Isle of Wight, July 2011

Sandown

The Isle of Wight is located about two hours from the South of London. It is known because of  "Cowes Week", a week full of sailing, taking place in July every year. I spent a holiday there with my English friend Lynne. We took the ferry at Portsmouth and quickly reached the sunny island.

Shanklin

We visited beautiful seaside resorts such as Ryde, Ventnor, Shanklin and Sandown. Ryde, in the North, is the biggest town on the island with a huge variety of shops and restaurants. It's a lively place but charming at the same time. That's why we took a stroll round the town the whole day and did some shopping, with a rest for lunch and coffee break in between.

Shanklin

Ventnor, in the South, is best known in travelbooks but unfotunately very touristy, so we only had a quick look and didn't stay so long.

Shanklin and Sandown are smaller and less known, offering some nice little shops and cafés. Especially Shanklin looked very cute. I really loved the thatched roofs, which made the whole village look like a fairytale.

Shanklin Chine

We visited ''Shanklin Chine", a historic leafy gorge, first opened in 1817. We sometimes had to climb steep hills to get into the beautiful woodlands with waterfalls, rare plants and wildlife but we were rewarded with a beauty and tranquility that I'd hardly ever encountered. Even a squirrel's feeding station exists there. In addition, we had a little rest in the café and I tried the cream tea - fantastic !!!

The Needles

As Shanklin and Sandown offer a wide selection of sandy beaches, we spent much time walking there. Apart from one day, it was a week full of sunshine and reaching temperatures of up to 25 C. You can't ask for more.





The next day we went to see the "Needles" in the South West of the island: Rocks, standing in the sea with a lighthouse at its top. We took a boat trip and got very close to them. When we had finished the boat trip, my friend told me this area is known for paper weights made of glass. We had a look in the factory and I bought a beautiful one :)

Osborne House

Osborne House Park

Finally, we visited Osborne House in the North of the island, near Cowes, a place Queen Victoria had spent more time than anywhere else. I've seen many castles and manor houses in Great Britain but this place belongs to the most beautiful ones. It's not the huge park, which is definitely worth mentioning, but the way the house was furnished by Queen Victoria. Everything looked very cosy with a great passion for details - distinctively Victorian, which was of course, named after her.

This house gave me an impression of the young Victoria, which made me feel the great love and affection she felt for her husband and her children - totally different perspective to all that I'd heard before.

The Isle of Wight is a little paradise in the South coast of England.