“If you’re lucky whilst out walking you may catch sight of some of the Island’s rarer wild flowers – some are so rare, like the Wood Calamint, that the only place in Britain where they can be found is here on the Isle of Wight.

“It occurs in one valley in the chalk and just grows on one sunny bank. It was discovered by the eminent Victorian botanist, Dr William Bromfield, who covered the whole Island and wrote Flora Vectensis,” said Colin.

“He discovered it as being new to Britain and it still grows there today although in much smaller quantities,” he explained. “Many years ago Woolworths had a picture of it on their carrier bags.

“Our rarer flowers are quite showy,” he continued. “Field Cow-Wheat grows around the Ventnor area and was quite a serious weed of the wheat fields as it would contaminate the crop and workers would pull it out by hand.

“Now it’s confined to a few sunny banks at the wildlife trust reserve at St Lawrence and it’s out through July and August.

“The Pyramid orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) is found across the downs from Culver to Freshwater and it’s also found in cemeteries on the Chalk such as Mount Joy (behind Carisbrooke Castle). Because it does so well it was voted the County flower by Plant Life about six years ago,” said Colin.

“Cemeteries are good places to look for wild flowers as they are often left to grow. The reason for this is that the cemeteries were traditionally taken from farmers’ fields and haven’t been changed.

“The meadows at Newtown are full of flowers and there you can find the Corky-Fruited Water-Dropwort. It’s quite common with us but  found mostly in central southern England. It’s also found with Dyers Greenweed, a dwarf yellow broom that was used for dying cloth.

“Meadows and salt marshes like those at Newtown, St Helens and Yarmouth are the place to go to see Sea Lavender, a nice showy plant, and Knapweed has purple heads and is tallish, and so good for bees.

“Also Ventnor Down and Headon Warren are good places to see all the different heath flowers and the dwarf gorse that is in flower with the heathers. The other thing to see on Ventnor Down are the bilberries,” added Colin.

“Early flowering Gentian flowers on chalk down land and is only found on the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire and Dorset and we get a lot of it over here,” he explained.

“If you go to the Duver at St Helens look for the tiny blue flowers called Autumn Squills that flower in August and September – it’s the only place in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight where they grow. They look like miniature bluebells and are also found on the cliff tops of Devon and Cornwall.

“By and large we’ve been quite fortunate as most of the plants that Victorian botanists found are still with us. You can also see the exotic plants that escape from gardens like the succulents and echiums,” said Colin.

‘These thrive because it’s warm and sheltered and it adds character to the Island. The cliff walk from Sandown to Shanklin is good for this – you see a lot of exotic plants that have escaped from gardens.

“Red Valerian is a particularly prolific garden escapee. Insects love it as it is a good source of nectar and in Ventnor it has been named ‘Ventnor Pride’ as it grows on the cliffs. But when it grows on walls it can do a lot of damage – at Quarr Abbey it has caused considerable damage to the medieval ruins.

But Colin also wanted to warn our readers. “Harm is done by digging things up and trampling them down, so keep to the paths in the meadows,” he stressed. And, of course, it is an offence to dig up rare wild flowering plants, or indeed any plant from land where you do not have permission.

Dr Colin Pope is Ecology Officer for the IW Council, making sure that the council takes nature conservation into account. He is a very keen botanist and keeps a data base of all Isle of Wight plants, flowering plants, lichens and fungi as well as working closely with the Natural History Society www.iwnhas.org

Here’s our take on the top 5 places for a staytaste-ion…

Vintage – The Royal

The Royal Hotel is Ventnor’s Ritz, it’s one of the Island’s oldest (built in 1832), biggest (53 bedrooms), and most distinguished hotels (it’s one of only 30 to be listed in every Michelin Guide since it was first published in 1911).

Tasteful and elegant, and unashamedly old fashioned, the Royal is like stepping back in time, whilst still benefiting from all the luxuries you’d except of an AA 4 star hotel. On the food front you will not be disappointed – the hotel made it into the 2012 Good Food Guide for its ‘refined dining in an elegant setting’. Make sure you sample their high tea too – tiny delicious sandwiches, delectable cakes and of course scones.

Checkout The Royal Hotel for accommodation offers.

Classic – The George

The George in Yarmouth has been welcoming visitors from across the Solent for over 200 years. Built in 1668 this stunning 17 bedroom hotel is co-owned by John Illsley of Dire Straits.

With classic decor and furnishings on the inside – this hotel is all about location – with stunning views looking out over the Solent towards the New Forest. The rooms are all individually decorated and full of warmth and character – enjoy the sumptuous 4 poster bed in room 17, or if you’re off shooting all rooms some with their own gun safes. Downstairs guests can  curl up in a comfy chair infront of the fire in the bar or have a delicious meal in the modern and chic Brasserie where the by-words are definitely local, seasonal and organic.

Checkout The George Hotel for accommodation offers.

Clandestine – The Hillside

Hidden in the hills at St Boniface Down, this 18^th centaury grade 11 listed country house is built of mellow stone and thatch. With panoramic sea views this place has the reputation as a true clandestine retreat.

Set within 5 acres – the Hillside offers minimalist Scandinavian interiors, with 12 contemporary rooms reflecting their coastal environment. With first class service and hospitality, food plays an important role at Hillside, with menus using fresh local produce simply cooked. Booking at the Hillside is essential as it is difficult to get a table – always a good sign.

Checkout The Hillside for accommodation offers.

Country – The Priory Bay

Set within 60 acres of woodland with its own private beach to stroll along, this ‘Country House Hotel by the Sea’ dates back as early as 1100.

On arrival you enter under an imposing 14th century portal, before checking in and being shown to your room, all of which have their own distinctive character and are superbly decorated with a mix of styles and eclectic furniture; both antique and new.  For the ultimate experience opt for a one of the beachside yurts, complete with roll top free standing bath, or if you are visiting with children, family rooms are available and a babysitter can be arranged to allow you to escape down to the restaurant for dinner.

Dining is an absolute must when visiting the Priory Bay with all tastes catered for, from dining in the Regency-muralled Island Room with gastronomic tasting menu, to a light lunch outside on the terrace in the Priory Oyster restaurant or BBQ down at The Boathouse on the beach. The ethos is local, seasonal and most food is grown or foraged on the hotel’s 60 acre estate and beach.

Checkout The Priory Bay Hotel for accommodation offers.

Modern – The Hambrough

If you’re in to minimalist chic this is the place for you. Perched on the side of the hill in Ventnor the restaurant looks straight out high over the sea almost like an infinity pool for diners. The seven bedrooms are all 5 AA star standard and each is individually styled to make you feel instantly at home.

But the true allure of the Hambrough is the food. For those who are wowed by accolades, this little Ventnor hotel, has two Michelin starred Chef Patron John Campbell at the helm. Boasting 3 Rosettes  and ranked 20 in the Good Food Guide – try the seven course Tasting Menu with Sommelier recommendations for a real treat.

Checkout The Hambrough for accommodation offers.

The Island is a community made up of communities all contributing to the richness and diversity of this most curious bit of Britain. Towns with faded glory behind them, towns up and coming, villages of varying sleepiness and all bounded by the sea.

The influence of Queen Victoria was probably felt more strongly on the Isle of Wight than almost anywhere else in Britain. The legacy of the Victorian years is seen in bricks, mortar and stone throughout the Island, from Osborne House home of Victoria through churches, town halls, villas, guest houses, hotels, pumping stations, railway stations, reading rooms and bandstands. No corner of the Island is untouched. The tiny fishing village of Ventnor exploded in to life during the Victorian Era and many fine buildings rose above the bay in a series of dizzying tiers. Grand homes of the affluent coming to take the sea air. The development of the Royal National Chest Hospital, a once magnificent Gothic build, that stood strong and facing out to sea to the west of Ventnor, now gone but home to Ventnor Botanic Garden.

The Royal Hotel, now one of the best hotels on the Island, once visited by the German High Command prior to the outbreak of WWII; a classic Victorian Hotel, today home to genteel dining and a peaceful relaxed stay. Industry never far away in the development of towns a curious little building in upper Ventnor by the former Terminus Pub marks the pumping station of the Ventnor Gas and Water Company.

Everywhere the roof-scape of the town identifies grand houses, artisan terraces and a boom in building. Little attentions to detail in contrasting bricks, barge boards, arches, finials and verandas demonstrate the burgeoning of upwardly mobile middle-classes striving for betterment. A visit to the Ventnor Historical Society Information Office on Spring Hill in the town will give visitors a fascinating insight into the development of probably the most curious and interesting of towns on the Isle of Wight.

The Hambrough

Robert Thompson at the Hambrough Hotel is offering some great opportunities for finding your culinary feet this month. His new ‘Cooking With Robert’ courses will show you how to make delicious breads and produce a mouth-watering festive meal.

Cooking with Robert “A Festive menu!” will be held at The Pond Café on Sunday 16th December from 4pm. This will be Robert’s ideal festive meal demonstrated and then cooked for you to enjoy. If you like it, the recipe book will allow you to recreate the dishes on Christmas day. Cost for this course is £65 per person with a maximum of 20 people on the day.

After all the festivities have died down you might want to cheer up your New Year by joining the Hambrough’s Whisky Tasting with Whyte & Mackay on Wednesday 23rd January from 7pm.Whisky experts Whyte & Mackay will be showcasing Dalmore, the award winning Scottish single malt and you can experience an evening of whisky tastings accompanied by winter dishes by Robert Thompson for £85 per person.

The Priory Bay

The Priory Bay is offering special Gastronomic Weekends at their country house hotel near Bembridge. “Our passion is the finest Island produce whether foraged, farmed or fished,” they say.

Restaurant Manager James Trevaskis and Head Chef Oliver Stephens have both returned to the Isle of Wight to run the restaurant and kitchen at the Priory Bay Hotel.   James  has joined the Priory Bay from the Michelin starred Gauthier Soho in London and Oliver has previously worked in the London one Michelin-starred restaurant Roussillon, at the two-Michelin starred restaurant Les Ambassadeurs (Hotel de Crillon) in Paris and for the past two years at Noma in Copenhagen — voted the best restaurant in the world for the last three years.

Each weekend James and Oliver will arrange a tutored wine tasting, a cookery demonstration or foraging trip around the estate, depending on your preference. When you arrive on Friday you enjoy three carefully selected complimentary glasses of wine, chosen to match your menu choice. Then on Saturday you can enjoy the Chef’s Menu, a seven course taster menu, which is created on the day to reflect the best produce provided by our farmers, fishermen, foragers and gardeners.

On Sunday you can relax with a local hay-roasted joint before returning to the fray. Prices are from £580, based on two sharing for two nights, inclusive of the above and breakfast both mornings and you can even stay for free on the Sunday night. For more details and bookings please contact Reception on 01983 613146.

The Priory Bay’s popular monthly supper clubs have also returned – December’s Supper Club is on the 13^th and you get to feast on a seven course tasting menu, accompanied by a selection of organic and biodynamic wines. You don’t have to be a member of the club to attend – just call reception and book a place. January’s Supper Club is on 25^th January 2013.

I’m not the only one to thing so either, this Telegraph article says it all.

The bay, a quaint little fishing community of thatched homes, cafe and restaurant right on the edge of the beach, is the very definition of picturesque, even in winter, perhaps especially in winter, in that hard, bright light we get on the bluest days.

Even in the colder months the rockpools have plenty of life tucked away and it’s well worth examining the rock armour of boulders too, all Somerset limestone, wrapped around the sea wall, they exhibit some splendid coral fossils, like these:

But best of all is that short run of steps, down to the sea and back, it’s only purpose really seems to be to play sea-chicken.

We tried counting the waves to work out the frequency of the big ones that you have to really jump for. I thought I had it all sorted at every 7th one, like Steve McQueen in Papillon, until they started coming in in threes, and then none at all for about 25, so I gave up and had a latte from the cafe instead.

On the walk back we looked for that crazy old donkey; it would always be shouting from the garden of the big house north of the bay, but no sign. I guess donkeys don’t live forever, or maybe it was inside watching Midsomer Murders, it always did seem to be the only inhabitant.

Steephill is such a very beautiful spot in winter; stick it in your diary for the obligatory Boxing Day waddle.

And it was done in the most wonderful style, with everybody making a real effort with the period dress code and the atmosphere being definitely of another era. We weren’t quite sure which one, but that didn’t matter because everyone looked absolutely fabulous (darling).

Some had gone for a Victorian look, others were from the roaring twenties, there was a bit of wartime glamour and the ‘new look’ was also in vogue. There were more than a few dresses cut on the bias and quite a lot of gentlemen in military dress – Admirals were hob nobbing with Wing Commanders and Privates in a most inclusive fashion.

One party had opted for the fifties and had Poirot as chaperone. Two well-known writers were flapper and beau and I believe James Bond might have been spotted with a couple of blondes.

A vintage shop had popped up in the foyer and was full of lovely things – even Lily la Scala came to buy some pretty period shoes for her tiny little feet. But her voice was no small affair when she sang operatic and vintage numbers after Friday’s dinner.

On Saturday afternoon there was a vintage bus trip to the Classic Boat Museum in East Cowes and everyone who went there sang its praises. I visited back in the summer  and I can verify that it is the most wonderful vintage experience – make sure you manage to take a look at their lovely boats if you haven’t yet had the chance.

Saturday night was the real ‘dress up’ night with a special five course gala dinner that was simply divine. We were treated to a surprise visit from HRH Prince Charles who ahemed his way around the dining room with one arm behind his back – very funny. But he was not as hilarious as waiter Manuel (as in Faulty Towers) who appeared from the kitchen shortly after Charlie’s departure. And he had that rat with him, of course. The girls on our table laughed until they cried as that rat shot from his arm and onto their laps, and then proceeded to get lost under the table.

The chefs were summoned from the kitchen towards the end of the meal and given a wall of applause as they entered the room. William Bailey then gave an impromptu speech about his 20 or so years at the Royal – during which time the hotel has risen back up to the high standards it must have had when Queen Victoria visited for afternoon tea and the hotel gained its royal name.

After dinner everyone repaired to the conservatory for three short ‘radio’ plays set in the golden days of radio, courtesy of the comedy troupe Radio Soop, and to sup their coffee and liqueurs. It was all jolly super and really quite amusing and again they were in period dress – this time the 1940s.

All in all it was pretty perfect – the Royal really does know how to organise a good Revival. I really hope they continue to do so in the coming years. In these times of austerity it is good to see that a hotel has the courage to stage such an opulent occasion and that everyone attending went to so much trouble to dress up and have fun.

There will be activities to keep the children amused while you lounge around on straw bales drinking your ale. Traditional music from the Island’s folk band the Dollymopps will be played for you to enjoy. The Guith Morris will be dancing and offering dance workshops on the Saturday – maybe you’ll want to join in after a few sips of ale – and Tim Hollis and Clive Thomas will also be playing over the weekend.

The Friends of Ventnor Botanic Gardens will be having a plant sale – these are always very good and full of plants you might not find elsewhere, so make sure you bring some extra pennies with you. Traditional carpentry skills will be demonstrated by our Island’s skilled wood workers and they too may have some items for purchasing on offer so make sure you check them out for early Christmas present ideas. The IW Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers will be beavering away with their wool and may also have some lovely things on sale  that have all been hand made on the Island, and even produced from Island sheep and other animals.

The Bat Man from the IW Bat Hospital will be at the festival with his cute little friends – some of them may have even come from the gardens. Graham and his wife do a sterling job of rescuing injured and sick bats and returning them to the wild and they need all the money they can raise to help save these wonderful creatures. Ditto the Red Squirrel Project run by Helen Butler who will also be there, answering queries on all things red and furry and raising money to improve habitats and the lives of our indigenous red squirrel population.

The Hop Festival runs from 11am till 4pm on both Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of October and entrance is free, although normal admission charges to the garden apply.

Much of the coastal population at this time was involved in smuggling goods from France, with most of the fishermen bringing it across in their boats and their families colluding in its distribution. Smuggling had taken off in a big way after the death of Isabella De Fortibus in 1293 who had been owner and ‘Lady’ of the Island, taking taxes from her people. When taxes became payable to the crown upon her death the locals became a much more lawless lot, probably due to the excessive demands of the expensive wars that the governments of the day were indulging in (no change there then).

Brandy and wool were the predominant goods to be brought under cover of darkness from the shores of France. It is said that the fittest fishermen could row over to France and back in one night, although it is more likely that this would take at least two dark moonless nights – and three if you were going to sample the goods before buying them! Brandy was brought back in small barrels named ‘tubs’ and most of the homes, fields and even churchyards along the coast would have hidey holes for stowing the contraband.

Larger boats would have secret stow holes made within the hulls that could be stuffed with fleeces and barrels. There were also other devices invented that could be pulled behind or below the boat and you can see some of the amazing contraptions in pictures on the walls of the stable bar at the Buddle Inn, Niton. Along the undercliff between St Lawrence and Niton is a hidden passageway in the woods where ‘tubs’ are likely to have been stored and Blackgang may have been named after a smuggling gang who operated there.

With all of this smuggling going on there were often locals on the headlands and beaches of the ‘Back of the Wight’ as the wild west coast is often known, and so ships that were in trouble were often sighted, especially at night when the smuggling was being done. More recent theories have inferred that the locals were luring the ships to their doom, but this seems unlikely given that they also risked life and limb to save the crews and passengers of these poor stricken vessels.

An early casualty to Atherfield Ledge in 1314 was the St Mary from Bayonne in France who was carrying a cargo of wine. All the crew were saved but the vessel was wrecked and the cargo washed ashore. At that time the Lords and Masters of the Manors abutting the sea could claim the booty as ‘wreck of the sea’ and Walter de Godeton (Gotton) seized the wine.

This was disputed in court and Walter had to hand over the sum of 227 ½ marks to pay for it. Plus, as the wine had belonged to the Monastery of Livers (you couldn’t make this up!) in Picardy, he was threatened with excommunication by the Catholic Church. As penance he was ordered to build on the Montem de Chale (Chale Down) a lighthouse to warn ships of the dangerous coast and he also had to assign money for a priest to sing masses for the repose of the souls of himself, his ancestors and the souls of those lost at sea.

Of this building only the tower remains. Known locally as the Pepperpot the 35ft 6inch tower is octangular from the outside, quadrangular within and has a pyramidal roof. From the date of its consecration in the early 1300s until the dissolution of the Chantries by Henry VIII in the late 1530s a light was kept burning there. It wasn’t until 1780 that the Trinity Board began to erect another lighthouse nearby that was also useless in the mists and fog, and mariners had to wait until 1838 for the first lighthouse to be erected at St Catherine’s Point where it stands today.

Between 1746 and 1808 local man James Wheeler kept a record and there were some 60 wrecks in Chale Bay alone. But it was not until the wreck of the Clarendon that anything was done to allay this. On October 11^th, 1836, after a stormy night, locals saw a full-rigged ship battling against the wind offshore from Chale. John Wheeler dashed down the Chine at Cliff’s End and reached the shore before the crash, ran into the surf attached to a rope and saved three people from the sinking ship.

The ship was “smashed to atoms by the sea” according to John’s forebear James Wheeler and all the rest aboard were drowned or killed by the timbers, with the bodies being washed ashore to much dismay and sadness: “…many a tear was seen streaming down the faces of the menfolk present as they saw the bodies of the two Miss Shores washed up mangled and nude and in the words of an eye witness, “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death they were not divided.”” *

One of those drowned was a Miss Gourlay and her body was taken by the tide and washed up at Southsea, opposite her father Capt. Gourlay’s house. One of the men saved named Thompson was an old shipmate of his who had saved Wheeler’s life four years before! Timbers from the ship were used to build local houses including the Clarendon Pub, which was renamed in her honour but has now reclaimed the name it had before: The Wight Mouse Inn.

Smuggling stories are few and far between as most of the trade was in secret and behind closed doors in closed communities and it is said that the locals invented ghost stories to keep away prying eyes from the area. But the few tales of coastguards (or ‘Gobbies’ as they were known) being foiled by the smugglers and their families tend to be quite amusing.

One such story recounts how Farmer Joliffe told the revenue men that they could search his house, including the room in which his wife was lying in bed, having recently given birth. Although they didn’t want to disturb her, the farmer insisted and they entered to find her in bed with the nurse feeding the baby. But all was not as it seemed, as although they did not realise it at the time, the ‘tubs’ were in bed with his wife and the baby was nothing but a large doll!

Ships are much larger these days and their sonar navigation saves them from the rocks around our Island. Smuggling activities are similarly larger it seems: £90m of cocaine was intercepted by police and customs being unloaded at Orchard Bay in 2000 and £54m of the same drug was found on a fishing boat in the West Wight in 2010.

*Back Of The Wight by Fred Mew first published 1934

Organised by our good friend Anthony Churchill, who was wearing his Morning Cloud polo shirt for the occasion (he was Ed Heath’s navigator you know) the trip had been hastily arranged because it was such a fantastic day. It was on that Saturday when we all thought summer had come at last, if a little late. Obviously it hadn’t (that would be too perfect) but for that one day it certainly did a very good impersonation of being a pretty damn wonderful day in every way.

Down at the Haven for 1.30pm we all piled onto the new bigger boat that Ocean Blue are using for their coastal tours – the last one has been sold to Sierra Leone as a water taxi from the airport we were told by Lucy Strevens who with husband Sean were taking us on this trip. This one is 0.6m wider than the previous one and more economical to run and it certainly seems very stable. We wandered with ease around the boat as it made its way down the coast, with Lucy giving us a very interesting commentary on the history and geology of the area.

Just out of the Haven we stopped to pull up a lobster pot and the kids on board were thrilled to find the blue lobsters (their usual colour before they are cooked) and snapping crabs within its interior. Most were too small and had to be thrown back, but I think we got one full sized crab that was put into the ice box. Everyone was keen to have a look at the creatures and a couple of the more daring amongst us had a go at picking them up for a photo opportunity.

Then it was off again along the coast towards St Catherine’s Point and lighthouse, passing the converted coastguard cottages that make up Orchard Bay’s beautiful house with its own beach. Famous for being the base of a drug smuggling operation that was foiled in the year 2000, those on board remembered the stories associated with one of the largest drug hauls of recent years. Was there a wet-suited diver who spoke only French found in Pelham Woods? And were the police undercover in nearby hotels impersonating scout masters? We’ll never know for sure…

Binnel Bay was another interesting story and the remains of the harbour built by the German dilettante William Spindler in the Victorian era is still very in evidence just off shore. It didn’t survive for long as a working harbour, but it’s become quite a curious folly.

Next we turned 180 degrees and headed straight out to sea. Apparently we went about a mile out but it hardly seemed more than a few hundred yards. Sean and Lucy then unpacked the mackerel lines and showed us how to drop the weight into the sea – the fish would be caught on the two or three feathered hooks on the line as long as we pulled the line upwards and then dunked it down again.

It looked so simple and Lucy and Sean caught two or three fish on every line they put down. Others on the boat were having similar luck. I, however, was useless on the fish catching stakes and almost gave up for lack of interest. But eventually I caught a little one, and then ten minutes later I got a slightly bigger one. (Taking pity on me they did give me four to take home though, which was kind of them and they were delicious grilled with a little butter.)

Lucy showed the little ones (and us) how the beautiful skins of the fish helped to disguise them against predators – green, blue and black on top to fool birds that they were just part of the sea and silvery white underneath to make them invisible to those swimming beneath them.

Mackerel lines wound up and put away and fish safely stowed in the ice box and we sped back to the Haven, posing at the back of the boat with the wake churning behind us. It was pretty exciting – the boat does go at a pace and it has two large engines.

Just outside the Haven we stopped for Sean to bait one of the lobster pots with the guts and heads of the mackerel we had just caught that had been expertly filleted by him before we sped back. And then we were back at the mooring, all too soon, with cold drinks beckoning from the nearby Met Bar. Of course you can also buy top quality freshly caught battered fish from Blake’s up above if you can’t wait to get home and cook your catch.

*see website for details

The Royal is one of the oldest hotels on the Isle of Wight and has the rare privilege of being one of only 30 hotels to be listed in every Michelin Guide since it was first published in 1911. It was built in 1832 when the once sleepy fishing village of Ventnor was catapulted into the height of fashion by the revelation that the sunny climate and sea air was good for your health, especially by Queen Victoria’s physician, Sir James Clarke, who extolled the health benefits especially for managing chest conditions.

So the stampede began and Ventnor’s population rose from a mere 800 to 5000 in a matter of years. Second homes here became so sought after that it was a common joke that property prices were akin to Mayfair.

The hotel’s most famous guest was undoubtedly Queen Victoria. Then known as The Ventnor Hotel, it was a favourite tea spot for the Queen who came to Ventnor to take in the air and visit her friend Sir John Hambrough, and this is how the hotel became able to use the ‘royal’ title.

The tradition of afternoon tea is still keenly observed and even includes a regal meringue swan in the patisserie selection. In the summer, tea is served on the terrace with its backdrop of picturesque climbing mountain geraniums. These pretty pink geraniums were originally planted in the 1960’s as a living memorial to those lost at war.

Every year the Head Gardener, Gary Steptoe, gives away cuttings to admiring guests and they even send him back pictures, “I’ve built up quite a collection of photographs. It seems that the Royal’s geraniums have ended up all over Britain!” he jokes.

The hotel’s history has had a natural ebb and flow. It was extended and refurbished in the1880’s but shortly afterward the owner, James Beale went bankrupt. Later it was bought by Hubert Cloots who built a grand new saloon and to the talk of the town, installed a telephone in 1896.

At its height Ventnor was frequented by crowned heads, aristocracy and the rich elite of Europe but by the advent of the Great War its star was beginning to fade. The Royal too began a slow and steady period of decline.

By the 1960’s holidays abroad had become an affordable alternative and in 1966 the railway link, once the main transport artery to the town was finally lost. This had a significant impact on Ventnor’s fortunes and in 1982 The Royal closed her doors for the winter – the first time she had been officially shut for 150 years.

However in 1994 a passionate hotelier by the name of William Bailey bought The Royal from Trust House Forte and once again life for the hotel was about to change for the better. The Bailey Family have been running highly successful hotels on the Island since 1948; in fact William and his sisters were all born in hotel rooms!

Turning The Royal Hotel’s fortunes around was to be a major challenge but William, an accomplished aerobatic pilot, racing car driver and extreme climber, was determined to breathe new life into the business. Slowly he began the lengthy process of restoration and was rewarded when The Royal was the first hotel on the Island to be awarded Four AA Stars.

The Royal is synonymous with excellent food. Head Chef, Alan Staley, trained under Anton Edelmann at The Savoy, was equally determined to put The Royal on the culinary map. Soon after his appointment the hotel gained Two AA Rosettes for outstanding food – an award which has now been held consistently over the past 16 years. Today the seasonal modern British menu features local and artisan sourced produce including their signature dish of Isle of Wight Gallybagger cheese soufflé with cauliflower velouté.

William considers himself to be the custodian of this grand landmark building. Together with his sister and creative director, Annie Dawes, they have undertaken a substantial programme of refurbishments. The most recent addition to the hotel is the Riviera Terrace where in the summer guests can enjoy a wonderful al fresco lunch against the backdrop of spectacular views across Ventnor Bay and the unspoilt English Channel.

Inside the hotel there are four more dining destinations: the elegant Appuldurcombe Restaurant with its huge oil paintings and attractive chandeliers in a gold and blue theme; the airy conservatory inside the front atrium; the comfortable bar area where there is a huge log fire in the winter and in the summer you can dine on the Terrace outside the bar, overlooking the swimming pool. You can even jump in after dining if you wish.

The 53 Premier, Deluxe, Family and Classic bedrooms are bang up to date in their styling, yet with the traditional touches that you might associate with a hotel of this age. The tone is English country house with a contemporary twist using silks, rich velvets and elegant toile de jouy fabrics – with the emphasis on detail, luxury and comfort. Each room has a flat screen television and direct dial telephone to help you relax or work with ease.  Bathrooms are well appointed and many of the principal bedrooms have inspiring views over the pretty front garden or, from the higher floors, Ventnor Bay.

Last year the owners decided to celebrate 100 years of the Michelin Guide, and their inclusion in it, by hosting a very stylish ‘Royal Revival’ weekend in a vintage style and this year they will repeat this popular vintage styled weekend on October 5^th and 6^th 2012.

More recently The Royal continues to be a fashionable destination for discerning travellers and the occasional king of rock* and it is often host to some of the headlining acts at the IW Pop Festival and the Bestival. It is undoubtably one, if not the top hotel on the Isle of Wight at the current time and service is second to none.

(*Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant!)

With his (now ex) wife Cherryl he decided to find a companion for Dillon and the rest is history. First they hired a paddock, which the donkeys quickly outgrew, then a field on the Forest Road that passing drivers would stop at to see the growing collection. Thus a Sanctuary was established near Newport in 1987, to provide a safe, permanent home for any donkey in distress or otherwise in need of care and attention.

But demand was so great that the site quickly became too small and, as donations were pouring in, they were able to afford a stunning farm overlooked by Stenbury Down and the Worsley memorial on the Newport road, just before you enter Wroxall from the north.

It was then that the donkeys began to flood in from every part of the country and some from further afield. Charlie tended to each and every one of them with his quiet patient manner and built up an encyclopaedic knowledge of all ailments of the donkey physiology. Some donkeys had been broken by heavy hauling, others had terrible foot problems. Dillon had a malformation of the spine – two spines had grown instead of just one because, Charlie thinks, he must have fused to his twin in the womb. A serious piece of x ray kit had to be brought over to find this out.

But luckily the donations were still flooding in and many people were signing up to the donkey adoption schemes ensuring that the medical care that these donkeys receive is second to none. With no entrance fee the scheme to adopt a donkey is only around the price of a family ticket and when you see the lovely creatures in the fields and the stables your heart will melt; your fingers reach for the plastic (or the cheque book).

On the Donkey Sanctuary‘s 20^th anniversary in 2007 Cherryl decided to put on a Grand Donkey Day Out to celebrate and the 118118 lads (Colin Carmichael is from around these parts and had adopted several donkeys) and a few Island bands helped to make a festive day of the proceedings. Comedian Jo Brand even put in an appearance as she happened to be visiting the Island.

Five years down the line and the Grand Donkey Day Out has metamorphosed into the Faux Fest and has happened on August Bank Holiday Weekend for the past two years. This year saw Legend – a tribute to Bob Marley, headline on Friday, The Bootleg Beatles on the main stage on Saturday and Ben as Michael Jackson bringing the event to a close on Sunday night. Other acts were Vogue Madonna, Simply Take That, I am…Beyonce, Ultimate Elton, Kinisha as Tina Turner, the Boardwalk Drifters and Shenton Dixon as Barry White and Stevie Wonder.

Dillon the donkey eventually died but lived in donkey luxury until the day he went to the great donkey fields in the sky. A raised round flower bed in the farmyard commemorates his passing and he still holds a fond place in Charlie’s heart.

To raise funds you can adopt a donkey, buy donkey-related gifts from the giftshop, purchase books and other second hand items from one of the barns, donate into the collection points around the site or buy a card to attach to one of the apple trees in the farm garden. People write a message to someone or an animal that they have lost and it becomes part of the fluttering decoration that these trees wear.

People return year on year to the Sanctuary to see the donkeys. One lady from the Costwolds raises around £10,000 every year with a group of friends, in memory of her husband and Charlie is touched by each and every person who shows an interest in his beloved charges. “People ask me which is the oldest donkey here,” said Charlie. “And I say “You’re looking at him,” ” he laughed.

Charlie has a healthy and gently wicked sense of humour and is partial to a can of Guinness. One year he tied each of his empty Guinness cans to a tree in the farmyard and a ‘Guinness Tree’ was born, finding fame on YouTube. Charlie was getting visitors from far and wide to see his Guinness Tree until it was deemed unsuitable by the trustees of the Sanctuary. Next year he’s thinking that it might metamorphose into a shoe tree, with people being able to donate a shoe (and a pound or two) for the donkeys.

The Donkey Sanctuary is open every day during the summer and in the winter months it is open on fine weekends and by appointment with the trustees/owners.

Look out for lobsters on lampposts and knitted squids on signposts – this is graffiti in a totally different guise. You may have seen some of the crazy antics that graffiti knitters have got up to online – phone boxes covered in multi-coloured knitted jackets and knitted Beetle cars are just two of the more amazing creations.

Once upon a time knitting would have been something that every woman would have done in the evening in front of the fire and after the invention of the television they’d knit in front of that instead. Now a group of guerrilla knitters are getting together, turning off the TV and turning the conventions of normal knitting on its head in a Yarnstorm Bootcamp.

Graffiti knitting or yarnstorming or yarnbombing or guerrilla knitting is the art of using items handmade from yarn to create street art. The artist creates an item using knitting or crochet, they take the item into a public place, they install the piece in that public place and then they run away giggling – usually after taking copious numbers of photographs.

Running the Bootcamp in Ventnor will be Deadly Knitshade who blogs about her dastardly deeds on Whodunnknit. She describes herself as “a lone wool-hungry wolf whose knits aren’t content with lurking in the shadows of conventional knitting. They don’t stand under the woolly umbrella of quiet stitching at home in front of the TV. They do not smell of mothballs or Werther’s Originals. They do not hide in department store basements or charity shop bargain bins.”  Ooh er…

Deadly Knitshade is also part of the sneaky stitching collective, Knit the City, as is The Fastener, the other handmade hardcore hero who’ll be orchestrating the yarnstorming weekend. The pop-up YEA! (Yarnstorm Educational Academy) HQ will host the residential Bootcamp in Ventnor, courtesy of Wightaway, over the weekend of October 19th/20th/21st.

No dawn press-ups, jumping into pools of mud or route marches will be required but a basic knowledge of knitting and/or crochet will ensure that attending yarnstormers get the most out of the workshops and associated woolly mischief.

Recruits stay at Pine Point (YEA HQ) or Ocean View with all meals from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch including a ‘slap up fish supper and as many local produce stuffed sandwiches and cakes as you can handle washed down with lashings of ginger beer and/or cider.’

Passenger ferry travel from the mainland and transport to Ventnor is also part of the deal. All basic materials - yarn, needles, felt, buttons, stuffing etc. will be provided although you are invited to bring any projects you are already working on or anything exotic you may like to use.

The weekend will include three workshops, one escorted recce around Ventnor, one personal shopping evening (to include mega-stocked local haberdashery), two Yarnstorms (1 solo & 1 group) and a graduation ceremony with official group photo, badge, and certificate and goodie bag.

Are you a fit enough knitter for the challenge?

“All the land the NT owns is for the benefit of the nation, but it’s gradually changed, particularly over recent years,” said Robin who has worked for the NT for 23 years, 13 of them on the Island. “A few years ago I would have said we’re here to look after beautiful landscapes and wonderful wildlife for people to enjoy, but now there’s far more emphasis on connecting people with the landscapes we look after.

“We own about 10 per cent of the whole Island area. There’s currently an Outdoors Campaign which harks right back to the founders (of the NT) who saw there was a need to protect amazing countryside forever – there’s no other organisation that does that. In the 1930s and 40s a lot of houses came (to the Trust) because of the problems landowners had with inheritance tax.

“It didn’t take long for NT to get an image as being quite elitist but the Trust has tried to make it clear that it wishes to appeal to a wider range of people. We’re not a stuffy organisation just interested in country houses.

“I feel on the Island we’ve always wanted to do that, we still want to maintain these places as high quality landscapes, so a lot of what I do now is all connected with people, either providing specific opportunities and activities or ensuring that the places we look after are in good condition for when people visit.

“There’s a very strong feeling by IW residents that it’s their land and consequently you get differing ideas of how it should be kept. One of the perceived issues is cows: People say you can’t put cows on Mottistone Down because it’s a dog walking area.

“Getting across this idea that it’s a farmed landscape and being aware of the idea of how the landscape is managed is an important one. The English landscape is a farmed landscape and people like eating good food and quite a lot of it is produced on NT land. I’m sure our flower rich meadows and downsmust contribute to the quality of the food.

“It’s a very ancient traditional farmed landscape, farmed since Neolithic times. There are now ten tenant farmers who rent National Trust land. Many areas are grazed by cattle as they tend to produce the most varied vegetation structure for wildlife. We also have our own goats on the Ventnor Downs. They are good for eating back the Holm Oak regrowth to stop it from taking over the chalk grassland again. And we have  just over 100 Hebridean sheep, which we use to graze downs and meadows in restoration areas.

“The main bit of down we don’t own is Brading Down which is owned by the Council. We own the two extremities: Bembridge and Culver Down and the Needles headland, Ventnor Downs that has heathland on the top of the chalk because of the gravel and Chillerton, Mottistone, Compton and Tennyson Downs. We look after many of the best bits, which are mostly Sites of Specil Scientific Interest (SSSI) and all within the Island’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

“We have Mottistone Manor and gardens, Bembridge Windmill, the Old and New Batteries (at the Needles), the Old Town Hall at Newtown and the visitor point there along with Noah’s Ark and Hollis Cottage that have private tenants. We don’t have a vast area of woodland – Borthwood and woods at Newtown are the main ones.

“We have 37 cottages and houses including a row of buildings in Brighstone: 15 of the cottages are holiday lets, including two in Mottistone,three coastguard cottages at the Needles and two at St Helen’s Duver.

“We’ve taken on significant areas that consolidate our existing ownership: Easton field in Freshwater Bay, farmland at Shalfleet, a couple of other bits at Newtown, part of Mottistone Common and part of Bembridge Down.

“The downland flowers are amazing this year and some of the butterflies have done well too, depending on their life cycle. We’ve got a really good range of different types of habitat, chalk downs is the  main one but small lovely bits of heath in three different places, ancient woodland, Newtown Estuary/creek and St Helen’s Duver, which is stabilised sand dunes.

“We’ve recently acquired an area called Wydcombe near the Hoy Monument and it’s a really unusual part of the Island, more like Shropshire. If you’re in for a good long walk you’ve got a fantastic area there. The best way is to park at the Viewpoint car park at Blackgang or in Niton Village and then walk up on to St. Catherine’s Down before dropping into the Wydcombe valley.

“I recently rediscovered a path on Headon Warren that winds its way through the heather and gorse on the landslip. There are all sorts of paths that change; there are some secluded areas – you can get the feeling of wilderness in some places.

“Another good area for walking is around Chillerton Down. There is a large area of land here that is covered by National Trust covenants as well as the Down which is actually owned by the Trust.

“Increasingly we’re trying to make ourselves more accessible to people and we’re going to the local shows and encouraging schools to come out into the countryside to help with their learning. We want to keep the impetus going following the recent re-organisation of the Island’s schools. The fact that there are some great areas of National Trust countryside right on the schools’ doorsteps means there are greater opportunities.”

The NT run various fun activities throughout the year, many of which are co-ordinated by Helen Parry, who runs a whole programme of Wild Zone activities at Newtown and a summer Wild Zone Club. For more details see the National Trust website.

This month you could win a family ticket for two adults and three children to all four of the NT’s Island attractions: Mottistone Manor Gardens, The Needles Old Battery, Bembridge Windmill and Newtown Old Town Hall. Click here to find out more.

The Observatory bar on the seafront bandstand was the last to be dismantled and Ventnorians were especially sad to see it go. “Why can’t we have it here all summer season?” bemoaned a few. As a location for viewing the fireworks on Wednesday evening (after the carnival) accompanied by great music it had been superb and it continued to provide ace entertainment and cool tunes from the various DJs plus a decadent backdrop to drinking with a 360 degree outlook on the bay.

“It’s just like Ibiza,” said one friend of the atmosphere on the converted poo palace (as it is known in these parts). The weather had quite a lot to do with it – a perfect weekend on that score with hot, yet hazy days and balmy summer evenings.  Friday night was rounded off with the cast and crew adjourning to the beach at closing time to skinny dip in the sea and sip Fringe beer (Vedett supplied the Fringe with their own beer that was sporting special Fringe beer labels featuring the organisers and Fringe-goers).

Top venue award had to go to the Secret Bar where the acoustics were superb due to the high ceilings and the surroundings were definitely a surprise. Revellers hunted out every nook and cranny of the building, buying their drinks from the heavy-doored vault and chilling out in the manager’s office of the former Nat West bank on the High Street.

The first Cinema by the Sea, as the Isle of Wight Film Festival has been re-branded, had moved into the Youth Centre in Victoria Street and showed a fantastic collection of film shorts throughout the day and a handful of feature length films in the evenings. ‘Vegas’ was a poignant Norwegian film following a few months in the lives of three/four ‘unwanted’ children who were trying to come to terms with their placement in care. Superb casting of the four unknown non-actors in the title roles and the well -known adult actors gave similarly stellar performances. ‘The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mum’ was the biggest crowd puller – Dolly herself had given her seal of approval.

It’s a shame that the Fringe don’t yet offer Perrier style awards because this year it would have been Tice Oakfield aka James Holland or the Flying Dutchman, who would have won one with his (almost) one man musical, charting the mystery of the missing Guinea Pig. From his first performance in the Spiritualist Church (Henry’s High Tea Society) to his gala performance in the Secret Bar on Friday night (and final one on Saturday afternoon where it was standing room only with the spirits) Tice and silent sidekick James Willis as Doyle were side splittingly funny and truly original.

Status Update was another superbly original and amusing play, about an internet café and social networking. Very slickly performed, with great lighting, sound and quirky representations of the abstract world of internet intercourse, this was just one of the plays performed at the Studio Theatre at St Francis’s School.

Saturday afternoon was Patchwork Picnic and Art in the Park day down at Ventnor Park with an eclectic selection of performances, mainly on the small bandstand and far more arty stalls than in previous years. Doug Alldred, a man of many talents including drumming with at least four Island-based bands, had thrown down his sticks and picked up his guitar, giving a short but superb set of self-scribed numbers that culminated with the poignant ’The Same Sea ’.

The Piano Bar at the Rex had been converted into a Speakeasy, the Blind Tyger, for the duration and diners were encouraged to dress in flapper style for the live jazz music. Nearby an apartment on Belgrave Road at Seacliff had been transformed into a gallery for the Fringe featuring a photography exhibition.

I’ve forgotten the Courtyard behind the Chinese restaurant in Church Street that was the home of most of those quirky bits of furniture. The whitewashed walls of the alleyway into it became a Free Art Friday with artist Tony Trowbridge giving away loads of his superb artworks at 3pm on Friday. Spoken word was the main resident in this little suntrap in the centre of town Huxley Hunt was superb on Friday afternoon, with his magic and comedy show that went down a storm.

Brilliant Island-born comedienne Hannah George was part of the Paines Plough theatre writing workshops called ‘Come to Where I’m From’ who had a full house for their performance.  Tula and the Blackgang stole the show at this venue and then later on Saturday night at the Secret Bar. This girl is going to go far with her unique sound and alluring nonchalance, giving the band a great all-round sound.

This is but a snapshot of the four days and I’ve forgotten to say that Marques Toliver, star VFringe 2011, came back to give an impromptu performance at Bonchurch Old Church because he loved the festival so much last year. There will be much more of this I foresee – I predict that artists of every kind will be queuing up to apply for next year’s VFringe and rightly so.

Osborne House

The Italianate terraces that spread out beneath the front of Osborne House will be looking spectacular this summer –  beds are topped by special golden crowns that have been made at a local foundry and the planting in the shaped beds is in the colours of the Royal Standard. But you must see the walled garden to the rear of the house that is a riot of colour, texture and pattern with pale scented roses, valerian and lavender decorating the trellised walkway that bisects the garden.

The predominant colours of the planting here this year are red, white and blue to celebrate the diamond jubilee but you can find many other hues and also in the walled garden there are trained fruit trees and a selection of vegetables amongst the flowers.

Down at the Swiss Cottage in the grounds, which was built by Prince Albert for his children to learn gardening and housekeeping, is a well-tended and prolific vegetable and soft fruit garden laid out in immaculate beds with everything from raspberry canes and strawberry plants to peas and carrots.

Mottistone Manor

Although the manor house is very seldom open to the public the extensive gardens are open all summer and at the borders that lead north from the house are looking particularly spectacular this year. Next to this is the rose garden full of sweet smelling varieties and a riot of colour.

Up above this area is the small fenced vegetable garden that has an especially good show raspberries, loganberries and pyramids of sweet peas and just above here is the nursery where you can buy many of the things you see in the garden.

To the front of the house is a large lawned overlooking the old church that is fringed with hardy tropicals and more unusual perennials. Most of the plants are labelled, which is useful if you wish to purchase them from the nursery.

There is a cute tea garden on the hedged lawn to the west of the house, where you can see The Shack, a ‘home from home’ 1930s getaway designed by Seely and Paget that used to sit on the downs at Freshwater.

Ventnor Botanic Gardens

There are several areas to this garden and it is the Mediterranean Garden that is looking especially striking this summer with a fine show of the tall purple-blue echium flower spikes and the yellow verbascums that favour this corner of the garden. The hydrangea dell is another summer treat with flowers of every genus and hue and beyond it the tree ferns and eucalyptus in the Australian garden are looking particularly lush.

Leading west from the pond with its pretty surrounding beds are the borders, which are full of flowering perennials. A vine covered pathway leads off from here towards the olive grove that will hopefully be producing some fruit this year. In the arid Westgate Garden above the temperate house there are a number of succulents in flower including the fabulous flower spikes of the Pula – at least ten huge spikes covered in flowers from pale green to a bright emerald are making quite a statement this year.

Lavender Farm

You can’t visit the fields of lavender that are grown here to make lavender oil because they are so precious but you can walk at leisure around the National Collection garden above the farm courtyard that is planted with over 230 cultivars of lavender. A lavender bordered pathway leads up through the garden from beside one of the two shops that are housed in the pretty red brick barns around the courtyard. Several benches are provided for you to sit and survey the beautiful scented view from beneath the overhanging oak trees – a quintessentially English experience.

Another of the barns has been converted into a café selling a selection of teas, cakes and scones – some of which are, of course, flavoured with the flowers. Lavender products made from their oil can be bought in the gift shop and in late July/early August you can visit the barns where the lavender is distilled into the pungent oil. Entry and parking is free but the farm is closed on Wednesdays.

Nestling between the inland cliff and the sea in the Undercliff area to the west of Ventnor, the gardens were once those of the former Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, namely TB, which was finally demolished in 1969. The gardens were opened to the public in 1972 on June 21^st, and this year saw the 40^th anniversary with a celebratory evening party on the same day.

Tended by a host of volunteers along with the team of gardeners under Head Gardener Chris Kidd, and supported by an army of over 800 ‘friends’ from all over the globe, Ventnor Botanic Garden is entering a new phase in its development. The garden is being transferred from the Isle of Wight Council to a Community Interest Company (CIC) under new investors Mr and Mrs Curtis. Former curator of the Ventnor Botanic Garden (VBG) for over 25 years and one of our bloggers, Simon Goodenough, retired a year ago but is pleased with the way that the garden is developing under the new regime.

Plans are being made to charge entry and a new entrance way is being built for this purpose. Parking, which has been charged, will be free to visitors but entrance to the garden will be £5 per person with family and other discounts in place.

Interpretation points are planned in the garden and there is hope that several books will be produced including a guide to take with you as you explore. Design walks are currently being held  to discuss the way forward with the planting, which is a verdant riot of plants from all over the globe.

This year it is the Pula plants that are putting in an especially good show with their enormous flower spikes – mostly to be seen in the Westgate Arid Garden that was opened by HRH Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2009.

Some of these flower spikes are over ten feet tall and have emerald green and paler green flowers in between the spikey bracts and because of their flowering the garden will be applying for National Collection status. “We have more of them in flower than ever before,” said Head Gardener Chris Kidd. “It’s a bromeliad in the pineapple family and it will flower well into August.”

Also in the arid garden are Aloe Polyphylla, a rare and endangered red databook plant, and these too are in flower this summer. Look for their geometric leaf structures and orange flower spikes.

But it is the Echiums, for which Ventnor Botanic Garden is particularly famous, that are putting in the most spectacular show in the flowering department this year. The Mediterranean Garden is absolutely full of their enormous purple, and sometimes pink and blue flower spears that thrust up to forty feet in the air. “These were introduced to the garden in 1988 from Tenerife and have naturalised ever since,” said Chris.

You can see smaller versions of the plants in the gardens at the small nursery around the Temperate House or at the shop. Make sure you also pay a visit to the Temperate glass house as it has a unique deserted mine shaft installation and is full of plants that love its humid, hot environment.

Just below here is the olive grove that has been planted over recent years in a program with a Sicilian nursery – one of the trees is thought to be at least 750 years old. VBG are hoping to harvest and produce olives from the trees very soon.

Stairs from the visitor centre descend to the pretty pond terrace, although there is also a lift within the building. On the ground floor of the building is the lovely Garden Café, now run by Head Chef Martyn Cutler, formerly of the Quay Arts Restaurant in Newport.

To the east of the pond terrace is the Palm Court: a survivor from the hospital gardens that has at its centre a palm planted by Queen Victoria. Next as you walk eastwards is the New Zealand Garden, which is frequently used for outdoor theatre and functions in the summer months. This year Quantum Theatre bring Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny on July 26^th at 2.30pm, Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream on July 26^{th at} 7pm and Twelfth Night on August 9^th and 10^th at 7pm.

The Hydrangea Dell leads east from here and is a sight to behold in late summer. Tree ferns and the scent of eucalyptus now herald the Australian woodland and scrub bush area that was the brainchild of Chris Kidd and a stunning example of what can be created with a creative imagination. An old coach was buried to produce the high bank that is now planted with 17 different varieties of eucalyptus and below sunken pathways, wooden bridges and ropes give the illusion of a deserted mine.

There is far more to explore than the areas described here: the Japanese gardens, the beautiful borders and semi walled gardens, the vast collection of trees around the grassed park and even the hop garden that is picked to produce Tropic Ale by Yates Brewery. Make sure you don’t miss it.

All you need is a net with a fine mesh – although some creatures can be picked up without the need for one – and a bucket full of seawater to put your finds in. We asked our expert blogger Ian Boyd to give us the lowdown on where to go and what to look out for when you’re rockpooling on the Island.

 Basics

• Best time to go – 1 hour before low tide (check tide tables).
• Wear shoes with good grip –wellies are best.
• Take care! Rocks will be slippery especially those covered in seaweed.

 Remember

• Return all creatures when you leave. They cannot survive in your pocket.  Take photos instead.
• Don’t forget to turn any rock back over after investigating underneath, otherwise creatures may dry out in the sun.
• Don’t leave any litter behind.

 Bembridge – the best place to go

Limestone ledge with shallow pools. An excellent variety of marine life especially crabs- Shore crabs (most common green or black), Edible Crab- pinkish orange with black-tipped claws-look like Cornish pasties), Hairy Crab (hairy!!), Spider Crabs (long legged), Hermit Crab ( soft bodied crab living in the discarded shell of a mollusc) and Velvet Swimming Crab (stripy legged, red eyed crab –pretty fierce too).

Small fish mainly Shanny ( slimy skin, no scales can survive out of water tucked under a rock until the tide comes back in).

Sea anemones – red Beadlet anemones and green and purple tentacled Snakelocks anemone.

Prawns and shrimps

Lots of sea snails- periwinkles, dog whelks, limpets, topshells and soft bodied often frilly sea slugs.

No starfish but look out for their tiny relative Brittle Stars- tiny and pink (will fit on the top of your little finger tip) found on the under surface of rocks.

Sponges and Sea squirts.

Superb diversity of seaweed.

 Ventnor

Steps down from La Falaise car park in Ventnor, but also accessible pools from the south end of the beach.

Boulder strewn shore- not easily accessible for younger children.

General rock pool fauna, especially crabs (shore and edible), prawns, shanny, Beadlet anemone and sea snails.

Along the same stretch of coastline there are rock pooling areas in Steephill Cove and Monks Bay.

 St. Helens

Sandy shore with boulders – quite good for sponges in particular. Good general site. Good accessibility. Similar fauna to above.

 Fort Victoria near Yarmouth

Gravely shore-not rockpools as such, more dents and hollows in the clay and amongst the shingle. Turn over rocks to find creatures. Can be good for hermit crabs. Also great for fossils, especially fossil shells and bits of turtle shell.

 Compton

Clay and sandstone ledges – can be very slippery. Good for animals which bore into rock e.g. the fabulously named Boring Piddock!  Also good for general rock pool fauna. Has lots of the beautiful Peacocks Tail seaweed. Also good for dinosaur foot prints, sometimes these are the rockpools in fact!!!

 Freshwater Bay

Shingle beach with rocky area.  Several different species of limpet (yes there is more than one).

 Ryde Sands

Excellent sandy pools that go on for miles.  Brilliant for snail shells of all sorts and chasing fish fry and prawns. Shore covered in worm holes.

1.    1900s – The Wellington Hotel, Ventnor

Ventnor was the most popular resort on the Island in Victorian times; and the warmer microclimate still draws in the crowds. High above the town, beach and esplanade, looking south over the Channel, the 28 bedroomed Wellington Hotel stands majestically. A whitewashed early Victorian Villa, the beautiful building has been lovingly restored. Decorated in neutral colours with stripped and polished floors, natural stone feature walls and of course, original features such as cornices, fireplaces and large windows, which were so typical of The Victorian Era. The bedrooms are equally as luxurious and most have panoramic sea views. The super deluxe rooms have their own balustrade balconies reflecting back to that glorious Victorian age.

2.    1930s – Marine Villa, Shanklin

The architecture, proportions and landscaped gardens with palms over the sea are reminiscent of an elegant Mediterranean villa famed within the 1930s. Offering spectacular sea views from its cliff top location over Sandown Bay towards Culver Cliff, this magnificent villa was built in 1929, as a gentlemen’s residence. The era of the 1930s is very evident with plenty of Art Deco influences throughout. There’s a fabulous upstairs sun-room with huge sliding picture windows where you can enjoy the breath-taking sunrises and bay illuminations by night. Huge stained glass windows highlight the oak panelled hallway, magnificent staircase and galleried landing. Built for entertaining, the house has an impressive triple aspect drawing room and large dining room with doors into the sun-room and garden for al-fresco dining. It can accommodate up to 20 people. . What’s more cliff-top walks begin from the garden gate.

3.    1950s – Brighstone Holiday Chalets, Brighstone

The Wish You Were Here picture postcard personifies the timeless post-war era of these chalets. Set in a unique position in West Wight, located on the coastal path looking straight out to sea, these festive chalets overlook Brighstone Bay with easy access to miles of beach.  Brightly coloured doors greet you with an immediate nostalgic feel harking back to the 1950s with all that Hi Di Hi happy camper charm.  The current owners have worked extensively to update the facilities while at the same time preserving the ethos from the bygone era of the 1950s.  These original chalets have been cleverly modernised over the years where each now offers a sitting room, well-equipped kitchen/diner, shower room and either one, two or three double bedrooms.

4.   1960s - Ocean Hotel, Sandown

The wonderful Ocean Hotel has been family run since 1958 and has an edge of ageing Hollywood glamour about it. The 96-bedroom hotel set in its semi-tropical, palm fringed gardens, wouldn’t look out of place if it were located in Malibu, California rather than overlooking the popular Sandown Bay on the Isle of Wight.  There is a nostalgic nod towards the 1960s with a hint of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Grand entrances, high ceilings with chandeliers, black & white check floors and funky mirrors grace the walls.  There’s even a heart shaped outdoor swimming pool and miles of long beaches just steps away. The royal blue canopied entrance conjures up images of Audrey Hepburn sashaying along to get a cocktail and some canapés. 

5.    1970s – Chert, St Lawrence

For 1970s chic, Chert says it all. This brilliant piece of architecture is a unique mirror image 70s house, perched against a wooded cliff, tucked away behind St Lawrence. Wonderful sea views from the expansive first floor windows and large balcony are a marvel. But what makes Chert so special is that most of the original features and fixtures are still here along with some original furniture, so everything feels completely in keeping with the era. Chert is the epitome of 70s chic. Its large rectangular open plan living area upstairs is made up from two identical ‘wings’. These meet in a central hallway where a spiral staircase leads down to a mirrored entrance hall. The largely monochrome interior has a bright orange bathroom – undeniably 70s.

North – The Little Gloster

The Little Gloster, is an unassuming waterfront café & restaurant that belies the culinary creative and expertise that is delivered as standard on the inside. Self classed as a location offering “non-pretentious, well-priced food and drink, in a warm and friendly ambiance” this is a venue well worth discovering. The food is fresh and simple, Chef Ben’s philosophy is to let the flavours speak for themselves by keeping it simple – a skill picked up from his Danish grandmother whose influences are everywhere from the food to the décor.

Facilities: All set out on one level there is a ramp at the front entrance and both babies and wheelchair users are catered for with a disabled loo.

South – Besty & Spinky’s

Unlike the rest of hilly Ventnor, all of the seafront cafes and pubs are extremely accessible as there are new wide pavements, much of which are road level with no difficult sills to negotiate. But perhaps Besty and Spinky’s at the end of Cheetah Marine’s new boat factory has the edge, as it’s a short flat walk from the Esplanade car park, has double doors to the side and the tables are easy to move in order to accommodate a wheelchair or pushchair. This newly relocated café/restaurant at the bottom of Ventnor Cascade has become the breakfast destination of choice for many locals and visitors alike with its fantastic views of the small Haven, lots of outdoor tables for the days when it hasn’t been raining and big picture windows for the days when it has.

Facilities:  Inside the restaurant the ladies loo is also a disabled toilet and a changing mat is provided for babies. The interior of the café has a nautical feel, with pictures of the sturdy catamarans produced in the factory and of the pleasure ride boats Ocean Blue/Cheetah Marine operate from the Haven in their boat, which has wheelchair access – you book from behind the counter. And right next door are the all singing and dancing eco loos that have so far survived the council’s cull of conveniences, which has a handy dedicated disabled toilet with it’s own separate entrance.

Southeast – Baywatch on the Beach

The Baywatch on the Beach sits in one of the most wonderful water-side locations on the Isle of Wight, right on the beach at the Duver in St Helen’s, with fantastic views across the entrance to Bembridge Harbour and over the Solent to the mainland. Fish and seafood are what Baywatch are known for and mussels are their signature dish: Moules Marinières or their steamed Thai Moules with lemongrass, coconut, chilli and coriander. Whole fish such as sea bass, lemon sole and plaice and the local lobster and crab are popular in the evenings when the Baywatch really comes into it’s own. Meat eaters don’t despair -  fillet steaks and gargantuan gourmet burgers are also served.

Facilities: Access here is very good with parking on the sea wall and a flat walk to the Baywatch. There is a disabled toilet in the public toilets next to the restaurant and baby changing facilities in their own toilets.

East – The Beach Shack

The Beach Shack at the western end of the seafront is the best for the beach, which, after all, is what Sandown is all about. Eating here looking across the newly cleaned acres of golden sand towards Shanklin must be one of the best beach views on the Island. Chips on the beach are a favourite from the shack – but it is for their crab cakes that the Beach Shack is renowned, winning the Best Island Crab Cakes Award in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Facilities: It’s also one of the best for access with room for a wheelchair or buggy or even a mobility scooter, which you could ride all the way along the seawall to Shanklin from here if you wished. There’s loads of parking along the parade between the pier and the Beach Shack, including disabled spaces and a disabled toilet and ramp at the public toilets opposite the pier, 200 yards away. Or you can walk 500 yards along the sea wall towards Shanklin where there are toilets near the Sandown and Shanklin Inshore Rescue HQ. Bring your own changing mat.

West – Barefoot on the Beach

Formerly known as Crusoes, this shack style café and restaurant can be found nestled in the bay at Colwell, looking out over the Solent towards Hurst Castle and Keyhaven, and is the perfect spot to relax and people watch from dusk til dawn.

Facilities: With sloping access down to the beach, the promenade is easily accessible for both wheelchair users and pushchairs. The barrier that prevents cars from driving along the promenade can be opened on request if closer disabled access to the café is required. Ramps into the café and both a disabled toilet plus baby changing facilities are available on site.

The festival begins with the town’s carnival procession on Wednesday August 15th and ends with the illuminated procession on Saturday August 18th and this year the Fringe’s procession entry has a retro sports theme influenced by the Olympics and the historical legacy of Ventnor. If you would like to be part of their entry they you can contact them at hello@vfringe.co.uk – they need people to dress up Royal Britannia vintage style.

Ventnor park will host the Pleasure Gardens’, which will hark back to what used to happen in parks in Victorian times when people from all classes could wander and there would be stalls of food, flowers, art and games. The popular patchwork picnic is part of that event with Art in the Park and workshops such as yoga and a popup museum and art activities.

This year’s Ventnor fringe is also playing host to a vibrant 1920’s speakeasy at Rex Piano Bar. Running each night of the festival will be the best in ragtime entertainment and vintage style. Guests will be donning flappers and furs, trilbies and tailcoats, coiffured locks and turn of the century style whilst celebrating the age of jazz with gin cocktails, live entertainment and charlestoning well into the night. Toast the opulence of the bright young things and the art nouveau golden era with Gatsby style elegance this summer.

Also new this year will be a visit from barista champions Prufrock Coffee in London and you will be able to be part of artisan coffee workshops from some of Britain’s finest baristas.

Acts that have been announced so far include singer songwriter Sam Homes, an evening with the Island’s Camerata Chamber Choir, an English Oboe Landscape with Suzie Shrubb and the Vegas film festival  in the Sacred Cinema.

Headline acts for the Fringe are not yet finalised but previous years have seen artists such as Johnny Flynn, Marques Toliver, Dizraeli and the Small Gods, Vincent Moon, Gaspar Claus, Ragroof Theatre and many others.

Volunteers are still needed to help with the running of the festival – contact hello@vfringe.co.uk if you want to get involved.