The Isle of Wight is a special place with landscapes. Wildlife and heritage of National and International importance. The Island is truly unique; varied geology and long history of farming means that it has developed a rich patchwork of different landscapes, habitats and sites of interest.

The Isle of Wight is often described as a microcosm of the English landscape with chalk downland, arable farmland, small woods, dairy pasture, heathland, hay meadows, sea cliffs, estuarine creeks, sandy beaches and river valleys, all contained in an area less than one tenth the size of Hampshire.

Over half of the Island is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and more than 70% of the Island is protected because of the richness of its heritage. The amazing variety of countryside means it offers a huge range of habitats, all crammed into one very special place.

The Island is also home to a variety of rare and beautiful animals such as red squirrels, wall lizards, water voles and glanville fritillary butterflies.

Gift to Nature

Visitors have been coming to the Island for many years because of its tranquillity and its rich variety of coast and countryside. This tourism is vitally important to the economy of the Isle of Wight, yet very little of the money earned from tourism is put back into looking after the countryside itself.

Gift To Nature is a scheme which was set up in 2000 to give visitors the opportunity to put something back into the Island's environment. With the support of Red Funnel and a selection of Island businesses, Gift To Nature aims to show how tourism and conservation can help each other.

When making your holiday booking customers are invited to donate a £1; all the money raised will be spent on environmental projects on the Isle of Wight.

To find out more about Gift to Nature click here.

Environment Friendly Touring Parks

All the parks in the Red Funnel inclusive caravan and motorhome package are recipients of the coveted David Bellamy Awards which are only granted to parks which have demonstrated a sound commitment to the natural world. The David Bellamy Award is described by Professor Bellamy as the "Green Olympics", and goes only to parks which help protect and enhance the natural environment.

To find out more about the David Bellamy Awards click here.

Carbon Neutral Leaflets and Brochures

Red Funnel Holidays printed brochures have been made CarbonNeutral ®. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are one of the main causes of global warming and climate change. Future Forests have calculated the amount of CO 2 produced in the production and distribution of the Red Funnel Holidays brochures and leaflets. Following this calculation, Red Funnel has funded the planting of enough trees to re-absorb this amount of CO 2. The trees are planted in a Mozambique National Park, which has trees, planted from the 2003 Isle of Wight Rock Festival.

To find out more about Future Forests click here.