Isle of Wight
Georgian-repro style rules at this appealing harbourside inn, where mock-flock wallpaper and old, wooden furniture define comfy rooms; number 21 has slanting ceilings and prime views of the ferry quay. The snug bar and sunny terrace are good places to sample pints and pub-grub classics (mains from £10; food served 11am to 10pm).
It's an old property so the rooms are somewhat variable – ask to see a few before settling in.
20.61 MILES
One of southern England's most awe-inspiring buildings, 11th-century Winchester Cathedral boasts a fine Gothic facade, one of the longest medieval naves…
8.71 MILES
Portsmouth's blockbuster draw sees you gazing at the evocative hulk of Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, and jumping aboard Nelson's Battle of…
8.71 MILES
The raising of the 16th-century warship the Mary Rose in 1982 was an extraordinary feat of marine archaeology. The £35-million, boat-shaped museum that's…
8.68 MILES
As resplendent as she is venerable, HMS Victory was Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and the site of his famous dying words 'Kiss…
20.46 MILES
Winchester College delivers a rare chance to nosey around a prestigious English school. It was set up by William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, in 1393,…
1.48 MILES
Lemon-frosted and Italianate, Osborne House is pure Victorian pomp. Built in the 1840s at the behest of Queen Victoria, the monarch grieved here for many…
14.3 MILES
The Victorian fort complex at Wight's western tip is home to two gun emplacements where engrossing displays reveal how the site was established in 1862,…
20.5 MILES
The fantastical, crumbling remains of early-12th-century Wolvesey Castle huddle in the protective embrace of the city's walls. Completed by Henry de Blois…
1.48 MILES
Lemon-frosted and Italianate, Osborne House is pure Victorian pomp. Built in the 1840s at the behest of Queen Victoria, the monarch grieved here for many…
5.25 MILES
Charles I was imprisoned here before his execution in 1649. Today you can clamber the sturdy ramparts and play bowls on the very green the doomed monarch…
5.92 MILES
The hamlet's fascinating Maritime Museum and heritage centre chart the inlet's shipbuilding history and role in WWII, and feature immaculately preserved…
4. Isle of Wight Steam Railway
7.2 MILES
Regularly chugs the one-hour journey from Smallbrook Junction to Wootton Common.
5. HMS Alliance at the Submarine Museum
8 MILES
Taking a trip deep into the bowels of the WWII-era sub HMS Alliance is compelling, thanks to the lights, sounds and even smells used to create a sense…
8.01 MILES
Petrolheads, historians and ghost-hunters gravitate to Beaulieu (bew-lee) – a vintage car museum, stately home and tourist complex centred on a 13th…
7. Explosion, Museum of Naval Firepower
8.13 MILES
This 1771 powder magazine is packed full of ordnance tracing the story of naval munitions from gunpowder to Exocet missiles. Explosion is in Gosport, on…
8.53 MILES
The Point's characterful cobbled streets are dotted with higgledy-piggledy houses and salty sea-dog pubs, their terraces prime places to watch streams of…