What To Do On The Isle of Wight
Enjoy winter outdoors on the Isle of Wight. Amble along our spectacular coastline and enjoy magnificent views from St Catherine’s lighthouse all the way to the famous Needles. Delight in our unspoilt beaches – you may even see white tailed eagles! Relish our outdoor attractions – Ventnor Botanic Garden and Quarr Abbey provide a perfect escape and enjoy the wide open spaces of Tennyson Down and The Needles. Around half of the Island is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – sandstone and chalk cliffs cut by wooded “chines”, sandy bays, chalk downland, arable farmland, heathland, salt marsh, mud flats and creeks. What a perfect way to holiday overseas but within easy reach of home!
Walking
With a spectacular coastline, rolling hills, green countryside, historic buildings & welcoming pubs, the island makes a great location to explore on foot. Try the West Wight Heritage Trail (leaflets available in the cottages and tourism centres). You can also visit the Slow Wight Travel Guide and Isle of Wight National Trust which have some great downloadable walks – as well as a map and full directions the trails include information on local history, nature or wildlife. Beautifully illustrated trail maps are also available from Gift to Nature.
Please take care and follow the Countryside Code.
Cycling
Visit Isle of Wight and Wightlink have excellent downloadable cycle routes and cycle hire information. You can hire bicycles (including electric bikes) from Wight Cycle Hire (will deliver free to our Isle of Wight holiday cottages, closed until Easter 2022) or from Brighstone Newsagents. You can store bicycles in the garages or outhouses of most of our Isle of Wight holiday cottages – please ask if you want to do this.
Isle of Wight know before you go!
Visit Isle of Wight’s know before you go lists businesses which have implemented extensive measures to protect your health and wellbeing while here on the Island – just look out for the green tick!
Many of our Island attractions are now closed until Easter 2022 so please check online. Summary below:
Needles Landmark Attraction (outdoor attractions closed until Easter 2022), Isle of Wight Steam Railway (23 Jan The Last Train – celebrating 51 years of the last train from Newport), Haven Falconry, The Wildheart Animal Sanctuary (closed for refurbishment until 1 Feb), Monkey Haven (closed until Feb half term), Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary, Ventnor Botanic Garden, Shanklin Chine (closed until Easter 2022), Quarr Abbey, Arreton Barns, Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight Pearl, West Wight Alpacas, Goodleaf Tree Climbing (closed until Easter 2022), Brading Marshes, Godshill Model Village (closed until Easter 2022), Tapnell Farm Park (30 Jan Frosty Fun with Elsa & Anna), Robin Hill (closed until February 2022), Blackgang Chine (closed until Easter 2022), Arreton Barns (shops & pub open), Amazon World, Dinosaur Isle (4 Jan – 31 Mar open Tue – Sat), Farringford (closed until Spring 2022), Fort Victoria Country Park (Cafe Verdi, Museum & Shop, Reptilarium closed until 14 Feb, Island Planetarium – advanced bookings only), Dimbola Museum (open 27 Dec – 2 Jan), Rosemary Vineyard (closed Jan & Feb 2022), Ever Green Sculpture Garden (closed until Spring 2022).
National Trust – Countryside, car parks and outdoor spaces all open, The Needles Old Battery (tea room open 26 Dec – 3 Jan), New Battery (closed until 16 Apr 2022), Newtown Old Town Hall (closed), Bembridge Windmill (closed until 12 Apr 2022), Mottistone Gardens (closed until 5 Mar 2022), Bembridge Fort (closed this season), Newtown National Nature Reserve (open – next bird walk 26 Feb), St Helens Duver (open), Needles Headland & Tennyson Down (open), Compton Bay & Downs (open), Chillerton Down (open), St Catherine’s Down (open), Ventnor Down (open), Borthwood Copse (open).
English Heritage – Osborne House (open other than nursery & table deckers room; 27 Nov – 2 Jan Christmas Aventure Quest), Carisbrooke Castle (open winter weekends only), Yarmouth Castle (closed until April 2022), Appuldurcombe House (open – free), St Catherine’s Oratory (open – free).
Eating & drinking
As we head into winter some pubs and restaurants will close and all are still subject to closure at short notice because of staff absences. We recommend you check online and book in advance – see Visit Isle of Wight Eat & Drink for examples of local Island produce on offer.
Isle of Wight Festival 2022. Headliners are: Lewis Capaldi, Lionel Richie, Kasabian, Pete Tong, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Muse, Blossoms, Rudimental, Tom Grennan + Sigrid, Craig David, The Vaccines, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Shaggy, Happy Mondays, UB40, The Proclaimers, The Coral, Freya Ridings, Heather Small, The Kooks and many more.
Keep the Isle of Wight green!
We offer incentives for our Isle of Wight holiday cottage guests – from free maps, walking and cycling guides to free foot passenger ferry travel, 5% off electric car rental and 5% off cottage rental if travelling to or around the Island without a car – see each cottage for details. Electric vehicle charging point planned for 2 The Granary soon.
Have a look at all the useful information on Visit Isle of Wight’s dedicated Green Travel page. The page includes information about the Green Star scheme and the Slow Travel guide – both of which provide plenty of practical information and inspiring itineraries for car free days out.
Download or ask for a leaflet on how to get to the Isle of Wight by train, coach & bus – this includes a great map of the British rail network and guidance when you reach the ports. If you have an electric car you can download the list of Electric Vehicle Charging Points or use Zap Map. EV taxis available from e-taxi and Go Taxi.
Our cottages have achieved Gold Awards in the Visit Isle of Wight Green Star Scheme.
Isle of Wight Dark Skies
The Isle of Wight has some of the darkest skies in the UK, which helped the Island secure UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status. Visit Isle of Wight has a brilliant dark skies page on the website showing best spots for an astronomical night out. The Island Planetarium and Vectis Astronomical Society are useful resources if you want to learn more and attend Stargazing evenings. Our Isle of Wight holiday cottages are well placed to do stargazing from the garden – some of our regular guests already bring their telescopes! This Lunar calendar is useful for choosing the best time to visit for a dark sky experience!
Catch the bus
The Southern Vectis bus stops are in easy reach of our Isle of Wight holiday cottages so jump on board and have a car-free day out. Places which are easy to get to from our Isle of Wight holiday cottages include Carisbrooke Castle, The Needles, Alum Bay, Newport, Yarmouth, Farringford House / Dimbola Lodge / Freshwater Bay , Compton Bay, Colwell Bay, and Totland Bay. Visit Southern Vectis and FYT bus for more information.
Isle of Wight holiday cottage “What’s On”
For more information on the island, places to visit and the latest events for our Isle of Wight holiday cottage guests we recommend:
