Treasured island
The Official Magazine Britain|March - April 2020
Slip back in time on the Isle of Wight, whose villages have a vintage flavour and whose chalk downs and stunning coast were beloved of Queen Victoria.
NATASHA FOGES
Treasured island

It takes less than an hour to reach the Isle of Wight from the English mainland, but as you emerge from the ferry you travel back half a century. Long a favourite holiday destination for Brits, this diamond-shaped island in the Solent – some 23 miles across by 13 north to south – is a place of gentle, sedate charms; almost determinedly old-fashioned.

Closely resembling England’s south coast, the Isle of Wight has the cheerful beach resorts, quaint villages, fossil-studded cliffs, chalky downs and dramatic seascapes – but all on a miniature scale. Its unspoilt charm was officially recognised in June 2019 when the island was crowned a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: one of the world’s best places for managed landscapes, where human activity doesn’t interfere with nature. A winning combination of stunning scenery, rare wildlife and locally produced food, together with heritage sights and royal connections, make the Isle of Wight a rewarding holiday destination, reached in as little as two and a half hours from London.

Foot passenger ferries deposit you either in Ryde on the east coast or in Cowes to the north. The latter, a well-to-do town that’s awash with yachties in Cowes Week (8-15 August), is right next to the island’s biggest heritage attraction: Osborne House, the palatial holiday home from which Queen Victoria ruled an empire for over 50 years, in between dips from her own private beach.

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