The Isle of Wight - thing to do on an Island holiday
Maritime tradition aside, the Isle is also known for its fabulous cliffs and quarries, wonderful wildlife (one of the few places in England to have no grey squirrels and where the native and rare British red squirrels actually flourish) and possibly the best dinosaur fossils in Europe. Its climate is slightly more temperate, being milder, sunnier, sees virtually no snow and much less frost than the mainland - perfect for a vacation year round.
There is a very old Victorian joke that says the locals didn’t like boats because they preferred Cowes to Ryde (two towns on the island), the former being the island’s international sailing centre, the latter, the largest town on the island and the record-holder for the oldest se pier in England. For those seeking a dose of serious retail therapy, Newport followed by Ryde are the island’s main formal shopping areas. Cowes is famous for the world-famous Cowes Week (sailing and boating), while the town of Sandown is popular as home of the Dinosaur Museum, the Isle of Wight Zoo and one of the Isle of Wight’s two 10-hole golf courses. Ventnor, to the south, sits above the highly-popular Ventnor Bay and harbour. Meanwhile the town of Shanklin pulls in the people to its sandy beaches because of its higher-than-mainland England levels of sunshine.