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Isle of Wight Travel Guide

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The Isle of Wight is a British island in the English Channel, located about 4 miles (6km) from the south coast Hampshire County. The island's natural beauty and Victorian architecture is popular with holidaymakers and it has been the home of eminent Britons including Queen Victoria, acclaimed 19th century poet Lord Alfred Tennyson, and more recently Dame Ellen MacArthur, the record-breaking sailor.

The origin of the world's first hovercraft, and a key player in the testing and development of Britain's space rockets, the Isle of Wight also has a number of resorts and towns that host hundreds of visitors each year. The most developed towns are Newport and Ryde, both with a wide range of facilities for tourists to enjoy, and popular seaside resorts include the towns of Sandown, Cowes, Yarmouth and Ventnor.

The island has an array of tourist attractions, with everything from regal homes to dinosaur fossils to see, and is a popular destination for upmarket seaside holidays from mainland England. The international sailing centre in Cowes is a popular destination, as are the Newport Quay galleries and museums, and Sandown's Dinosaur Isle Geological Museum. The Ryde waterfront boasts an 800m long pier, the waterfalls of Shanklin Chine are an awe-inspiring sight and Osborne House, Queen Victoria's summer residence in Cowes, is another excellent sightseeing destination. The Isle of Wight Needles - protruding chalk formations off the western coast - are another famous attraction.