The Isle of Wight is a British island in the English
Channel, located about four miles (6km) from the south coast of
Hampshire county. Its southern position ensures that the Isle of
Wight has a milder climate than other areas in England, making it a
popular holiday destination for sun-seekers.
Boasting relatively mild winters and a surprisingly
low annual rainfall average, the climate borders on sub-tropical
with occasional Mediterranean hints evident in the vegetation. The
weather aside, the island's natural beauty and Victorian
architecture is popular with holidaymakers, and it has been the
home of eminent Britons including Queen Victoria, acclaimed
19th-century poet Lord Alfred Tennyson, and more recently Dame
Ellen MacArthur, the record-breaking sailor.
The origin of the world's first hovercraft, and a key
player in the testing and development of Britain's space rockets,
the Isle of Wight also has a number of resorts and towns that host
thousands of visitors each year.
The most developed towns are Newport and Ryde, both
with a wide range of facilities for tourists to enjoy, and popular
seaside resorts include the towns of Sandown, Cowes, Yarmouth, and
Ventnor. These south coast resorts often top the sunlight chart for
the UK, and unsurprisingly the most popular time to visit is
summer, between June and August.
The island has an array of tourist attractions, with
everything from regal homes to dinosaur fossils, and is a popular
destination for upmarket seaside holidays from mainland England.
The international sailing centre in Cowes is a popular tourist hub,
as are the Newport Quay galleries and museums, and Sandown's
Dinosaur Isle Geological Museum.
The Ryde waterfront boasts an 800m-long pier, the
waterfalls of Shanklin Chine are an awe-inspiring sight, and
Osborne House - Queen Victoria's summer residence in Cowes - is
another excellent sightseeing attraction. The Isle of Wight
Needles, protruding chalk formations off the western coast, are
another famous feature of the island.