What To Do On The Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight has so much to offer holidaymakers this summer. 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 – Mottistone Gardens, 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. A new West Wight Heritage Trail has just been launched (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) 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!
The following Island attractions are all open:
Needles Breezer & Island Coaster open top buses, Needles Landmark Attraction, Isle of Wight Steam Railway, Haven Falconry, The Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, Monkey Haven, Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary, Ventnor Botanic Garden, Shanklin Chine, Quarr Abbey, Arreton Barns, Garlic Farm, Isle of Wight Pearl, West Wight Alpacas, Goodleaf Tree Climbing, Brading Marshes, Godshill Model Village, Tapnell Farm Park, Robin Hill & Blackgang Chine, Arreton Barns, Amazon World, Dinosaur Isle, Farringford (gardens only this season), Fort Victoria Country Park (inc Reptilarium, Island Planetarium – reopens 3 Aug advanced bookings only, Fort Victoria Museum & Shop), The Model Village Godshill, Rosemary Vineyard, Ever Green Sculpture Garden.
National Trust – Countryside, car parks and outdoor spaces all open, The Needles Old Battery (parade ground, toilets & tea room only open), New Battery (closed this season), Newtown Old Town Hall (closed this season), Bembridge Windmill (pre-booked tours only), Mottistone Gardens (open), Bembridge Fort (closed this season), Newtown National Nature Reserve (open except main bird hide), 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 (gardens, ground floor only not upper floors or Swiss Cottage, cafe & shop open – advance booking), Carisbrooke Castle (open – advance booking), Yarmouth Castle (open), Appuldurcombe House (open – free), St Catherine’s Oratory (open – free).
Eating & drinking
Pubs and restaurants are now able to offer indoor as well as outdoor dining and takeaways – see Visit Isle of Wight Eat & Drink for examples of local Island produce on offer.
Isle of Wight Festival will now take place 16-19 Sep 2021. Many of the acts from 2020 have been rescheduled – highlights include Liam Gallagher, Tom Jones, James, Becky Hill, Snow Patrol, David Guetta, Sam Fender, James Arthur, Duran Duran, The Script, Supergrass, All Saints, Lightning Seeds, Roachford, The Script, Primal Scream, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Scouting for Girls & Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
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.
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. If you are travelling to the Newport area during your stay we recommend the use of e-taxi, the Island’s first electric taxi service.
All 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 (re-opening 3 Aug) and Vectis Astronomical Society are useful resources if you want to learn more and attend Stargazing evenings (currently suspended). 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:
