Isle of Wight

Travel and Tourist Information

ABOVE: Cowes, Isle of Wight.

The Isle of Wight lies just two miles off the southeastern coast of England, across a narrow stretch of water called the Solent. Nigel Calder described the relationship between the larger island and its offspring in his landmark book, The English Channel:

Wight used to be part of the mainland. Running in front of Hampshire and the next county, Dorset, the block of uplifted land barred the way to rivers trying to reach the sea. The rivers turned east and escaped through the gap between Selsey and the eastern tip of Wight. The Solent, the water between Wight and the mainland, began as an estuary, and it still looks like a river mouth as we sail towards it.

Aside from any geological interest, the Isle of Wight has much to offer travelers who seek a very English style of relaxation. It has a little of everything: castles, nature walks, sandy beaches, seaside resorts, Victorian architecture, gardens, thatch-roofed cottages, fishing villages, sailboat regattas, angling, cycling, dinosaur fossils, shipwrecks, a steam railroad, and events that range from a marathon to a Garlic Festival. What it doesn't have is the glitter you'd find on the Côte d'Azur or the prices you'd encounter in Palm Beach.

In short, the Isle of Wight is a cozy sort of place: an island that the English visit with school groups when they're young, with their children when they become parents, and with retirement in mind as they approach old age.

Using this Web guide

On the following pages, you'll find links to dozens of tourism sites from the Isle of Wight. To start exploring, go to the next page or use the navigation table below.

Next page: Tourist information, photos

 

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