A Weekend In The Isle of Wight
- Mel
- Jan 30, 2020
- 3 min read
I've only ever been to the Isle of Wight for school trips before so when it was my husbands birthday coming up (and he says has every "thing" he wants) it was time to book a "staycation" for the celebration, with the 3-year-old of course too! The Isle of Wight has so much to offer, with only a quick zip across the pond, you're there in 45 minutes and there are tons of wonderful cafes to eat lunch, coastline walks to explore and beautiful places to stay.
EXPLORE:
We took the ferry from Lymington over to Yarmouth as you get a fabulous view of the Needles and then we took a drive down to Totland Bay where we had lunch and from there followed the coast on to see The Needles. It's looked after by The National Trust so there's a lovely cafe to rest at and have a cuppa and cake with a great view over to the lighthouse. (Note: If you have a toddler, take the buggy as it's quite a long walk up to the Needles as we found out!)
- the very long walk back -
VENTNOR:
Ventnor is a beautiful seaside town nestled at the south-east side of the island. The town is full of winding slopes that take you beautifully down to the coastline.
The beach has great views and if you walk along to the far end there's a great pub called The Spyglass, perfect for Sunday lunch and a bit of live jazz.
We had a cuppa and cake at a gorgeous little cafe called Two Cooks, it's a really friendly place and you can people watch if you grab a window seat too.
LUNCH:
I chose a gorgeous beachfront pub called The Waterfront and asked for a window view, (mentioning I was surprising my hubby with a trip to the IOW in my email of course). They gave us on the best view table and even decorated it with happy birthday sprinkles and banners. We felt properly treated and the food was seriously good too. (I indulged with their scampi and chips and it didn't disappoint)
SOMETHING FOR THE KIDS:
If you want a day out for the kids I'd totally recommend a visit to Tapnell Farm Park with literally everything a kid (toddler in our case!) could want. They can run amock in the Adventure Zone, race each other in their massive Go-Kart Track and whizz along on a Zip Wire.
Our little one got happily lost in the lovely big soft play area in their Play Barn (which has 2 cafes btw and very good food) it's reasonably contained so you can grab some coffee or some food and keep an eye on them from the tables nearby.
We visited in November so it was a bit cold and rainy so we spent more time inside but do check out their massive bouncy pillows, so much fun! There's also a massive park to explore with a playground and animals to meet like Meerkats and Wallabys. (when the sun's out)
- Check out the big chairs at the entrance, great for pics! -
Tapnell Farm Park: Newport Road, Yarmouth. PO41 0YJ
Entry is £9.50 - for adults, £7.50 - for kids over 2 (you can pre-book tickets online to save 55p each)
STAY: There are so many gorgeous places to stay you're really spoilt for choice and if you go out of season (we went in early November) you can grab a really good price too).
We stayed here, (see pics below) and it was perfect for us three with a twin room for our 3-year-old and a spacious master bedroom for us. There was even a lovely little terrace outside; perfect for summertime wine in the evening.
- pics courtesy of the owner Naomi & Airbnb -
The shortest and quickest car ferry crossing is this route. Yarmouth is perfect for exploring the west half of the Island. This is the route we took - its just 40 minutes, you can take your car or go on foot and it's such a beautiful drive down that side of the island.
At just 45 minutes on the ferry, this is a good choice if you want to go on foot as the trains go to Portsmouth and are close to the ferry port too.
This is the fastest crossing on a catamaran at only 22 minutes and you can go by foot, bike or rail. (cars can't go by this route)
We used Wightlink and went from Lymington to Yarmouth in the car. Prices start from around £42 per car one way.
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