Isle of Wight

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Overview

On the Isle of Wight these days there's something groovy in the air. For decades this slab of rock anchored off Portsmouth was a magnet for family holidays, and it still has seaside kitsch by the bucket and spade. But now the proms and amusement arcades are framed by pockets of pure funkiness. A long-running music festival draws party-goers, just-caught seafood is served in kooky fishers' cafes, and cool camping rules – here sites are dotted with yurts and vintage campervans. Yet still the isle's principal appeal remains: a mild climate, myriad outdoorsy activities and a 25-mile shore lined with beaches, dramatic white cliffs and tranquil sand dunes.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Needles Old & New Battery

Isle of Wight

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,…

Osborne House

Isle of Wight

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…

Brading Roman Villa

Isle of Wight

The exquisitely preserved mosaics here (including a famous cockerel-headed man) make this one of the finest Romano-British sites in the UK. Wooden…

St Helens Duver

Isle of Wight

At this idyllic sand-and-shingle spit bordering the mouth of the River Yar, trails snake past swathes of sea pink, marram grass and rare clovers. It's…

St Catherine's Lighthouse

Isle of Wight

A crenellated 19th-century navigational aid that marks the island's southernmost point. Tours climb the 90-odd steps up to the lantern room, revealing…

Carisbrooke Castle

Isle of Wight

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…