on Sandown
Promenade, tea at Ventnor Botanic Gardens, skimming
stones at Freshwater Bay, laying in a field, reading
a book (Alain de Botton’s
The Art of Travel is a good choice) in the shade
or simply people watching on Ryde Pier, these are
things that are guaranteed to send you home refreshed
and inspired.
Watch the
sun set over the sea…
Sunsets on the Island can be incredibly spectacular,
the diversity of landscapes all with close proximity
create dramatic foregrounds, the Channel and Solent
provide the centre piece and the mainland lights
and distant horizons complete the perfect picture
postcard. Top locations are Alum Bay, Totland Bay,
Fort Victoria and Gurnard.
Fires on the beach at Compton…
The west coast of the Island is preferable, pick
a warm evening, pack-up some food for the BBQ (fresh
fish is a must ), tune up the guitar, grab a case
of beers, a few good friends and head-off for a memorable
experience. To me this is what life’s about!
Please remember to remove all your rubbish when you
leave…we always take a rubbish bag and clean
up as we go along, this way you won’t find
yourself scratching around in the moonlight trying
to find your empties!
Picnics on
the Downs…
Pick a sunny day…well they all are on the
Island (!), shoot through to the Farmers Market,
pick-up some bread, cheeses, cold meats and some
of Erica Oulton’s
chutneys and preserves and head off to one of the
Island’s
major stretches of downland. St Catherine’s
Down is a personal favourite, look for a wide-open
space, preferably off the main trails, sit down,
eat loads, have a snooze, read a little and well
that’s
it! Again please take all your rubbish away with
you, and if possible recycle it!
 Strolling
along the Yar (either)…
The East Yar spring is at Whitwell and unwinds over
14 miles before it reaches the coast at Bembridge,
you can spend the day and tackle the full length
or simply choose a small section and see where you
end up! The West Yar is much shorter; it pops up
at Freshwater Bay (strangely only about 30 meters
from the sea) and makes its way 4 miles down to Yarmouth.
A the first section covers Afton Nature Reserve and
then you pick up the old railway line which meanders
its way down to Yarmouth.
Walk aimlessly
in the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty…
Well its pretty damn hard not too!! Over 50% of the
Island is designated Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty (AONB), so wherever you are staying there
is always some breathtaking relief just around the
corner. Some weekends I love to simply head off along
the Tennyson Trail and see where I end up? No plan,
no place to be, no time restraints, this way you
can discover some of the gems the heart of the Island
has to offer, even having lived on the Island for
23 of my 26 years I’m
still finding great locations and new places to explore.
Open
Your Eyes…
On the drabbest 60s housing estate or in the faded
glamour of the seaside resort there are constant
icons and images surrounding us, although for most
these go un-noticed as we pass by. Take some time
to absorb the world around you; the redundant beachside
café,
the pealing paint of the deco hotel and the rooting
piles of the Victorian pier, once the height of 20th
century glamour, now an empty space of forgotten memories.
Simply let your imagination take control.
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Dinosaur
Isle
Dinosaur Isle is the UK's first purpose built dinosaur museum. Located on
Culver Parade and designed in the shape of a giant pterodactyl, the new museum
displays over 1000 of the best fossils from the Islands collections... |
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