 Newport's Treasure Trail exceeded my (low) expectations Over the years, we've completed most of the Isle of Wight's Treasure Trails. The children have been successfully tricked into going for a walk on each occasion, as we've searched for clues in Shanklin, Cowes, Freshwater Bay, Ventnor and other towns and villages (see the roundup). My favourite was The Needles, as it had decent views for nearly the whole walk and very few cars. My least favourite was Godshill, which involved trying to avoid having your foot run over by a bus when the pavement vanished.  The Needles Treasure Trail offered some of the best views The missing trailsThere were two Treasure Trails that we had delayed attempting - Bembridge and Newport. Bembridge is a lovely large village with plenty of interest including beaches, a windmill, an airport, a harbour and - most thrillingly - a very old phonebox. However, the Bembridge Treasure Trail is a cycling route of about seven miles. We enjoy a family cycle but getting our bicycles and people into the right location requires similar levels of logistics to a small wedding. We hadn't bothered with the Newport Treasure Trail because I had assumed it would be rather tedious. The other Treasure Trails include sea views and maritime history. Newport - I assumed - would involve walking between Sports Direct and Asda and perhaps wouldn't reach the scenic heights of the Needles Old Battery or Tennyson Down. I can't resist a freebieI was finally prompted to attempt the trail when I spotted a rare freebie being offered by Treasure Trails. The trails usually cost about £10, which is fine if it provides half a day's entertainment for four people but felt a bit steep for a walk around Newport. On the day we attempted it, the Island was baking in 30 degree heat. However, I had suggested the trail a couple of days earlier to child one and was fixed into a verbal agreement. She didn't embrace my suggestion that we just stood in front of the fridges in Morrisons instead. We were against the clock as we had arranged to meet Mrs Guru and child two at M&S a couple of hours later (they were sent off to Godshill Model Village). And so, we set off on the gremlins themed trail. On the trailAt first, this gremlins theme seemed a little random, but I later twigged that this had been carefully thought out - as Treasure Trails usually are. As we walked around and stood in shady spots we came across several plaques, monuments and oddities that had completely passed me by. We basically bypassed Newport high street and instead focused on the interesting back streets where there are statues built into houses and signs telling you that tricycles are banned. This was particularly pleasing to me as I grew up in Newport and Carisbrooke but noticed lots of things I'd never seen before. As is always the case with your home town, you tend to follow the same routes and don't pay attention to things you walk past every day. It didn't have the lovely sea views of several other trails but it was still an interesting tour.  The route followed the attractive back streets including Holyrood Street  The area around Quay Arts held a couple of clues A disappointing finale at M&SAs our deadline approached, we triumphantly typed our answer into the Treasure Trails website to be entered into the monthly £100 draw. I found the trail quite easy as I knew all the street names so could guess the general direction we were heading in. And so, I was crestfallen when it revealed that we had failed the trail and had entered the wrong answer. My attempts to figure out where we had gone wrong were interrupted by a series of text messages asking me to buy a series of highly-priced M&S picky bits before we met. I lost the webpage and still don't know where we went wrong. On the plus side, I did enjoy the Gherkin, Sweet Chilli Pepper and Red Leicester Kebabs. I would still rank the Newport trail fairly low compared to the trails around coastal towns - but it was very well done and is certainly worth doing if you a) are a completist or b) are offered it for free.  The Trail included plenty of local history...  ...and it passed this bakery, which is famous for its Mr Blobby biscuits
0 Comments
A few months ago, I was wasting time on Facebook when I stumbled across a poster for the Isle of Wight Festival 1990. This frazzled my brain slightly, as I had spent a long time telling people that the Isle of Wight Festival took a 32 year break between 1970 and 2002. (Read our history of the Isle of Wight Festival) I found a few details about the 1990 event - but there is surprisingly little evidence of its existence. I recently spoke to the organiser of the Isle of Wight Festival 1990 - Geoff Francis - who filled in the gaps including the lineup, the challenges of putting on the event and why it didn't return for 1991. Geoff is an artist, writer, filmmaker and campaigner with a particular interest in animal rights. He's worked in music, environmental campaigning and visual arts for more than 50 years. Here are some interesting little nuggets from the video and and from the post-interview conversation I had with Geoff:
Photos of the Isle of Wight Festival 1990There are probably more portraits of Julius Caesar than there are photos of the Isle of Wight Festival 1990. Back then, you didn't carry a camera around with you unless you were on holiday. However, Nigel on Facebook has kindly dug some up and said we can share them.  Captain Sensible at the Isle of Wight Festival 1990 (Credit: Nigel Eldridge)  Captain Sensible with some of the crowd at the Isle of Wight Festival 1990  Random World opened a few weeks ago in the old Mothercare building in Carisbrooke I have a great deal of admiration for anyone who is willing to take a punt and start up a business - particularly when it's different to anything else on offer. And so, I felt it was my duty to visit Random World, which opened in Carisbrooke a few weeks ago, as the sister business to the Random Rooms escape rooms in Newport. A slightly random location Random World is ideally located for a post-Home Bargains de-stressing We booked in for an hour's session at Random World, which cost us £5 each. The usual session is three hours and costs about £12. A fiver doesn't go very far nowadays, so this didn't seem like a big gamble with my money. The location is an appropriately random one, between a cavernous Argos and my favourite shop - Home Bargains. The Random World building was previously a Mothercare and an Early Learning Centre and is pretty vast by Isle of Wight retail standards. I remember visiting it a few times as a clueless new parent (rather than the clueless old parent that I am now). When we visited, there was no outdoor signage for Random World, which added to the mystery of the place. I'm hoping they will put a big sign outside once it is more established. We popped inside and were invited to explore and have fun. This wasn't like a trampoline park where they insist that you watch a catastrophising 20 minute safety video and sign a waiver before you can do anything. So, what exactly is Random World? The model train set is one of the more conventional activities We'll get onto that. Have a bit of patience please. I was visiting with child one, who is 13. She knew nothing about the day out, but dutifully agreed to come along so that I could do some research. As I've said before, one of the best things about having children is being able to behave like one without getting funny looks. We wandered between the various activities to see what was on offer. We began with a couple of photos of us sat on a giant throne before finding a safe, which could be unlocked by finding the clues around the building. We then began building some marble runs, which stick onto a wall with magnets. After that, we found a section with dozens of foam bricks and began shaping every single one of them into a wall.  We enjoyed the magnetic ball run at Random World Building a wall was perhaps not the most creative use of bricks but Donald Trump would call it a "beautiful wall" and it did provide me with a very satisfactory feeling upon its completion. The owner remarked that it was the largest wall that anyone had built since they opened, which added to my feeling of satisfaction.  One of my proudest achievements (of all time) Child one and I then started discussing what exactly Random World is. It's much less noisy and energetic than a soft play area or the indoor barn at Tapnell Farm Park. It's got a wider age range than an 'imagination town', which tends to be for primary and pre-schoolers. It's probably best categorised as a relaxed, creative play space. Primary school aged children are probably the core audience, but my 13 year old wasn't the only teenager there and none of them looked to be bored.  I successfully spotted the Subbuteo goalkeeper in this game How long will I need at Random World?I must admit that my initial impression was that our hour's session would probably be enough for us. Most of the activities at Random World are quite simple and low key, rather than the noisy, flashy, shooty things that I usually head towards so I thought that we'd have done everything within an hour (I love the Summer Arcade in Shanklin, which is the antithesis of Random World). However, we became engrossed in a couple of the activities and our hour flew by. Child one insisted that I agreed to us returning for a longer session, which is about as positive an endorsement as you will get. At the time, I felt at the time that they could probably cram in a few more things - and I could see a couple of things were still in development. I later thought that perhaps this was a deliberate strategy to create a relaxed and slower feel than you'd get whilst throwing a red ball at a clown on Shanklin seafront. If I were creating it, I'd have been tempted to chuck in a ping pong table and a basketball hoop, but it would have changed the vibe significantly. Random World has definitely got a homemade and lovingly curated feel to it. There are bizarre little jokes, such as a lightshade full of garlic, a door that leads nowhere and a display of different types of spoon.  The spoon collection at Random World This is clearly a family's passion project, rather than some big corporation with ambitions to make millions.
I'm no expert, but I would also imagine that Random World would be a good space to bring children who are neurodiverse and don't like excessive stimulation. There was no pumping music and we didn't feel that we were sharing activities with the other people who were there. We'll be back for another session soon.  The Lakes Rookley is the only inland Away Resorts holiday park on the Isle of Wight We were recently invited to stay at Away Resorts The Lakes Rookley. We've previously stayed at two of their other holiday parks - St Helens Coastal Retreat and Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park - but we were less familiar with The Lakes.  The Lakes Rookley had a previous life as Rookley Country Park before it was sold and rebranded I must admit, I didn't previously rank Rookley particularly highly in my list of places to stay on the Isle of Wight - but this trip shifted my view somewhat. I had nothing bad to say about Rookley, but it is right in the middle of the Island and isn't particularly elevated so I always pointed out that it lacks the easy walks down to the beach that you get at Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park and The Bay Colwell. I also associate Rookley with a childhood memory of sitting in a piano teacher's lounge in every Wednesday night whilst my brother practised his grade four in the room next door. My mother assures me that the lessons were only half an hour but if you had asked me to guess, I would have said they were three to four hours at a time. For some reason, we couldn't watch his TV and the only entertainment was listening to the clock ticking and trying to guess when a minute was up. At one stage, I resorted to seeing if I could hold my breath for a minute in an effort to pass the time. Apologies for digressing but I like to take every opportunity to point out to my children just how often my generation had to sit around and do literally nothing. Anyway, back to The Lakes Rookley. The unexpected views at The Lakes rookleyI had previously advised people that The Lakes Rookley was a great choice if you wanted to explore the whole Island in a week. You can reach almost every corner of the Island in less than 30 minutes by car. Pleasant spots like Bembridge or Totland require drives approaching an hour if you really want to see everything the Island has to offer. I'm aware that an hour's drive is considered quite reasonable for a day out by a mainlander but to an Islander, driving an hour would only really be considered for a wedding or a funeral. The downside - I had previously advised - was that The Lakes Rookley wouldn't offer you a decent view, apart from a view overlooking a lake, which is pleasant but isn't quite the same as a sea view in my opinion.  The lakes provide a nice backdrop at The Lakes Rookley and are also used for watersports  This is the view from the restaurant balcony However, my socks were somewhat blown off when we arrived at our lodge (25 Rookley Heights, if you're interested) to find the most fantastic panoramic view.  I was staggered by the view from our lodge (photos don't really do it justice) I'd estimate that we had a 230 degree view of the Island's rolling hills and farmland. In the far distance in one direction, we could see Southampton, whilst in the other we could see the white cliffs of Culver Down. At night, we could see cars zooming along Brading Down.  We could see Southampton, Culver Down and towards the South Wight from our lodge Directly in front of the lodge was a sweetcorn crop, which swayed in the warm summer breeze. I'd have written a poem about it if the children weren't tugging on my arm and asking to go in the hot tub.  Our corner plot overlooked a field of sweetcorn (no, I didn't steal any)  Much time was spent sitting in the hot tub and saying "ahhh, this is nice"  Our lodge was on a part of the park called Rookley Heights  The area is slightly elevated so you get good views  The narrower properties are caravans whilst the wider ones are lodges Inside our lodge at The Lakes RookleyOur lodge was well equipped with three bedrooms, two toilets and one dishwasher. The choice of accommodation at The Lakes Rookley ranges from caravan holidays (similar in design but narrower than a lodge), through to lakehouses (posher accommodation with lake views) and some brick-built chalets. They also have some accommodation for dog friendly holidays.  Lodges tend to be a couple of metres wider than caravans at holiday parks  We had a great view from our lodge  The kitchen had a dishwasher and large fridge/freezer Around The Lakes RookleyAfter unpacking, we began a tour of the site. The main reception area has been nicely updated and leads onto a restaurant, which also does takeaways. We didn't eat onsite, unless you count the three Magnum ice creams I bought in a moment of weakness.  This reception area leads onto the restaurant and pools  We didn't eat onsite, but we liked the décor in the restaurant  The arcade wasted half an hour and emptied my wallet Other things to do onsite at The LAkes RookleyJust off from the reception are the two swimming pools. I didn't get my tape measure out, but I would estimate that they are both around 15m long. The indoor one is slightly wider than the outdoor one, but both were heated to a pleasant level. Neither of them have a slide, but the depth worked out well for us. They both range from 90cm to 122cm, so we didn't need to worry too much about our children having free reign. The pools needed booking, but that did mean that they didn't get too crowded. I am much more relaxed in a pool with three people than one where there is a high risk of having a child belly flop on top of you. Over four days we managed four trips to the pools and three dips in the hot tub, so we couldn't be accused of under-using the facilities.  One of two swimming pools at The Lakes Rookley (this photo is one of the official ones) Other things to do onsite at The Lakes RookleyThere's a busy programme of things to do during the school holidays at The Lakes Rookley. We did the bingo one night, which was the linked bingo sort where we paid £12 to enter and had the chance to win £1000+. Someone at an Away Resorts in Cleethorpes won the jackpot on our night, but I was able to console myself by remembering that I was on the Isle of Wight and they weren't.  I'd love to say we won the bingo jackpot...but we didn't. We also did the quiz, which was free. I was joined by child one and together we achieved a grand score of 36/50, six less than the winner. My knowledge of 2018 Rugby League winners let me down. On the plus side, we won a t-shirt for coming up with the best team name (Quiz Truss). I did attempt to squeeze into the t-shirt when I ran out of clean clothes a couple of days later, but it was designed for a seven year old and wasn't quite the look I was going for. On another night we joined in with the kids' house party, which involved dancing and splatting people in the face with shaving foam. We ran out of time for the other activities, such as crafty things and slime activities. They also have paddleboarding and kayaking on the lake, which we were tempted by. I have both those things sat in my mum's garage so I decided against it in the end. Out and about on the Isle of WightOn one day we went to Shanklin, which is about 20 minutes away from Rookley and is our preferred day out if we want a traditional seaside resort. We parked for free on the road approaching the seafront and then walked along towards Sandown.  The coastal path between Shanklin and Sandown is a nice simple walk that is suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs The Isle of Wight was a gorgeous temperature during our stay, with daytimes generally around 21 Celsius and plenty of sunshine. We got out and explored a fair bit, but we were happy to spend more time onsite than most people normally would. We climbed the steps before you reach Lake and came up near to the newly rebuilt Blueberrys Café, which has terrific sea views (Note for pedants: yes, I know there should be a possessive apostrophe but Blueberrys Café don't use one, so I'll respect their wishes). The new café is looking very smart and reappeared remarkably quickly compared to some building projects (for example, Gurnard's pleasant little café was demolished years ago and is still a building site). On another day we visited the Ventnor Fringe festival, which takes places in late July each year (see our festivals guide). We pottered about in Ventnor Park, where there was a place you could do some art and then watched a performance where three men did backflips whilst a Ford Orion spun round in circles. I struggled to follow the associated plotline but child one explained it to me afterwards, which confirmed that the problem was my comprehension rather than their storytelling.  This car-themed performance was part of Ventnor Fringe  Blueberrys Café on the Shanklin coastal path was recently rebuilt There was also a strange moment in Ventnor where I went up to hot drinks booth and asked if they did decaf coffee. The blank response suggested that they had never been asked this question before and didn't really understand the premise. I wondered if I had accidentally walked into a fringe festival performance piece about a town that had been overrun by the undead, but it really was somewhere that sold coffee. I hastily retreated to avoid an already awkward social situation. Our plan was to then walk along the coastal path from Flowers Brook to Steephill Cove. This is one of my favourite short walks and is referred to in our family as the Mint Choc Chip Trail, as it inevitably leads to an ice cream at the beach. It was decided that we had worn out the children too much already, so we sat on my favourite Ventnor bench (see the top 10 benches guide) and admired the view instead.  The bigger events take place in this big top in Ventnor  The view towards Ventnor from one of my favourite Isle of Wight benches Final thoughts on The Lakes RookleyWe now know all of the Away Resorts on the Isle of Wight pretty well. It's fair to say that they are all very different in terms of what they offer and location. That's pretty common with holiday parks, as they often change hands and have bits added on over the years rather than being purpose built and completed in one go.
The Lakes Rookley is the best option on the Isle of Wight if you're the sort of family who wants a busy week of seeing everything the Isle of Wight has to offer without spending too long in the car. I often tell people that the Isle of Wight is best thought of as England in Miniature and that its diversity of landscape is its strength. From Rookley, you can pick each day whether you fancy the minigolf and amusements of Shanklin, the sailing boats of Cowes, the isolation and rocky scenery of the South Wight, the golden sands of Appley or the unspoilt coastline of the West Wight. Nowhere is very far away and you can cram in multiple things in one day, if you and your party have the stamina for it. As mentioned, The Lakes Rookley is trumped by Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park and The Bay Colwell if you want a beach on the doorstep. The views from The Lakes Rookley far exceeded my expectations but if your holiday highlight is walking down to the beach then Colwell or Whitecliff Bay are better choices. I'd also like to mention that the staff at The Lakes Rookley were exceedingly helpful and professional. The bar staff, reception staff and evening entertainers were all putting in plenty of effort to keep everyone happy. If you've been to the park yourself, I'd welcome your comments and thoughts. |
Isle of Wight Guru's BlogTales of Isle of Wight days out, attractions and ferry discounts from a Wightophile. This site uses cookies - see our privacy policy. Ads & links in bold may give us a small payment from the seller, at no cost to the buyer. However, this never affects our views - if we like it, we recommend it. Archives
August 2026
|
RSS Feed
Isle of Wight Guru
Your unofficial guide to cheap Isle of Wight ferry travel, free days out, best beaches and festival rumours since 2013. Now with 10% more waffle!
Planning Your Holiday
Ferry discounts
Which town to stay in
When to visit
Saving money
Holidays including ferry travel
Dog friendly
Which town to stay in
When to visit
Saving money
Holidays including ferry travel
Dog friendly
Where To Stay
Things To Do
More From Isle of Wight Guru
Other languages
As Featured In:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some of the links on this site are 'affiliate links' meaning we may receive commission from accommodation providers at no cost to the buyer. We are also an Amazon Associate and earn from qualifying products. However, we maintain full editorial control and only recommend based on merit rather than whether they offer commission.
© COPYRIGHT 2026. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© COPYRIGHT 2026. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.