Falling in love with the Isle of Wight

We were lucky enough to enjoy a couple of visits to the Isle of Wight over the Easter Holidays, in an attempt to stay out of a rather chaotic house as our new kitchen was being installed.

We stayed with Becky’s mum who lives near Carisbrooke Castle, not far from Newport in the middle of the island.

It’s fair to say that we are quickly falling in love with the Isle of Wight, despite still having lots of the island to explore and experience.

A highlight of the island is its beaches, particularly when the weather is as kind as it was during the Easter period.

This is Compton Bay on the south of the island, not far from The Needles. It is one of the wilder beaches on the island, popular with surfers and fossil hunters.

Another beach we visited was St Helens Duver, near Bembridge.

This beach offers sand dunes, rock pools and coastal woods to explore, along with Victorian history and a tidal walkway to access to the beach.

The Isle of Wight is known as Dinosaur Isle, with its rich fossil record.

After completing a half marathon along the stunning Tennyson Trail last Thursday, I met up with the family at Brighstone Bay to spend a couple of hours fossil hunting, guided by local expert Kai Bailey.

With the help of Kai’s trained eyes, we were able to find several dinosaur bones and lots of fossilised plant material, as well as some fool’s gold (iron pyrite).

A highlight of this short holiday was the opportunity to go horse riding along the beach at Bembridge. Becky, Lottie and I were allocated ponies for the hour and led along the sand, each at our own ability.

As this was only my second time riding, I stuck to mostly walking, with the occasional attempt at a rising trot. As an experienced rider, Becky was able to canter along sections of the beach.

I captured this photo with my GoPro camera, which I had mounted on a chesty strap and taking photos automatically every ten seconds.

Another must visit attraction on the Isle of Wight is The Needles. Parking at The Needles Park at Alum Bay, I walked up the coastal path towards The Needles Battery.

It was too early in the morning to explore the tunnels of the Old Battery, so I continued walking to the New Battery and its viewpoint of The Needles.

This was the view looking back down towards Alum Bay.

We are looking forward to heading back to the island in the May Half Term, for some more exploring and adventures.

Later this year, on 23rd August, I’m tackling the Isle of Wight Challenge; 106km of running around the coastal path in a single day. Being able to spend some time before then running and walking around different sections of the route should help on the day itself.

Do you have any favourite places on the Isle of Wight or elsewhere in England?