Local Area Information
Cuture, events & festivals
Music events: the IOW festival (June)
Cowes Week: 1st week of August.
For a range of local activities such as horse riding, SUPing, surfing, sun loungers, paragliding, golf, bowling, coasteering and more , please check out the Yarmouth adventure activity information website.
Tennyson: If you appreciate the poetry on the doors of your bedrooms in Woodlands, why not walk the 10 minute walk to visit the former residence of Alfred Lord Tennyson who died in 1892 at Farringford House.
Carisbrooke Castle in Carisbrooke (20 minute drive).
Beaches:
There are breathtaking beaches right on our doorstep!
Freshwater Bay: 15-30 minutes walk (possible to link this with a beautiful walk over the downs) or a 5 minute drive
A easy beach to access: park in the main car park or find parking along a road nearby.
Freshwater is the place to be: the locals love meeting for daily dips off the wall here and as well as having a sweet shop, the lifeboat station has a webcam so that visitors can check out the sea state before they leave the house!
There is something for everyone: rock pools, sand, coasteering, kayaks, watching big waves splashing over the wall in strong winds and even caving at extremely low tides.
Play golf on the 18 hole golf course above the Bay.
Visit Dimbola if you are enthusiastic about photography or fancy a good tea.
Totland Bay: 15-30 minutes walk, 5 minute drive
An easy beach to access: park (roughly £6 per day) near the Waterfront Restaurant (a lovely spot for a drink on the terrace or for a meal) or park for free on the road above the restaurant (and walk down the steps.)
Pebbles on one end of the beach and sand the other.
As the waves don’t get too big here, this is a great beach for paddle-boarding and kids to splash about with snorkels and inflatables relatively safely.
Because the beach faces West, people like to light a fire at the end of the beach, cook some food or bring fish and chips from Rainbow Fish bar down in the evening.
Colwell Bay: 5 minute drive
Similar to Totland, more sand, but arguably a little busier with more beach huts. The Hut at Colwell attracts boating clientele and is a high-end seafood restaurant.
Compton Bay: 10 minute drive
Ranked in Britain’s top 10 beaches by the Telegraph!
Park at Compton Farm National trust car park (parking machine has not been in operation in 2024) if you don’t mind walking down the many steps: it is worth the reward for a cleaner, emptier beach. Alternatively park further along at the main car park for easier access to the beach.
A wild and beautiful sandy beach. Definitely one for building sandcastles or playing in the shallows/pools at low-tide if you have children.
Or if you are a budding surfer or palaeontologist, this is also your spot! If you find any fossils, be sure to take them to the Dinosaur museum, where the experts will inform you if you have any fossils of interest!
Whether you opt for a crazy low-season dip or a long mid-summer bask, you are sure to feel rejuvenated in the waters at this beach!
Yarmouth: 10 minute drive. The Sand hard beach at Yarmouth is good for locals but the ones listed above are better! However, Yarmouth is great for enjoying the River Yar: sailing, paddleboarding, picnicking, cycling.
Crabbing in Yarmouth: We have some equipment (string, stones, meat, buckets) ready for you to take the kids crabbing in Yarmouth. Please ask Jen or Thrup.
Park in the lay-by next to Yarmouth Sailing club ideally when the tide is coming in and go onto the jetty if it is not in use, or look for alternative spots. Enjoy enticing crabs onto your bait then collect them in the bucket before watching them scuttle back down into the water.
Walking:
There is a well-marked coastal path around the whole island (c. 70 miles) and many beautiful trails, bridleways and footpaths as well as the rugged downs which you can reach from your doorstep.
Nature and Bird-watching:
From Kestrels at Compton Bay to waders at Newtown Creek or hawks/falcons at the Havenstreet Falconry, there is something for all twitchers who visit the Island.
Cycling:
Whilst many road cyclists enjoy cycling the perimeter of the island, mountain bikers have the choice of some great trails and quiet roads.
Child-friendly day trips:
Please check out:
Tapnell farm
Monkey world
Black gang chine
Robin Hill
Butterfly world
Zoo
The Needles
