 |
The Isle of Wight has appealed to generations of holiday-makers who come from all over Britain to enjoy its genial climate and its benign scenery. The pleasures and thrills of its sailing are described by the famous yachtsman and designer Uffa Fox, and Ralph Wightman tells of the pleasant peaceful life of the farms and villages aand the relics of British history to be found among them.
16mm & 35mm
All the large towns of the island are on the coast with the exception of Newport, the capital, which is right in the centre. Nearby stands Carisbrooke Castle where, at the end of the Civil War, Charles I was held prisoner. The navigable waters of the broad Medina connect Newport with Cowes, foremost yachting port of Great Britain. As eary as 1814 an Isle of Wight Regatta was held; now Cowes Week and the Round the Island Race are established events in the yachting calendar. Many famous people have made Wight their home. From 1853 until 1868 Tennyson lived at Farringford House, close to Freshwater, and from its windows looked out on to the downs which now bear its name. Keats and Swinburne loved the island too. Osborne House at East Cowes was the favourite residence of Queen Victoria, and from it she attended services at Whippingham Church - designed by the Prince Consort. It was on the Isle of Wight that the Queen ended her "sixty-three glorious years" in 1901. HOW TO GET THERE A fast train from London (Waterloo) takes only 95 minutes to reach Portsmouth Harbour and the connecting British Railways ferry-boat ties up at Ryde Pier head after a half-hour crossing. There are more than a dozen of these through services from London every day. On saturdays during the summer months the number is increased to twenty-five. For motorists there are regular car-ferries from Portsmouth (Broad Street Slipway) to Fishbourne and from the little Hampshire town of Lymington to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. Refreshment buffets, fully licensed bars and saloon accommodation are provided on all the vessels. WHERE TO STAY Full lists of holiday accommodation from luxury hotels to private "board and lodging" will be found in the British Railways Holiday Haunts No.5 (the official British Railways guide) entitled "Southern England (Kent to Cornwall) and the Channel Islands" which has pages of pictures and descriptions of the resorts, down to the very smallest. It cots one and sixpence and can be purchased from any bookseller or railway bookstall. Or, if you have already decided which resort you are going to visit, the Publicity Department of the Local Council will be very pleased to send you any information you need. HOW TO GET ABOUT While you are there, an excellent and extraordinarily cheap way of getting about is to take a railway Runabout Ticket. With one of these tickets, which cost 8s 6d (children half price), you can make as many trips as you like by the Island's railways for six full days. The local station will tell you about them. A network of bus services covering the whole of the Isle of Wight is provided by the Southern Vectis Omnibus Co. Ltd. Full details can be obtained from the head office in Nelson Road, Newport, IOW or from the local enquiry offices at Newport (19 St. James Square), Cowes, Ryde, Shanklin and Ventnor. INFORMATION A card to the British Railways Travel Centre, Lower Regent Street, London SW1, will bring you any information you may like to have about travel arrangemnets.
Osborne
Carisbrooke
The island is only small: twenty-three miles long and fifteen miles wide, but it has a surprising variety of beauty. To the north, creeks and inlets stab the coastline; to the south, chalk downs fall abruptly into the English Channel. The western half of the island is rural while the eastern half is quite populous.
Alum Bay
Ventnor