SOUTH WIGHT – Restaurants & Activities
There’s plenty to see down South ! Take a good long walk at NITON – down to St Catherines Lighthouse. And stop for lunch after at one of our new summer favourites , Castlehaven – a cool rustic outdoor restaurant overlooking the sea on the southernmost tip of the Island, right near the lighthouse, with amazing creative asian fusion fresh seafood, sitting outside on relaxed wooden tables with perfect sea views. Lovely walks from there too. Or if you prefer something more tradtional, the Buddle Inn is good for a beer afterwards, with standard pub grub.
BLACKGANG CHINE is a good old fashioned theme park, with dinosaur and cowboy themes, a big waterslide and small rollercoaster. Great fun for kids, right on the cliff edge too.
The DONKEY SANCTUARY at Wroxall is a lovely little place, and has a great cafe for lunches & coffee stops.
GODSHILL is quite a touristy little village, but the model village is good and there’s some good walks from here – start behind the Griffin pub and once you get into the lofty woods look left for some great high rope swings ! Cook & Baker is a lovely contemporary coffee shop, plus the delicious and creative new Loaph café.
SANDOWN and Shanklin tend to be a bit cheap and cheerful, bucket and spade ! Although there is the Dinosaur museum at Sandown – though I have found it expensive and rather quick to pass through with children not so interested in reading about exhibits! And a lovely (stony) wild beach at Yaverland.
Sandown Pier has a traditional seaside arcade and crazy golf, indoor playcentre, outdoor amusements etc.
But along the beach is a really great little beach cafe worth a visit , with fab food, called Tradewinds Beach Cafe, at Dunroamin Beach at Lake, next to Wightwater sports, where you can hire paddle and surf boards or have a lesson – all midway between Sandown and Shanklin. And a similar cool cafe called Finns at the Sandown bay end. Shanklin also has a theatre with good local productions, especially their pantomimes.
VENTNOR has a couple of smart boutique hotels – The Royal Hotel and The Hamborough – with smart dining and great afternoon teas. The Wellington Hotel has a terrace with stunning views.
And the very beautiful restaurant with rooms called The Terrace with wine tasting and cheeseboard lunches and occasional fabulous local produce supper club style evenings.
And the best food on the Island we think – the fantastic asian-fusion seafood restaurant called Smoking Lobster, right on the seafront. And its smaller sister café and bar coming soon along the seafront….. Also try True Food Kitchen, reportedly a good copy of Smoking Lob !
VENTNOR also has a great quayside cafe overlooking the marina and fisheries, with an interesting Island shaped pool the little kids can play in while you wait ! And a fresh seafood shop right on the harbour.
Along from Ventnor by car (or you can walk all along the stunning coastal path ) is the secret Steephill Cove, a great place to clamber over the rocks and enjoy crab sandwiches from the Beach Shack there. And the renowned Botanical Gardens, incredible & rare plants right on the hillside overlooking the sea .
BONCHURCH is a cute little beachside village with lovely walks & lunches at the little Seapot cafe.
SOUTH WIGHT ACTIVITIES
BLACKGANG CHINE – DONKEY SANCTUARY – DINOSAUR MUSEUM – WIGHTWATERSPORTS – BOTANICAL GARDENS
RESTAURANTS
SMOKING LOBSTER – CASTLEHAVEN – TRADEWINDS – FINNS – THE TERRACE – TRUE FOOD KITCHEN
www.isleofwighttreehouse.com