Last weekend, I went on a glorious weekend away…to the Isle of Wight? Wait! What? Yes, you heard me. I didn’t go on a long group tour away to some long distance country. I stayed in the UK and had a cracking weekend. Probably the best weekend away I’ve had in a long time.
Firstly, I wasn’t planning on writing a blog post about this getaway. Secondly, you can probably tell now that this post is definitely not sponsored and I’m just bigging up this amazing little island purely because I just want to share this little treasure with you all.
This was a planned visit for a wedding and if it wasn’t for this joyous occasion, I wouldn’t have found my own little love island. No Caroline Flack, villa or hunky male models included (even though I’m quite sad about that last one).
Let me get one thing straight though. I did know the Isle of Wight existed but I would probably never have gone if I wasn’t invited for a wedding. Which now quite saddens me because now I really want to go back and want to plan my next visit (with my camera this time).
It’s such a quaint little weekend away and perfect for us Londoners. Sometimes, you really need to get out of the big city and going to somewhere like the Isle of Wight is perfect to get away from it all.
Here’s some reasons why you should visit the Isle of Wight (and why I need to go back) on your next weekend away:
NOT AS FAR AS YOU THINK
Not exactly a hop, skip and a jump away, but it’s not as complicated as I originally thought. From London, we got a 2 hour (ish) train down to Portsmouth where the time easily passed with a Netflix film on my downloads.
Then, we got a ferry from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight. I originally thought this would be a complicated process but it was super easy. The WightLink is connected to the train station and has a nice lounge area with a Costa Coffee shop to sit in while you wait for the next ferry crossing. You can also opt to drive across and take a car ferry which is a different type of ticket.
The ferry is about 30-40 minutes which is nothing really and then you’re straight onto the island to start your holiday.
EXPLORING THE ISLAND
The Isle of Wight isn’t as big as you think and it’s a stone throw to the other side (slightly over-exaggerating there but you get what I mean). You can drive from one side of the island to the other in about 30 minutes. There’s also public transportation aka the good olde bus or taxis you can grab.
This island has incredible cliff views and great beaches. Hitting the shore line or the coast is a must while you are there. I was slightly on the rough side when it came to exploring the island during my stay (wedding hangover) and is one of the reasons I really want to go back with my decent camera. Lots of photos to be taken in the future.
You can easily get around the best parts of the Island in a weekend. No need to use up your annual leave. Even better.
MORNING ISLANDERS
When you come from the big city, everyone can seem pretty….grumpy. Can you blame them? The big smoke isn’t always a chipper place. Horrendous traffic, the ghastly underground, pollution…tourists. So many tourists.
The Isle of Wight is like entering another world. It’s so quiet and peaceful. There’s not many residents either and there’s quite a lot of hilly farmland too.
The residents are also very friendly and helpful. People were actually saying “Hello” to us as we walked by. If you did that in London, you’d get some right funny looks. Like my mum whenever she comes to visit. So embarrassing.
CHEAP AS CHIPS
My sister thought she’d lost her hearing when she went to order a drink one of the bars. £3.40 for a vodka coke? I’m sorry that can’t be right? But it is. Island prices! Were not in London anymore…Drink up!
Everything on the island is cheap or reasonably priced. Well that’s going by London standards. I am Northern after all so I felt like I was back at our local instead of paying extortionate London prices.
We had some decent meals while we were there. We did end up eating out a lot but even the nice places were quite reasonable for our pockets.
LIFE’S A BEACH
As a seaside baby, I felt pretty at home in a seaside resort. Fish’n’chip shops, ice cream shops, a good promenade. Makes me miss home. There are several beaches around the Island for you to choose from, including Shaklin, Sandown, Ventnor or Ryde.
Like I said before, you don’t have to just pick one because you can visit all of them within a weekend if you wanted. Don’t forget to grab a Fish’n’chips and an ice cream too. Wouldn’t be a beach holiday without one.
CUTEST ACCOMMODATION
Like any location you visit, there’s a lot of hotels to choose from. The Isle of Wight is no different but you’ll find castles and cottages more to suit your stay instead of fancy modern franchised hotels.
We stayed in the cutest Airbnb called the Kia Rosa which was just around the corner from the wedding venue. The host was really lovely and friendly, who even left us some food/snacks on arrival. It really made our experience better by staying in a home rather than a hotel but chose what suits you.
Honestly, I can’t wait to go back to Isle of Wight. One of my favourite trips I’ve been on in the UK!
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HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ISLE OF WIGHT? WHAT WERE YOUR HIGHLIGHTS? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS.
