I've recently discovered a fairly active Solent car share group, which I felt was worth a quick blog post. Potentially, it offers the holy grail of ferry travel - free journeys to and from the Isle of Wight.

The group has well over a thousand members, so my ignorance of its existence does rather challenge my (self-appointed) status as the Isle of Wight Guru.

If you know of other similar groups, please give them a mention in the comments.

Wightlink and Red Funnel both charge the same for taking a car on their ferries, regardless of the number of passengers. That includes people carriers, so you pay the same for taking seven people as just one.

As a result, some people have started offering up the unused spaces in their car for a ferry. Typical posts look like this:

Other posts are people asking for a lift:

The likelihood of a lift being available on the day that you are travelling is relatively small but there is more likely to be a match if more people get involved.

​Most posts are quite last minute, but this isn't a problem for foot passenger journeys. Travelling as a foot passenger to or from the Isle of Wight is generally the same cost regardless of when you travel, whereas booking a car varies a lot depending on how far in advance you book.

Most users on the group seem to be Isle of Wight residents, rather than holidaymakers.

If you do travel to the Isle of Wight without your own car, then you may want to read our guide to public transport.

Of course, there are some risks associated with getting into a stranger's car (see Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher for Exhibit A). 

I'm not going to recommend you try this. Definitely don't try it. It's a terrible idea.

We've written lots of waffle about the Isle of Wight ferry. Some would call it a hobby, others would say it's an addiction. Let's not quibble. Guides include:

• 25 ways to save on the Isle of Wight ferry (this is where you can find discount codes and other tips and loopholes)
• Isle of Wight ferry beginners' guide (I think you can figure out what that one is)
• Is the Solent really the most expensive ferry crossing in the world? (spoiler alert: no, it's not, but it's more expensive than a lot of other crossings)
• How have Isle of Wight ferry fares changed in 10 years? (spoiler alert #2: they've gone up)
• Advice for Isle of Wight residents on how to get the best price on Wightlink's ferries

Our visits to Blackgang Chine are best described as militaristic.

I take on the role of Captain Mainwaring and tell the platoon in which direction they need to be walking.

At first, Mrs Guru felt this was a little over the top but I am convinced it is the only option to avoid the day spiralling out of control. 

The alternative is to say "where shall we go next?" to a group of children with differing desires and interests. This always leads to 1) an argument 2) public embarrassment and 3) empty threats about ice cream not being available later.

On our first visit to Blackgang Chine of 2023, we were joined by my brother's family so Captain Mainwaring was in a particularly bossy mood.

Blackgang Chine is a mix of rides which you queue for and imagination type stuff which you wander round at your own pace.

My advice is to arrive at 10am and head straight for the rides. There's a golden hour at the start of the day when queue lengths are short, even on a busy day. 

We were at the waterslide by 10.10am and managed to squeeze in three slides with a wait of only a couple of minutes each time. Child two sat it out, but child one whooshed down with aplomb.

You might spend the rest of the day with a soggy bottom but it's worth the risk.

I didn't have the stomach for further rides, so I declared that it was time for the dinosaurs of Restricted Area 5 - which are perhaps my favourite attraction at Blackgang Chine. 

Visitors who last came to Blackgang Chine when Thatcher was in power will be surprised to read that the dinosaurs now move. Fear not though, some of the original carbon fibre models are still there as well. They can still be clambered on and the landing when you fall off is now slightly softer.

Dodo Valley was next, which I would put into the 'charmingly quirky' category of things at Blackgang Chine. Other curiosities - such as the Weather Wizard and the Triassic Club of dining dinosaurs - are no longer at the park, but there is still plenty of weird stuff to enjoy.

My tough schedule went a bit wonky at that point because someone needed the toilet. A couple of stray children started playing on the pirate ship and squirting water at strangers. I considered putting a stop to this unplanned nonsense until Mrs Guru gave me a look which suggested I might want to chill out a little.

We ducked briefly into the Musical Pet Shop, which confirmed for me that Blackgang Chine still has an oddball charm about it. My brother found the cacophony of noise a little much and looked like he needed a lie down.

A few minutes later, I moved things along and ventured into the Crooked House. This has had an update since your school trip in 1996 with the curious mannequins being replaced with more cartoonish characters. Check out this video if you want a reminder of what the previous occupants looked like.

Next up was the Underwater Kingdom, which was added to Blackgang Chine in 2017. We like this area, particularly the giant whale. Child one suggested that it could do with a playground to make it last longer, although it does have a sunken ship on its side which can be climbed through.

We then made our way to Cowboyland, which competes with the dinosaurs as my favourite part of Blackgang Chine. This is based on a combination of nostalgia, the views of the cliffs and the gravestone puns which are scattered around (Blackgang Chine is excellent at hiding little jokes for parents to find).

I had some sympathy for the enthusiastic Cowgirl who was belting out tunes in Cowboyland. All was going well until the rain appeared, prompting the gathered crowd to disperse and take shelter in the saloon.

​After lunch, it was time for the maze and the children's barrel ride. I also dug into my pockets and paid £1 for a water firing game, since child two didn't want to go on the ride. This is very much unlike me, as I prefer to cling onto my pennies once I'm inside an attraction. It turned out to be a highlight, with several people getting drenched for 25% of the cost of the Radio Times.

We then went on the Shipwrecked ride, which was just about at the limit for my weak stomach. Nearby, Blackgang Chine's rollercoaster - Cliffhanger - was dismantled and disappeared in 2022 after serving for 17 years. According to Wikipedia, the ride moved to Margate and is now called the Rock 'n Roller.

There's currently a sign saying that they are planning something to replace Cliffhanger. 

This began a debate amongst us about what should be Blackgang Chine's next investment.

Child one and I decided that it should be a free-play arcade/gaming museum. A couple of dozen machines would be presented in chronological order telling the story of gaming through time from the 1980s to the 2020s. At one end you would have a Space Invaders or Pacman arcade machine whilst at the other end would be a two player Mario Kart Arcade GP machine or a motorbike racing game.

Everything would be free to play on and a holographic dodo would tell you random facts about how Pacman was based on a pizza with a slice missing. It would be particularly appealing to older children who could be left to play for hours (for free) whilst younger siblings went to Fairyland.

We are currently debating whether it should be called Free Play City, Arcadorama or The Museum of Fun.

Anyway, I digress...

Legs were getting weary so it was nearly time to leave Blackgang Chine. It was at this point that my brother casually announced that he would like to go on the new ride - Extinction. 

I made it quite clear that I would not be joining him. A few years ago I went on a rollercoaster on a stag do and was forced to spend the rest of the day sitting under a tree whilst groaning.

Of course, this meant that I shifted from being Captain Mainwaring to Sergeant Wilson ("Do you think that's wise, Sir?"). My brother/Corporal Jones ignored me and joined the queue for the ride. 

Extinction has two queues. You can either join the 120 degree queue which doesn't go over the top, or the 360 degree queue which goes the whole way. I am told that when it first arrived, it went over several times but has now been altered to just do one full loop.

I was sort of hoping that my brother would get off the ride looking pale, but he just said "that was a nice view" as if he had just climbed up to a viewpoint.

A few days later, I returned to Blackgang Chine on my own for a night time launch evening for Extinction. At first, I declined the opportunity to go on the ride.

Eventually, they offered to run the ride at a specially adapted lower height for any nervous children who wanted to give the ride a go. I gingerly raised my hand and climbed onto Extinction along with a nine year old girl. What a brave boy eh?

As previously discussed, Harcourt Sands Holiday Resort holds a nostalgic charm for many Islanders and visitors. 

The holiday park closed in 2006 and then suffered from a fire in 2007. I am not entirely sure why Harcourt Sands closed in the first place but media reports say that it was owned by Renowned Holiday Villages when it closed. I can't see any evidence of that company still trading.

In 2018, On The Wight reported that developers had pulled out of a grand plan for 'for 128 residential dwellings, alongside a tourism proposal that would comprise either a 63 bed hotel or 15 holiday units'.

The notable updates since then appeared in 2021 and 2022:

• In February 2021, developers applied to change the development and began demolishing the swimming pool. Isle of Wight Radio reported that an 'alternative model for development of the site is being pursued which would see prefabricated houses built'. They added that 'The new-look of 14 flat-roofed houses has been described as a ‘modernist seaside approach’ by architects Chassay and Last which will provide views across the Solent towards Portsmouth from balconies and rooms designed to ‘enjoy the landscape and the benefits of sea air’.
• A month later, there was a fire at Harcourt Sands 'which happened when an ember from a burn caught an insulated panel - part of the roof structure of the old indoor swimming pool, which is being demolished'
• In April 2021, developers 'put in another planning application, to keep their scheme alive'. Under the plans 'The heavily wooded, eastern part of the site would hold 93 houses if permission is granted for phase two of the development.'
• In December 2022, the Isle of Wight County Press reported that the site was on the Isle of Wight Council's Brownfield Register which is 'sites it considers to be appropriate for residential development.'

I took an early morning jaunt to Ryde this week to have a nosey at the former Harcourt Sands site. I didn't enter the fenced-off site, because I'm very well brought up. I just flew around with my drone to get a look.

I think that the green pipe visible from above is from an outdoor pool which appears at 11 minutes on this Bearded Explorer video and at 1 minute 25 seconds on this video from when the resort was open in 2000.

I was given free entry to Robin Hill, but the words are mine.

As previously discussed, Robin Hill holds a special place in my heart as it provided me with a job for three summers during long breaks from university. I sold buckets of mint choc chip ice cream and ran the Colossus many, many times.

It was also the time that Bestival arrived, leading to many excellent nights of world class music and bizarre juxtapositions. Basement Jaxx riding on the toboggan run was a highlight.

There was then a gap of about 10 years when I was forced to live as a grown up and Robin Hill carried on without me.

Thankfully, Robin Hill is now a regular day out for us and we headed off for our first visit of the season at Easter.

We managed to get my mother in half price as a guest. This is a new addition to the Frequent Visitor Passes. The downsides are that a) the price has gone up from last year b) you no longer get food vouchers with annual passes and c) it’s not available during May half term and the summer holidays. Still, it made for a good value trip for her, particularly as you can return for free within a week. Read our blog about whether Frequent Visitor Pass is worth the money.

Our usual trick at Robin Hill is to ignore the suggested route (turning left and walking in an anti-clockwise route). Instead we headed straight down the hill to the bottom of the park. This allows us to beat the queue for the toboggan run, which can be quite long at peak times. The toboggan run is also better at quiet times because there is less chance of getting caught behind a cautious rider.

Regular visitors to Robin Hill will notice that there are several things we didn’t manage to do on our visit. That includes the swinging ship, the Cowes Express train ride, the falconry, the 4D Cinema and the disc golf.

I'm sure we will able to tick a few more off on our next visit.

​I didn't realise until this Easter that duck races are such a big deal on the Isle of Wight.

In my mind, they involve a couple of dozen people turning up at a local stream and politely cheering. A woman called Marjorie might pass round lemon drizzle cake.

I assumed that our attendance at a duck race would be noticed by Marjorie who would thank us personally for supporting their event. The vicar would announce at the end that £16.53 had been raised, which was enough to pay the church's electricity bill for the next hour.

But no, duck races are on a different scale on the Isle of Wight as we discovered this week.

I love the Easter holidays. Months of complaining about the weather come to an end and my shorts finally come into play. Please wear sunglasses if you see my legs in the coming weeks. 

Of course, the temperature bumbles around 10 degrees and it rains every other day. But let's not allow reality to get in the way of a good blog post.

Here are five things coming up on the Isle of Wight at Easter.

There's a pirate theme to Easter at Blackgang Chine along with a 'mystery' to solve.

The park also has a new ride, after we waved goodbye to the Cliffhanger Rollercoaster last year. I'm told that there will be two queues - one for those who want to go over the top and another for those who just want to go part of the way up. I'm proposing a third queue for people who want to 'watch the bags'.

Robin Hill has also been promoting its Easter plans for falconry shows...

....as well as its new attraction - 'The Ripple' -  which is in the lower field.

Tapnell Farm Park is keeping up its reputation for creative events throughout the year.

This Easter, it is Alice in Wonderland-themed. It's also indoors, which is good news if the Isle of Wight isn't the sunshine wonderland that I'm hoping it will be.

A simple trail is enough to turn my children from disinterested plodders to enthusiastic adventurers. With this in mind, we may well return to Carisbrooke Castle for their 'Easter Adventure Quest'.

I may be speaking out of turn here, but I'm yet to meet a grandad who doesn't like trains. My father-in-law loves them. I don't have the heart to tell him that they all look pretty similar to me but I try to make intelligent noises.

TheIsle of Wight Steam Railway's Great Railway Easter Hunt may be the best way to keep everyone happy. Younger visitors can race around looking for hidden eggs whilst chaps called Brian, Keith and Nigel can admire the 'newly overhauled Hunslet Austerity 192 Waggoner' and the 'Ivatt 2MT 41298'.