Isle of Wight - worth it?

[Thingy]

As the heading says, is a day trip with car to the Isle of Wight worth the effort?

Just looking for things to do and see from New Forest. We have done Beaulieu and all the obvious ones last time.

On the list is Historic Dockyard again.......
Porchester Castle.
Bucklers Hard.

 

[Thingy]

Urgh
Posted in wrong section again. This smart phone isnt.

 

[emmerson]

The island is worth a visit, but you won't do much in one day. We've visited twice now with the Caravan Club special, ferry and five nights for about £130.

 

[Gafferbill]

I agree with emmerson ........ this is the best way to visit the Island for a caravanner.

If you are going to Portsmouth then you might want to add this to your list........worth going up there for the views over the city and IOW alone

 

[saint-spoon]

I agree with those above regarding the Island, more than a day trip but if you are just going for a day then you could do a lot worse than going as foot passengers taking a hovercraft from Southsea to Ryde and then the train from Ryde down to Shanklin.
Fort Nelson as recommended by GB is a good visit (and free I believe).
If you like the historic Dockyard than can I recommend the submarine museum as a much smaller but still pretty decent place to visit.

 

[LizziePope]

If you're heading to Portsmouth and want great views, try the Spinnaker Tower or go up Portsdown Hill (the latter is, of course, free!).

Buckler's Hard is well worth a trip, as are Highcliffe Castle and Bosham.

 

[saint-spoon]

If you're heading to Portsmouth and want great views, try the Spinnaker Tower or go up Portsdown Hill (the latter is, of course, free!).

Buckler's Hard is well worth a trip, as are Highcliffe Castle and Bosham.

Fort Nelson is on top of Portsdown hill and I believe that this is free admission.

 

[Damian]

The Island has a lot to see and do, but would take more than one day.

There is Osborne House and grounds, the tour around the house takes about an hour or so then there is the grounds which are extensive, as well as Swiss Cottage.

Carisbrooke Castle is another couple of hours or so to visit, it held King Charles 1st prior to his execution.

Havenstreet Railway is another good place to go, and if time permits a ride on a steam train.

Then there is the Needles and Alum Bay (think Coloured Sands) and the pleasure park and glass studio.

Ventnor Botanical Gardens are another nice place to visit. They have a sub tropical microclimate in that location s a different variety of plants and flowers normally found.

That's just a few places, but with travel will take time to get to, and with Island roads as they are, longer than a similar distance on the mainland.

Like most tourist areas it depends when you are thinking of coming over.

 

[Gagakev]

The Island has a lot to see and do, but would take more than one day.

That's just a few places, but with travel will take time to get to, and with Island roads as they are, longer than a similar distance on the mainland.

Is that to dodge all the pot holes Damien, :lol:
Or have they fixed them since the last time we were there, (about 4 years ago)

 

[Damian]

Quote " Is that to dodge all the pot holes Damien "

Ermmmmm......... well its not quite as bad in the places they have resurfaced but still plenty to dodge in others.

The PFI team doing the roads now think it good to leave raised ironworks for days whilst they decide where to resurface first, but at least they put squiggly white lines around the manhole covers so you know where to swerve !!!!

They tend to do all the work at night, so in the dead of night when all is supposed to be quiet all you can hear for miles is the bleeping of reverse sirens on the lorries and the gentle roar of the big machinery !!!

 

[brian_c]

In my opinion the Isle of Wight is a wonderful location to spend an holiday. I think a one day visit would perhaps not give a proper impression.
With regards to the Portsmouth area I visited last year for a week and found out that the dockyard attractions could be covered by buying an All Attractions Ticket.
For me as a Senior the cost was £23 however this was a considerable saving over paying for individual entry to the attractions. Furthermore the ticket lasts for an whole year so with the exception of special events and bank holidays you can re-use it as often as you like.
I booked my ticket over the Internet and have a copy on my phone this is all you need to show when entering the attractions.
A contact number I have is 023 9283 9766
Or look up historicdockyard.co.uk on the Internet.

Everyone has different opinions of the attractions but whilst I thoroughly enjoyed each one I was really impressed with the restoration of HMS Warrior and I could have gone around the Submarine HMS Alliance ten times and not become tired.

Bill also recommended Fort Nelson Which when I visited was free entry and really Good.
Best wishes to all Brian

 

[Thingy]

With regards to the dockyard HMS Victory has always grabbed my soul, ever since my first visit as a child. Warrior wasnt there then. We went on Warrior last year and i was amazed to find much of its ironwork was made at Butterley Engineering in Derbyshire. Butterley was a well known heavy engineering works. One of their last projects was the Falkirk Wheel. Sadly its all gone and nothing to wven mark its passing.

 

[Thingy]

Decision made. Gonna do the island in October. Went to Fort Nelson today. I found it excellent but im fairly clued up on the guns. For somebody less so they may have found it lacking in information. For me though, i thoroughly enjoyed it.