Cowes
The heart of British yachting: marinas, yacht racing to watch and lovely independent shops. Walk the seafront on to Gurnard — a green, beach huts and the newly updated Woodvale pub.
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A curated guide
The Isle of Wight
Coastal beauty, family adventures, heritage and outstanding food — our own favourite places to see, dine and explore, area by area.
Right on our doorstep
Nearby essentials
- Shops
- Wootton High Street: mini Tesco (open till 11pm), Lloyds pharmacy and Majestic Wine. Briddlesford Farm Shop is just 5 minutes away.
- Restaurants
- Cibo in Wootton (treehouse vibe, brunch, Mediterranean with a twist, good vegan options); The Folly on the riverside (nautical family pub); The Fishbourne Inn (garden and Solent views); Prego in East Cowes (wood-fired pizza, Italian classics).
- Takeaways
- Wootton High Street: Jade Garden Chinese, Taste of India, and fish & chips.
- Cashpoints
- At the Central shop on the crossroads into Wootton, or at the mini Tesco on Wootton High Street.
North Wight
Our home patch — yachting towns, river walks and royal history, all a few minutes from the woods.
East Cowes & Osborne House
Queen Victoria’s home — her bedroom, the state rooms, the Swiss Cottage and her original bathing hut on the beach, now with a café. Waitrose and the Red Funnel ferry are here too.
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Wootton & the river
Cibo on the High Street shares our treehouse vibe. Down a lane nearby, The Folly Inn has riverside walks in both directions; Island Harbour has The Cockle overlooking the marina.
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Quarr Abbey
A working abbey with extensive gardens, a homegrown café and produce shop, tours and services in the chapel.
Visit websiteEast Wight
Huge sandy beaches, seaside villages, harbours and watersports.
Ryde
A Victorian town with great new shops on the lower High Street (Crocus, Beachcomber). A huge golden, shallow beach with play parks, kitesurfing and Goodleaf tree climbing. Walk on to Puckpool and the bohemian Dell Café. Go-karting, golf and the £4 Commodore cinema.
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Nunwell Farm
A wonderful farm shop and breweries, plus Braai — an atmospheric wood-fired barbecue restaurant in a big open barn.
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Seaview
A quintessential English seaside village. Crab ramekin at the Seaview Hotel, or drinks on the seafront at The Old Fort.
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St Helens
The Duver’s sand dunes and beach with the Baywatch café; 33 St Helens and Sage tearoom on the green; Tackt-isle watersports for canoeing, paddleboarding and sailing.
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Bembridge
Beach walks, a pretty harbour and lifeboat station, The Best Dressed Crab, No 8 deli — and a Slomo sauna with ice bath (open all year) at the chilled out The Point beachside hangout, next to the sailing club.
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Over to the mainland
Hovercraft from Ryde in 8 minutes, or the FastCat to Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard and Gunwharf Quays outlet shopping.
Visit websiteCentral Wight
Castles, farm shops, steam trains and the Island’s best adventure park — mostly right on our doorstep.
Newport
The main town — everything you need, if nothing terribly exciting. Chain shops and supermarkets, Cineworld, Medina sports centre and theatre, the Snakes & Ladders board-game café, and Quay Arts gallery and café on the river.
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Robin Hill
Near us and newly updated: exciting countryside adventure park. Toboggan run, treetop rope walk, underground tunnels and mini diggers — a full day out. Evening light shows in autumn and winter, and the excellent Smokehouse restaurant.
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Carisbrooke Castle
Battlements to climb, staged battles and special events. Good walks nearby, and The Blacksmiths pub.
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Farm shops
Briddlesford Farm Shop and Bluebell Café very near us — amazing bread and meat. Arreton’s artisan shops, and the upmarket Harvey Browns deli, butcher and café.
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Animals & riding
Island Riding Centre and Island Monkey Haven near Wootton; Butterfly World and Amazon World.
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Island Steam Railway
Chug from Wootton to Smallbrook — gorgeous and relaxing — and visit the yard at Havenstreet.
Visit websiteSouth Wight
Dramatic cliffs, secret coves and some of the best food on the Island.
Ventnor
Our pick for the best food on the Island: The Smoking Lobster and The Drunken Lobster. Boutique hotels (The Royal, The Hamborough), The Wellington’s terrace, The Terrace for wine tastings, and the Botanic Garden.
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Steephill Cove
Walk the coastal path from Ventnor to this secret cove — clamber over the rocks and eat crab sandwiches from the Beach Shack and The Crab Shed.
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Niton & St Catherine’s
A long walk down to the lighthouse, a beer at the Buddle Inn, and Castlehaven — a rustic outdoor restaurant with creative Asian-fusion seafood.
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Blackgang Chine
A good old-fashioned clifftop theme park — dinosaurs, pirates and cowboys, a big water slide and a small rollercoaster. Best for under-12s.
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Godshill & Bonchurch
Godshill’s model village and woodland rope swings, Cook & Baker and Loaph café. Bonchurch is a cute beachside village with the Seapot café.
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Sandown & Shanklin
Cheap and cheerful bucket-and-spade. Dinosaur Isle museum, the pier, Yaverland’s wild beach, and Tradewinds and Finns beach cafés beside Wightwater Sports.
Visit websiteWest Wight
The Needles, the downs, the best beaches for swimming and surfing.
Yarmouth
A lovely old harbour town with great restaurants, including the very cool George Hotel with garden, On The Rocks (cook on a hot stone), The Terrace’s heated pods, Off the Rails at the old station and the cosy Red Lion. Bikes and e-bikes from Wight Cycle Hire.
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The Needles & Alum Bay
Walk to the Old Battery (National Trust) for wartime tunnels and spectacular views. Alum Bay has the chairlift, beach and seasonal RIB rides.
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Headon Warren, Totland
One of our favourite walks — dramatic views across the Solent, then a cream tea at Warren Farm. Alpaca treks nearby.
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Colwell Bay
Sandy and great for swimming, with the hip beach restaurant The Hut (booking essential). Walk — or swim — to Totland Bay.
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Freshwater & Tennyson Down
Walks over the downs, the Piano Café, The Albion on the seawall, coasteering and kayaking.
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Tapnell Farm
A very nicely done farm park with play barn, pet area, climbing wall, football golf, shooting, aqua park, slomo sauna area and the lovely Cow Co restaurant in a barn.
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Compton Bay
The Island’s best surfing beach, with an ice-cream van and a wood-fired pizza van some evenings. Dinosaur footprints in the rocks.
Visit websiteAnd just in case — rainy days
- Escape rooms — The Lost Crypt (Ryde) or Random Rooms (Newport)
- Bowling on Ryde seafront
- The Commodore cinema in Ryde (£4 a ticket) or Cineworld, Newport
- Tapnell Farm indoor play, animal barn, padel & pickleball
- Snakes & Ladders board-game café, Newport
- Amazon World indoor rainforest zoo, Arreton
- Jolly Roger’s indoor play, Newport — the best for younger kids
- Magic Island soft play and the pier, Sandown
- Swimming at Medina (Newport) or The Heights (Sandown)
- Medina Theatre, Shanklin Theatre and Quay Arts
Tip: pick up the County Press — the Island’s newspaper lists everything that’s on.
Mini photos of the Island’s places are freely licensed images from Wikimedia Commons.