The charming Isle of Wight

To celebrate the long weekend we headed off the south coast to the Isle of Wight for a brilliant night away from the city. A twentyish minute ferry from Southampton, the Isle of Wight is home to fantastic beaches, pretty decent weather and picture postcard villages - we could have stayed longer there was so much to see!

We arrived on a beautifully sunny day and enjoyed a great pub lunch in the sun. As we caught a bus across the island to the seaside town we were staying at we passed through the most gorgeous fudge box town - Godshill - where the sun shone done on their many afternoon tea houses with huge garden areas.

While on the Isle of Wight we enjoyed many a fudge, ice cream, fish n chips, coffee and cake! There were a couple of piers to explore, an open top bus, general relaxation and nice beaches! The perfect holiday.

If you mixed rural England with coastal New Zealand you’d probably end up with something like the Isle of Wight.

Life is just a little bit slower on England’s largest island, it’s clean and relatively unpolluted and you’re still able to take your pick of countless fantastic pubs. The weather is decidedly mixed, just like on the mainland, but the beaches are considerably nicer.

After a brief visit to Southampton we caught the ferry across, arriving in time for lunch. It’s hard to believe you can go from sprawling metropolis to relaxing sea-side village so quickly. The weather in London was average at best, but it was gorgeous out on the island.

After a wicked plate of fish and chips, we walked around the quaint little village of Cowes. We had some locally made ice cream – I had a scoop of white chocolate and chilli and a scoop of custard flavour, Nic had pink grapefruit and gin – and then caught the bus to Shanklin, where we were staying.

We dropped off our bag and then set off on an open-air bus trip. I’m not sure it was quite warm enough for that but it was the same price as a normal bus ticket and it was a good way to see more of the island.

That night we struggled a little bit to find something to eat because although it was a Saturday, most of the pubs stopped serving food at 8pm. Talk about small town!

The next day we stopped in at Redhill for afternoon tea – chocolate chip scones and a hot chocolate – and then it was back to London. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Here are some Isle of Wight pics !