"She thinks of nothing but the Isle of Wight, and she calls it 'The Island' as if there were no other island in the world"
Jane Austen - Mansfield Park
The Isle of Wight is situated just off the South Coast of England in the English Channel, south of the county of Hampshire and is separated from the mainland Britain by the Solent. Regular passenger and passenger/car ferry services operate across the Solent by 5 main routes of various lengths/crossing times.
For information on forthcoming events click on the yachts.
Popular since Georgian and Victorian times as a holiday resort, the Isle of Wight is known for its outstanding natural beauty, its fossils, its history and for its world-famous sailing based in Cowes. (Cowes Harbour Web Cam)The Island regularly has more sunshine than most of southern England.
The island has a rich history including its own brief status as a nominally independent kingdom in the fifteenth century. The Island was called Vectis by the Romans who built many villas including those at Brading and Newport. King Charles 1st was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle in the 17th Century before his trial for treason and beheading in Whitehall in 1649.
In the 19th Century the Island was home to the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson; Queen Victoria and Prince Albert built their much-loved summer marine residence at Osborne House near East Cowes. Where the Queen led, the nobility and court followed making the Island a popular desitination for summer holidays and second homes for the first time. Many large seaside villas populate the resort towns around the coast. The Queen died there in 1901. The Island's maritime and industrial history encompasses boat building, sail making, the manufacture of flying boats, the world's first hovercraft and the testing and development of Britain's space rockets. It is home to the recently-revived Isle of Wight Festival, which, in 1970, was one of the largest rock music events ever held and to other annual music events such as the Bestival The Island has some exceptional wildlife and is one of the last British bastions of survival for the endangered Red Squirrel and is also one of the richest fossil locations for dinosaurs in Europe. The absence of grey squirrels and no breedng populations of wild deer aids the growth of trees and the Island's many woodlands provide a safe haven for doormice, squirrels and less threatened species.
Click on the Isle of Wight County Press logo below for all the Island's latest news:
The Isle of Wight has in the past been part of Hampshire; however, it became an independent administrative county in 1890. In 1974 it was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county. At high tide The Island is the smallest ceremonial county in England (if the City of London is excluded), but its land area at low tide is larger than that of Rutland, normally thought of as Britain's smallest county. With a single Member of Parliament and 132,731 permanent residents according to the 2001 census, it is also the most populated Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom.
The Island is a Unitary Authority administered by the Isle of Wight Council. The police are part of Hampshire Constabulary. The Fire and Rescue Service is Island based. As well as sailing the Island is a popular venue for many water sports and other activities including: kite and windsurfing; walking; paragliding; hang-gliding; kayaking; rowing; water skiiing; riding; hunting and beagling (within the law) and mountain biking.
Click on the weather icon for the Island's 5 day BBC weather forecast.
For tide times click on the images below:
Team and other sports thrive with an excellent Cricket Academy, Rugby (including Junior/Mini Rugby)and Football Clubs local cricket and the Carl Prean table tennis centre. There are several public swimming pools and miles of sandy beaches around the coast. Sea anglers are spoiled for choice with many sites for shore and beach fishing as well as accessible wrecks and of course boats for mackerel fishing charter.
