It was, on reflection, unreasonable of me to expect the Isle of Wight to have remained suspended in time, re-living its 1950s glory and never moving on, just waiting for me to pitch up in 2011. And indeed, that is not what it did. Why should it? It’s not a theme park (or at least, it’s not a 1950s theme park), it’s a real, modern 21st century place, with all the attendant modern living pros and cons. Much like anywhere else, such as, say, Taunton, or Coventry. Only with the sea all around it.
There were parts that were simply stunning, such as the sweep of coast as you cycle west towards Freshwater Bay and The Needles, and the gardens at Osborne House:
We arrived on the island on the day of the Royal wedding, and in fact I think the Isle of Wight ferry was the only wedding-free zone in the world. Once on the IoW, wedding fever was even more torrid than on the mainland, probably because of its association with the Royal family during Queen Victoria’s reign, and Osborne House, the ‘family holiday home’.
The day we visited, it was quiet, being the day after the wedding. And the gardens, set against a perfect, blue, early summer sky, were simply beautiful, especially the walled garden. It is just so professionally tended, tidy but not anal, informed but not festooned with labels and signs. What fascinated me most were the structural details – the corners of Victorian glass houses, the cold-frames and the shelving, for example:
Osborne House glass house, high shelfpeeling cold frames at Osborne House in the walled garden: perfect, because it wasn't, if you see what I mean
So, the island is exactly like the mainland, except for the bits round the edge. No-one wore nippy dresses and hats. That’s fine. I’m so happy we went, that it has a Waitrose, that it was sunny every day (if cold and windy).
I’m happy that the house we rented was lovely, that the girls and the dogs were with us for the first three days.
It’s a shame, this being a cycling holiday, that cycling on the IoW is not a great experience, due to the very busy roads, with understandably busy residents trying to get from A to B on roads that clearly aren’t up to the local traffic, let alone the holiday traffic. Add bikes into that mix and frankly, it’s a scary place to ride. So we really didn’t. However, there is always knitting!
But mainly, I’m happy about this:
Ali, Mark, shadow on gravel
We arrived on the island on the day of the Royal wedding, and in fact I think the Isle of Wight ferry was the only wedding-free zone in the world. Once on the IoW, wedding fever was even more torrid than on the mainland, probably because of its association with the Royal family during Queen Victoria’s reign, and Osborne House, the ‘family holiday home’.
The day we visited, it was quiet, being the day after the wedding. And the gardens, set against a perfect, blue, early summer sky, were simply beautiful, especially the walled garden. It is just so professionally tended, tidy but not anal, informed but not festooned with labels and signs. What fascinated me most were the structural details – the corners of Victorian glass houses, the cold-frames and the shelving, for example:
So, the island is exactly like the mainland, except for the bits round the edge. No-one wore nippy dresses and hats. That’s fine. I’m so happy we went, that it has a Waitrose, that it was sunny every day (if cold and windy).
I’m happy that the house we rented was lovely, that the girls and the dogs were with us for the first three days.
It’s a shame, this being a cycling holiday, that cycling on the IoW is not a great experience, due to the very busy roads, with understandably busy residents trying to get from A to B on roads that clearly aren’t up to the local traffic, let alone the holiday traffic. Add bikes into that mix and frankly, it’s a scary place to ride. So we really didn’t. However, there is always knitting!
But mainly, I’m happy about this:
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