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10 things you can only visit on the Isle of Wight

Sure, you can find beaches and ice creams in several English counties. But there are also several record breaking and unique things that you will only find on the Isle of Wight, including some the UK's biggest, oldest and smelliest things:

1. The UK's oldest pier

Ryde Pier first appeared more than 200 years ago because Victorian holidaymakers were getting a little peeved at having to wade through shallow water and onto soggy sand at Appley.

Presumably the local hoteliers were also fed up of people with wet and sandy feet ruining their carpets on arrival. 
Appley Beach and Ryde Pier
Peering towards Ryde from the Pier
It's more of a practical pier for Wightlink than an attraction, but it is nice for a wander. If you want your pockets emptied by amusement arcades and ice cream then Sandown Pier is better.

Ryde Pier is also the UK's second longest Pier, though Southend Pier is much much longer.

If you want to stay in Ryde, there are lots of self catering cottages on Airbnb and Hoseasons as well as several hotels on Expedia and a posh lodge park near the beach called Woodside Bay Lodge Retreat.

2. The UK's dinosaur museum

OK, so there are certainly dinosaurs in other museums in the UK, but Dinosaur Isle was the first museum built just for the purpose of showing off old bones. 

It's actually quite impressive. The first corridor is full of educational beard stroking stuff about sediments and the like and then the main room has lots of stuff that will appeal to anyone who enjoyed Jurassic Park (the first one obviously, no-one enjoyed the two sequels).
Dinosaur Isle
Dinosaur Isle's funky building

3. The UK's oldest theme park

Isle of Wight residents who have spent time away living on the mainland will be familiar with the conversation where mainlanders explain that they went on a school trip at the age of 12 and visited Alum Bay and Blackgang Chine.

Blackgang Chine has been going since the 1830s in some form or other, giving it a pretty strong argument as being the UK's oldest theme park. It isn't as white-knuckle or vast as some of the mainland's corporate amusement parks, but the cliff edge location and odd charm is hard to beat.

Read the blog about our visit to Blackgang Chine and our guide to getting your money's worth.
The Weather Wizard at Blackgang Chine
The Weather Wizard at Blackgang Chine

4. The site of the UK's biggest ever festival

Exactly how many people actually attended the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 is a bit of a 'finger in the air' guess. I like to think that the man with the clicker lost count after the first hundred thousand because of all the suspicious smoke he was passively inhaling. 

Some people say 600,000 turned up to see Jimi Hendrix and others. Others say it was more like half that. I can confidently say it was a big number.

It was held at East Afton Farm in Freshwater, which can be viewed from upstairs at Tapnell Farm's restaurant. Alternatively, you can stay at East Afton Farmhouse or one of Tom's Eco Lodges nearby. Tollgate Cottages B&B has festival memorabilia and is opposite the site.

5. The UK's oldest carnival

It's hard to walk down an Isle of Wight high street in summer without finding you are being followed by a beauty queen on the back of a tractor, a dozen majorettes and a marching band playing the Blackadder theme tune.

You'll find carnivals in Sandown, Shanklin, Ryde, Newport, Ventnor, Cowes, Yarmouth and St Helen's. There's also something called the Isle of Wight Mardi Gras. Some of them have several versions as well with an illuminated one, a main procession and a children's one. 

The oldest - apparently in the UK - is Ryde Carnival which was once visited by Queen Victoria during her extended stay at Osborne House.

6. The world's biggest yachting regatta (possibly)

Cowes Week is great fun, even if you don't own a yacht and a pair of red trousers. There is usually live music, pop up bars, top quality fireworks and Esplanade stalls offering copies of the Daily Telegraph and investments in the Middle East. 

I've been slightly confused trying to work out exactly where Cowes Week stands compared to other sailing regattas but the official website describes it as 'the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world' and you'll find this phrase repeated on lots of other websites.

Read our Cowes Week guide.
Yachts at Cowes Week
Turn up your collar for Cowes Week

7. The world's only commercial hovercraft

According to sources including Visit Isle of Wight, the hovercraft which shuttles between Ryde and Southsea is 'the last remaining commercial hovercraft service in the world'.

OK, OK, so you can see the hovercraft from Southsea but you'll need to go to the Isle of Wight if you want to see it in action.

8. The UK's sunniest beach

Now this one is controversial, but Shanklin claims to be the sunniest beach in the UK. 

Once you start looking into these things you realise that there are numerous ways to measure sunshine. Number of hours of sunshine per year? Number of days with at least some sunshine? Highest temperature in one year? Highest average temperature?

Tourism people care greatly about this and so there are several southern seaside towns that claim to be number one. However, Shanklin is certainly one of the sunniest beaches in the UK, if not the sunniest.

If you want to stay in Shanklin, there are loads of self catering places on Airbnb and Hoseasons as well as big holiday parks like Lower Hyde and Landguard.
Deckchairs on Shanklin beach
The sun always shines in Shanklin - possibly

9. The UK's only poo museum

Headline writers were letting off party poppers (Ed: poopers, surely?) and hugging each other when the National Poo Museum opened at Isle of Wight Zoo. 'This British Museum is literally full of cr*p' sniggered the Huffington Post whilst The Register declared 'Truly cr*p exhibition dumped on the Isle of Wight'.

As I write this, it's not a permanent thing but just hangs around like a bad smell for a while before being flushed away and covered up with air freshener.
Outside Isle of Wight Zoo
Isle of Wight Zoo has been home to the National Poo Museum

10. The UK's oldest working phonebox

Sleepy Bembridge is home to an odd little attraction in the form of the UK's oldest working phonebox.

​Admittedly there's a slight snag in that we tried to make a call from the famous box and couldn't get it to accept any of our coins, but perhaps you will have more success. If you're looking for it, it is in the main (only) shopping street near to a fishmongers.

If you want to stay in Bembridge, there's a modest choice of self catering places on Airbnb and Hoseasons as well as big hotels like Warner Leisure's Bembridge Coast Hotel and a few nearby caravan parks including Whitecliff Bay, Nodes Point and Old Mill Holiday Park.

11. The world's largest tree sculpture

What's that noise? Ah yes, it's the sound of the barrel being scraped as we turn this top 10 into a top 11. At least I can say that this guide "Now comes with 10% more waffle!" 

At Robin Hill you can see the world's largest Tree Sculpture, which was carved in 2009 by Paul Sivell and is 19 metres tall (that's about 57 foot, grandad). You'll spot his tree sculptures in a few locations across the Island, they are really rather good.
World's largest tree sculpture at Robin Hill by Paul Sivell
Wood you believe it? The 19 metre tree sculpture at Robin Hill
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