Neither of us remembered going to Isle of Wight before, and Lynn really wanted to visit Osborne House, so booked ourselves on a week holiday to….. yes, you guessed…. the Isle of Wight
Saturday 26th May
Left home at 10:20am, in plenty of time to arrive half hour before our 12:30pm Ferry to Fishbourne. Unfortunately the M3 was horrendous traffic and was a slight worry to get there on time, but M27 was clear so we arrived at the expected midday time…. only to find the ferries were running half hour late anyway 
Once on the Island, found the apartment in Ryde easily enough and was very nice. The owners had provided tea, coffee, milk and bread but more importantly we are situated right on the sea front and had wonderful view over the sea to the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. The weather was wonderfully hot and sunny as well, so all looking well for a great holiday
Once unpacked, we went to Tesco and bought a load of supplies to make us feel at home, then went out for a walk along the Promenade and had our first Ice Cream
Was very hot and sunny, but quite windy. After a quick explore of the town, ended up at the local chippy and had chips for tea, sitting on a park bench. After another walk along the front, we were worn out already so back to the apartment to ascent the stairs to the top floor
Sunday 27th May
Up for breakfast about 8:30am, which is a little earlier than at home !
Greased up for the planned day on the beach as it’s blazing hot and sunny again, getting on beach by 10am. Not so windy today, so very hot. Back to apartment for welcome lunch break and watched Monaco GP as well
Back for another sunbathing session around 3pm until Ice Cream time then back to apartment for shower and change before going on quest to find our dinner. As Lynn fancied Sunday Roast, ended up in Weatherspoon’s pub. Needed another walk after to wear off the large portions
Monday 28th May
Up 8:30am and on Beach by 10am again, as it’s Sunny and Hot !
Lynn got a bit sun weary by lunchtime, so had to sit in shade and have nice cup of tea, before walking back for our lunch.
Did go out for another session in the afternoon, although sat on grass in the shade rather than on the beach this time.
Had another walk as its getting a bit windier towards 5pm then back to get ready for our dinner. Went to Joe’s in Union Street. Waitress was efficient, but kitchen wasn’t as 40min wait for food despite not many people in the restaurant ! Also the seasonal veg was a bit disappointing, which was a shame as the main meal itself was very good & fresh.
Tuesday 29th May
Woke up to another sunny day. Had decided to go to Osborne House today. Got there about 10:30am and went round house first, was very busy with tourists but impressive place to see. Walked around the garden and had lunch in the gardens at the Swiss Cottage. After a nice cup of tea in the tea room there, walked back to see the walled garden.
Went on to East Cowes and walked round. Not much there to see, so had Cream Tea and even I felt a bit sick after
Had to have a walk around to wear off some of the excess, then back via Tesco again, as decided to eat in tonight, needing something light to eat after all that clotted cream
Happily I still got to play in Black Belt Poker league game tonight, coming second out of 113 players so worth the effort
Wednesday 20th May
Woke up to fog horns ! Looks like will get brighter but looking out the window, can hardly see the beach across the road…
Luckily today is our “Island Attractions” day, so are planning to take in as many touristy spots as we can.
Started out 10am heading for Goddards Brewery but SatNav malfunctioned and were heading down an unmade road with no confidence in where we were heading, so turned back and headed for our 2nd planned stop, the Lifeboat station at Bembridge. Sadly, the road closures thwarted us this time so abandoned and headed for Brading instead… hoping the town hasn’t moved or closed or something (the way our luck seemed to be going!) Happily we got there safely, depite more SatNav issues and went to the Lilliput Antique Dolls & Toys Museum. We did have trouble finding a Tea Room, so had our coffee in one of the pubs
Having rebooted the SatNav, seems to be working OK now, so managed to get to Sandown Esplanade and had our packed lunch.
Was spitting slightly so sat in shelter on the sea front, but was getting sunny again by the time we’d finished. Then had walk along high street before moving onto Shanklin.
Went along the Esplanade then worked our way along the High Street where you couldn’t move for Tea Shops, so seemed like a good time to have Tea and Cake
After walking along the High Street, went onto Ventnor. This followed a familiar pattern of walking along the Esplanade, then finding the High Street…. this time having Ice Cream.
Next stop was the Isle of Wight Glass studio. Had to go down unmade road and was a bit worried about my ground clearance and tyres in several places, but made it there by 4:30pm The glass blowing itself had stopped at 4pm and the shop was tiny and didn’t seem to have much in it, so really wasn’t worth the bother in the end
On the way back to Ryde, we did stop off in Godshill and as luck would have it, Chocolate Island was still open
Everything else was shut, so headed back… stopping off for Dinner at Flemming Arms pub in Binstead. Was decent enough meal and good value.
Thursday 31st May
Woke up to cloudy but warm and bright day. Plan is “Steam and Shop” day today
Out at 9:45am, with our first stop the Railway Heritage Museum Spent a pleasant morning riding up and down the train line on a steam train, then had our packed lunch at the picnic tables in the station grounds.
Ended up skipping Newport shopping and instead popped into Military History Museum on way to Cowes. Walked all round Cowes and got bit worn out!
Stopped off for lovely meal in GastroPub “The Fishbourne” at Fishbourne (right by the Ferry Terminal)
Friday 1st June
As it’s our last day, I wanted to have a relaxing day with no driving, so planned a “Lounging Locally” day
Woke up late, not even getting breakfast until 11am!!
Went for walk up Ryde High Street, actually for the first time with the shops open ! Had our lunch on the sea front, but as it started looking like rain, went back to the apartment for cup of tea
Put car into car wash as was filthy (mostly due to me not washing it since about last September
Was lovely and clean when picked it up, so went for walk along coast and had celebratory cup of tea. Ended up at “Long John Eater” as I fancied Ham, egg & Chips (which was very nice)
Saturday 2nd June
We were meant to be out the room by 10am and on 11am Ferry, so up nice and early to breakfast, pack and go. Got let onto the 10:30am Ferry, so nice easy journey home.
It’s always nice to get home after being away, but was a little sad as we both had a lovely time. I think we would go back for another holiday in the future, as lots to see and do… even if it’s just laying on the beach and lazing around.
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