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When visiting the Isle of Wight, whether this is for a long weekend or a couple of weeks, it isn’t uncommon for people to bring their touring caravan, motorhome or tent. Instead of booking accommodation options like a hotel or a holiday home, they will book a pitch on a campsite instead and it is fair to say that there are a number of benefits to doing so, one of the most notable that it can be a much more affordable option.   Thankfully, the Isle of Wight is fully prepared for camping holidays and alongside the many holiday parks on the island, there are also a number of brilliant traditional campsites too. No matter whether you’re wanting to be on the coast or in the countryside, there will be the perfect campsite for you. So, to help anyone who is currently looking for somewhere they can park their caravan or pitch their tent, below are some of the best campsites on the Isle of Wight.   Heathfield Camping When searching for a slightly smaller campsite, Heathfield Camping is the perfect choice. This family-run campsite is located in the rural West Wight on the outskirts of the Freshwater village and they have 75 generously spaced

        So, what is a mushroom? We have all probably heard them categorized as a fungus, but is that a plant? Actually, it’s closer to an animal but mushrooms are in ‘their own kingdom’. How strange is that, an organism which is neither a plant nor animal? It seems that the mystery doesn’t stop there. There is a lot we still don’t know about mushrooms, there are thought to be over 15,000 varieties in the UK. We know them mostly as a food and the edible mushroom is referred to as the fruit body of a macrofungi. They can also be used in manufacture of car parts and building materials, as a hallucinogenic, for medicine, in packaging and the list goes on. A specific fungus has even been discovered to be able to break down plastics in weeks rather than years which is very exciting for me. Luckily for those of us still intrigued further, IW mushrooms are here to help us understand and appreciate mushrooms even more. IW Mushrooms is based in Arreton and was set up in 2019 by Jeff Macdonald and Alex Kent. I have purchased a tray from them before and they are set up in a unit on what

More good news for Isle of Wight tourism this week, as we’re coming up prominently in searches on holiday websites. Searches for holiday destinations have shot up since the government published the proposed steps out of lockdown, with many people favouring a ‘staycation’ rather than attempting to travel abroad this summer. Devon-based holiday company Cofton Holidays found that the island featured fifth on their list of most searched holiday destinations, with southerners in cities like Brighton and Southampton being most tempted by an Island-break. Interestingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, no cities made the list of top locations searched for breaks this summer. Website Vrbo (formerly HomeAway) also reports surges in searches for Island holidays. In their list of most searched UK destinations, the Isle of Wight is at number ten. Specialists in family holidays, Vrbo surveyed more than 7,000 parents and found that beaches are top of the wish list, and that the Isle of Wight was one of the top ten destinations to find them.    

The Isle of Wight is known for being a brilliant destination for a ‘staycation’ and instead of getting on a plane and travelling thousands of miles to somewhere exotic, many are choosing to simply book a ferry to the island instead. One of the main things that makes the Isle of Wight such a popular family holiday destination is the many well-known tourist attractions that it boasts and there really is something for everyone on the island.   With spring just around the corner, you may be wondering what the Isle of Wight has to offer attraction-wise at this time of year and thankfully, it doesn’t disappoint. If you’re visiting the island this spring and you’re looking into the different things to do and starting to put together an itinerary, keep reading today. Below we have put together a list of some of the best Isle of Wight attractions to enjoy this spring.   Osborne House in East Cowes It is fair to say that Osborne House is one of the most popular Isle of Wight attractions all year round, but the mass planting of daffodils around the grounds in spring, make it a must-see at this time of year. Spring is also the best

The Isle of Wight has been voted as one of the top 25 ‘Bucket List’ staycation destinations to visit this summer by Big 7 Travel. Added to this Shanklin Beach was voted one of the UK’s top 20 beaches in a survey by WWF-UK and Sky Ocean Rescue and Freshwater Bay reached the top 30 of the UK’s most beautiful views in a poll by LNER.   With all of these recommendations for the Isle of Wight coming in, it seems likely that we will be a top destination this summer, especially as people are wanting to spend their holidays in the UK, rather than travel abroad.   Now that the country’s third, and possibly last, lockdown is coming to an end, Big 7 Travel asked their readers where they would recommend for a staycation this summer and the Isle of Wight came in at number six on the list. We were also the top island destination, with the Orkneys and Skye coming further down.   Big 7 Travel heralded the Isle of Wight as being famous for a selection of different reasons on their website:   “This island off England’s southeast coast is famous for many things, from its stunning sandy beaches to its vibrant local culture

            I first met Richard about 10 years ago when I was working at The Hambrough in Ventnor. We went up to the dairy for the day and Richard kindly gave us a tour and explained how the cheese is made. At the time the equipment was limited and everything was very manual. Richard was working pretty much every day and he had just three cheeses in the range but the business was growing at a good rate. You could see the passion in Richard and his Mum Julie was also working alongside him. It was lovely to see this small family run company in such an exciting time. Even back then, the process was almost clinical, the space immaculately clean and Richard an obvious perfectionist. Here was someone who had studied a craft and turned it into something wonderful using his passion and attention to detail. I felt it would have been easy for him to run ahead at this point and make a bigger range of cheeses or expand into other dairy products. It was great to see him focusing on creating an amazing small range where quality and consistency were paramount. I started to use the IOW blue as

When you’re planning a shopping trip with your friends, it is likely that you will think of heading to London or another big city like Manchester, but many don’t realise that the Isle of Wight is actually a brilliant place for shopping. Simply get yourself a ferry ticket and book a hotel for a couple of nights and you can easily have an amazing few days on the island making the most of not just the Isle of Wight shopping centres, but everything else it has to offer too.   If you have never been to the island before and you’re intrigued to find out more about what it can offer you shopping-wise, keep reading today. Below we have looked into two of the main reasons why the Isle of Wight is great for shopping; the big shopping centres and the smaller independent stores.   Big Isle of Wight shopping centres Here on the Isle of Wight, there are a few big shopping centres and shopping arcades that feature popular high-street chains selling a vast range of goods. You can expect to come across a number of big-name brands that you will find elsewhere in the UK and in the busier towns you will find

  We all feel a little like prisoners at the moment, unable to go out of our houses, except to exercise and shop. But did you know that the island has one of the most notorious prisons in the country, HMP Isle of Wight, which over its history has housed a number of famous prisoners?   The prison was originally three prisons, Parkhurst, Albany and Camp Hill prisons. Camp Hill was a category C low security prison, but the others were both high security prisons holding the most dangerous criminals.   Parkhurst began in 1778 as a military hospital and children's asylum and by 1838, it was a prison for children, some only ten years old! Almost 1500 boys between the ages of 12 and 18 years were sent from here to various colonies in Australia and New Zealand between 1842 and 1852. It became a prison for young male prisoners in 1863 and was known for its hard regime, including the use of leg irons.   Parkhurst became known as one of the toughest jails in the British Isles. It later housed many notable criminals, including the Richardson brothers, the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, Terrance John Clark (Mr Asia Drug Syndicate) and Reggie Kray from the Kray

When booking a family holiday in the UK, the Isle of Wight is by far one of the most popular destinations and every year, families from all over will spend a week or two exploring the island. Often, when visiting the Isle of Wight, many of these families will choose to book self-catering accommodation and it gives them the freedom to do as they please at mealtimes, without the constraints of set time frames and menus.   When opting for this type of accommodation, in order to be prepared, many parents will search for local eating establishments in advance and it goes without saying that this can take a lot of pressure off when you have lots of hungry mouths to feed. So, to help anyone who is planning a visit to the Isle of Wight, we have looked into the best family dining experiences throughout the island to save you from having to do so.   Hare and Hounds near Newport This beautiful thatched pub is everything you’d expect from a traditional style British pub and their menu doesn’t disappoint. The Hare and Hounds is known for being family friendly and they even have an outdoor play area which you can guarantee will go

Queen Victoria visited the island on various occasions before becoming queen. As a young girl she stayed at Norris Castle in East Cowes in 1831, when she was 12, and again in 1933, aged 14, with her mother. Mother and daughter visited attractions of the day around the island, including the Sand Rock Spring Hotel in Niton to take the reputed health-giving waters from the nearby chalybeate spring. Later it was renamed the Royal Sandrock Hotel for her visit, but it sadly burned down in the 1980s. The Buddle Inn Is close to the site of this former hotel. The Isle of Wight became a fashionable location to visit from the 1830s, as people escaped the smoggy cities to ‘take the air’ in seaside resorts, which became known as ‘spas’. Ventnor, on the south of the island, was one of these towns and Victoria visited here to take tea at one of the best hotels – now named the Royal Hotel in her honour. She also visited the pretty thatched (Royal) Essex Inn in Godshill, which is now Wood’s Kitchen. Victoria returned to the island with her husband and in 1845 the couple fell in love with Osborne, the estate adjacent to Norris,