Isle of Wight Favorites

  Dimbola Lodge August 2006
by budapest8
 
  • Dimbola Lodge August 2006
      Dimbola Lodge August 2006
    by budapest8
  • Dimbola Lodge opening hours
      Dimbola Lodge opening hours
    by budapest8
  • Dimbola Lodge
      Dimbola Lodge
    by budapest8
  • Close to Brook Bay West Wight
      Close to Brook Bay West Wight
    by budapest8
  • Towards Brook Bay
      Towards Brook Bay
    by budapest8
 

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Godshill Isle of Wight

by budapest8

Thousands of visitors flock to Godshill every summer to see the thatched cottages and the many attractions for a village as small as Godshill. The prettiest part is the church which sits on a small hillock above the village and is well worth a visit. According to legend, the original foundations were laid in a flat, easy accessible site but every morning they were found transferred to the hillock, so the builders gave in and built it there. The church dates back to the 14th century and has a unique feature known as the Lily Cross, a wall painting which was whitewashed over then rediscovered in Victorian times. The picture is of Christ crucified on a lily. Around the church is a cluster of stone and thatch cottages with their own history, the Old Bell Cottage was once a pub. The history of Godshill is tied up with Appuldurcombe and the Worsley family. The mansion can be found in the next...

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Godshill Isle of Wight

by budapest8

The origin of the name Godshill supposedly results from the foundations of the church being moved from the bottom to the top of the hill on three occasions whilst it was being built. This was taken to be a sign from God that the church should be built on the hill, hence the name Godshill. It is now considered one of the prettiest villages on the Island with its thatched cottage and is the home to several tea rooms.

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West Wight beaches

by budapest8

Brook Bay BeachBrook BayBrighstonePO30 4HQA sandy beach famous for the remains of a prehistoric pine forest that can be seen at low tide. Eagle-eyed bathers should also keep an eye out for fossils in the surrounding cliffs. Coming here as a child with my 2 sisters usually a Sunday when my dad took the day off.Spending the best part of theday on the beach and exploring.

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Island Brewing

by LouiseTopp

Distilling alcohol on the Island goes back to the last millennium when ale houses made their own beer. From around 1600 distilleries were built to dish up more than one outlet. An Island businessman, Jermyn Richards, ran one such brewery in Brading & sold beer to the flotilla of ships easily available via the harbour. 200 years later, in the 1800's there were seven breweries which incorporated Shanklin Brewery, Eagle Brewery of Ryde, Sprakes brewery of Chale Green & Castle Brewery Sandown. One of the largest was started by the Mew family in Newport, centrally positioned to serve most of the Island. Later, Mew-Langtons became famed for their canned drinks. Towards the end of the 19th century, the neighbourhood brewery Mew-Langtons created a radical way of keeping beer - they invented screw-top cans instead of the more usual bottles. The Mew-Langton brewery placed in Newport, was in an...

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Isle of Wight in October

by GypsyBessie

Many visitors to the IOW return year after year as it is such a pleasant and pretty island. The weather is usually very good even if it is not on the mainland. I felt very relaxed and "chilled out" when we stayed there and it is so easy to get around the island by car or public transport. There are numerous tourist attractions and also off the beaten track beauty spots to visit. We would love to return at some stage in the future. I think my best memory of the island was our visit to Shanklyn by train from where we were based in Ryde. It is only a short journey and then we just wandered around the village and walked through the Chine down to the beach and sea.

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Alum Bay

by mht_in_la

Alum Bay is famous for its colored sandy cliffs. I wasn't too impressed by the beach. Well, I live in southern California so I must be biased. The spot is only a short walk away from the Needles, so visitors to the Needles usually see both.

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Freshwater Bay

by mht_in_la

My hike across Tennyson Down ended in Freshwater Bay. The photo was taken in the Freshwater Bay bus stop where I waited for the bus to take me around the island and back to Cowes. As shown in photo, white cliffs can be seen in Freshwater Bay, Tennyson Down, and many areas in southeast England, not too different from Dover.

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Newport Town

by Tolik

The beautiful and historic town of Newport is situated in the center of the Island and is its principal town, center of commerce and most popular shopping center. You can stroll pleasant old quays (dating from its days as an inland port). Newport has 2 elegant squares and many fine Georgian and Victorian houses. On the picture - the impressive colonnaded Guildhall; it was designed by famous architect John Nash and built in 1816. The clock tower was added in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. To experience more Newport history, I would recommend to visit Roman Villa (3rd century AD).

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Quarr Abbey

by Tolik

Quar Abbey is a monastery, the home of Benedictine monks. The abbey was founded in 1132, but now little remains of the old premises. In 1907 a new abbey was founded just west of the ruins. The imposing abbey church was completed in 1912 by the French monk-architect Dom Paul Bellot and is the most important building in the monastery. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Quarr and has been inspiration to artists , students of architecture and ordinary visitors alike.

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Godshill Church

by Tolik

Godshill Church, standing on its ancient hill, with the huddle of thatched cottages nestling at its foot, is one of the loveliest of English village scenes, and therefore one of the most visited, photographed and painted by people from all over the world. The present church, the 4th on the site, dates from the early 14th century.Church is popularly known as “The Church of the Lily Cross” because of the unique mural on the East wall of the South transept. It shows a large figure of Our Lord crucified on a triple-branched flowering lily, the Lily Cross, symbolic of his purity and sinlessness. Mural is dated about 1450. Legend has it that when Christian missionaries had won converts to the place, they began to build a church on a level about a mile to the south of the present village. On 3 successive occasions at night, the stones were removed to the site of the present church. The...

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Questions and Answers

northeast80 profile photo

Q:  Hi All Has anyone ever cycled round the Isle of Wight? I've found a few routes and wondered if anyone had any suggestions. We... 

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A: IOW is a brilliant place to explore and especially out of school holiday season. I don't think it matters which way round you go as it is a circle and sooner or later you... 

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