 I stood on my tippy toes to get this view from Tennyson Down towards Freshwater Bay As a teenager I used to whinge and whine about any suggestion that we might go for a walk, particularly if there wasn't a pub lunch involved. To be fair, I whinged and whined about a lot but walks were pretty high up the list. And yet, here I was, texting my mother to suggest that we walked from Freshwater Bay to The Needles at 6am. The reason for the early start was partly to do with the weather forecast which suggested it would be 30 degrees by lunchtime. However, the main reason was that I couldn’t justify disappearing from my childcare duties for three hours during the middle of the day. I had bashed my toe a couple of days earlier in the Home Bargains car park whilst picking up a pencil, so I faffed around for a bit with different types of footwear. My shandals were airy but useless for walking. My walking boots were way too cosy for a hot day. Trainers were selected and we started to climb towards Tennyson Down. If you're doing the walk then try parking on the road somewhere on Gate Lane and go through the gate near to Dimbola Lodge. Alternatively, pay for parking at The Albion Hotel or the council car park near the beach.  Tennyson Down provided a good point for me to stop and eat my cheap Weetos The first half of the walk is not particularly hard to follow. Aim for the cross shaped monument on top of the hill. If you fall off the cliff, you’ve gone too far to the left. We stopped for breakfast here. I had put some Aldi brand Weetos into a plastic pot and carried some milk in a bottle. However, I didn’t pack a spoon so I shovelled them into my mouth in a way which I would only attempt in front of my mother (our relationship remains at the teenage stage, where I misbehave to get a reaction).  On the far left in this picture is the footpath to the Needles. On the right, is the route back From here, we carried on in a straight line and reached a hut with some masts. I wandered round the back and saw the Needles for the first time on the route. A few hundred metres later we reached the Needles new battery.  After the Tennyson Monument, walk towards this mast (apologies to the MOD if I'm revealing a national secret here) At this point, we had several routes to consider. Plan A had been to follow a Visit Isle of Wight route which was advertised as six miles. However, I did some digging and found it was more like 8 miles which was a little far when I had promised to be back by 9am. If you want to stretch out the walk explore, your first option is The Needles New Battery, which looks like Dr. Evil’s abandoned lair. In the 1950s it was used as a secret rocket testing base (I am still sceptical of the idea that 240 people worked here and kept it a secret – we all know how mothers like to ‘share news’). It is worth following the higgledy-piggledy steps past the coastguard’s lookout for one of the best views of the Needles.  I assume that the secret rocket testing site wasn't so clearly signposted when it was operational  Follow the viewpoint signs around Dr Evil's lair and you'll find this view of The Needles The two other options for exploring the headland are:
If you’re after a cup of tea and you have National Trust membership, go for The Needles Old Battery. If you're in a hurry, just have a quick look at the New Battery. The indoors bit is closed on most days, but there's still stuff to see. If you’ve dragged children along or want to fill a lot more time, go for the Needles Landmark Attraction and Alum Bay. The chairlift is great fun, though a little more terrifying than it looks from the ground. The boat trip is lovely or there’s a faster RIB ride if you have a stronger stomach than me. If you want a longer walk, then I would follow the Visit Isle of Wight route which goes onto Headon Warren. It has purple heather which will look nice on your photos. We went for the simple option, which is to take a footpath by the National Trust cottages (you can hire them out as a set of three). There are two signposts, which can be found on the wiggly road down between the New Battery and the Old Battery. Both signs say ‘Coastal Path’ but point in slightly different directions.  Both routes follow the coastal path. We went up, which leads back to Freshwater Bay We took the higher of the two paths, which heads back towards Tennyson Down.  From here, aim for the Tennyson Monument (signposted T25) rather than T24 into Freshwater which is much less interesting. You’ll eventually reach a half size replica beacon, which looks like the sort of thing I would produce in a woodworking class if you asked for a basketball hoop.  Follow the T25 footpath when you get near to this half sized beacon You then walk back down the hill from the Tennyson Monument into Freshwater Bay. As we approached (at around 9am) the sea was sparkling and it was just getting uncomfortably warm. I was tempted to whip off my clothes and skinny dip in the water at Freshwater Bay. However, I remembered that I had said I’d be back by 9am. Local residents, be aware that you had a lucky escape from the sight of my dad-bod leaping into the sea and screaming like a child at the icy waters. The polite lady on my watch told me that we had covered around six miles doing this route. I know that's not a huge walk for a hardened rambler, but keep in mind that we left an hour later for a day out in the heat at Robin Hill. And all with a sore toe. What a hero!  The sparkling water at Freshwater Bay was almost too much for me to cope with
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 You can get the Red Jet for less than half price if you find a friend and have a lie in Alright, so that headline might be a little clickbaity for my liking but needs must. This is just a brief blog about a good value Red Funnel fare which a lot of people don't know about. Thanks to Martin who got in touch via email to highlight a key detail that we had missed. The Super Off Peak Day ReturnThe Super Off Peak Day Return deal from Red Funnel works out at £11.20 return per person. You can use it seven days a week, with the caveat that:
You also can't use it during the Isle of Wight Festival weekend, but Red Funnel often do a discount deal then anyway. You can use it in either direction, so it's suitable for a trip to the football in Southampton or two-thirds of a day out on the Isle of Wight. The time of the last ferry varies depending on the time of year but they usually run quite close to midnight. How much can you save with the super off peak day return?A lot! Two adults travelling on the Red Funnel Red Jet for a day return will pay £57.80 with standard tickets or £22.40 with the Super Off Peak Day Return. That's a saving of £35.40. To put it another way, that's enough to buy almost a bottle and a half of hand soap from Molton Brown (Ed: er, I thought this was a bargain hunters blog?). The bit we missedCuriously, you can't book the Super Off Peak Day Return online. It doesn't show up as an option when you book online, even if you select that there are two adults travelling together. You need to actually go up to the ticket office and ask for it. You know, the way people used to buy tickets. But don't I need to book the Red Funnel ferry in advance?Not really. If you are bringing a car to the Isle of Wight then you definitely need to book in advance but I don't bother booking as a foot passenger. The ferry is rarely full and they run pretty regularly.
There are a few exceptions to this. Wightlink has four crossings a day where you have to book on its car ferry (I believe numbers are limited due to dangerous goods being carried onboard). You can see the times of the affected sailings here. I am not a big history fan, but I do enjoy the quirky bits (Bill Bryson is excellent for that sort of thing). Here are my seven favourite factoids about Osborne House which you might like to casually mention to a disinterested spouse who is being dragged around the house. 1. A celebrity cold caller got the cold shoulder Alexander Graham Bell turned up at Osborne to flog telephones In 1878, Alexander Graham Bell turned up at Osborne House to show off his newly invented telephone in the Council Room. Queen Victoria whined that it was ‘rather faint’, but still agreed to sign up for a 24 month contract with an international calls bundle (the second half of that sentence may not be wholly accurate). 2. The housekeepers feared getting into hot waterHousekeepers at Osborne heated up water for Prince Albert whenever the royal family was visiting, right up until the end of the Victorian era. The odd thing about that was that Albert had been dead for 40 years. The theory is that the staff were all too scared to ask Queen Victoria if they could stop the tradition. 3. The Queen loved foreign iceOsborne's Ice House was mostly filled with ice collected from the grounds during the winter which could then be used to keep food cool or to cool down the dining room (personally, I'd have opened a window). However, Victoria apparently preferred a more lavish approach to gathering ice and liked it to be imported from the lakes of the USA. Anti-monarchists may like to add this story to their folder titled "examples of pointless money-wasting". 4. 29 million people saw Osborne's flowers in 2018There’s a white plant on the terrace at Osborne called the royal myrtle which was planted in the 1840s. It has been used for royal weddings ever since. Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton were among the brides who carried a wedding bouquet containing royal myrtle from the Osborne gardens. Please avoid the temptation to cut off a bit and walk around the gardens in a wedding dress. 5. The Queen's Bathing Machine was full of poo, whilst the house was full of poohAm I including these two facts for the purposes of making a toilet-based pun? Of course. Queen Victoria’s bathing machine at Osborne Beach was restored in the 1950s. Prior to that, it had been used as a chicken coop for a few years. Someone must have had quite a job cleaning it. Meanwhile, Winnie The Pooh creator AA Milne spent some time living at Osborne House. Part of the house was used as a convalescent home for military types in the First World war. It only stopped being used as a nursing home in 2000, many years after the house opened to the public. 6. The Queen's deathbed was locked away for 50 yearsAfter Queen Victoria died, her son (Edward VII) declared that no-one should be allowed to use the upstairs of the posh part of the house. A metal gate was put across the door to the bedroom where his mother died. It stayed locked for about 50 years before our current Queen declared that it was probably alright to unlock it now. I’m amazed they hadn’t lost the key in the intervening years. 7. Queen Victoria has a pet elephantAccording to the Victorian Trail website, Queen Victoria briefly kept a pet elephant at Osborne. It was called Gwola and arrived in 1884 via the envoy of an Ethiopian king. The Victorian Trail website says that the elephant was taken to a zoo in London after spending a few days on the Isle of Wight. Visitors to Osborne Golf Club (which was originally part of the estate) can see the elephant's bath as part of the seventh hole. Curiously, the golf club website has a conflicting theory about what happened to Gwola and says that it is possible that the elephant is buried in its grounds. If you are catching a Wightlink ferry and then visiting Osborne House and Carisbrooke Castle then it is worth considering English Heritage membership.
A family ticket for both attractions comes to about £85 at the time of writing, whilst English Heritage membership is £115 (£30 extra). You also get 15-20% off Wightlink ferries as an English Heritage member, which saves you about £20-£40 (although check Red Funnel prices as well - they can be cheaper). So, you'll end up with membership for the rest of the year for free (sort of).  We combine a visit to Sandown Cliffs with a wander along the beach at Sandown Eating out with an allergy can be hard work and stressful on holiday. Much of the fun of a family meal is sucked out if you feel there's a risk you'll be calling an ambulance. Here's my personal experience of eating out on the Isle of Wight with a serious peanut allergy in the family, and five places which we have found helpful. First though, let’s start with a disclaimer. I cannot guarantee that you will have a positive experience at these restaurants or that you will be able to avoid allergens. I also can't guarantee that you'll enjoy the food or that your children won't argue or belch loudly. Also, a good allergen menu is only part of what you need to have a relaxing and allergy-safe meal. We also take a lot of comfort (or otherwise) from the member of staff’s attitude. We always mention the allergy when booking and find that on-the-ball restaurants are handing us an allergen menu before we’ve asked for it. Some people even explain their process for avoiding cross contamination. These people receive the heftiest of tips from us. Other restaurants provide less reassurance. For example, if the waiter vaguely says “Er, I don’t think there’s any peanuts in that but I wouldn't like to say for sure” then we feel less content and do an about turn. To get you started, here are five pubs and restaurants which have very clear allergen labelling (at the time of writing): 1. The Sloop Inn, Wootton CreekMy father had a bad carvery at the Sloop Inn in 1993 and started giving it a less polite name. This put me off a little and I avoided it, as the Isle of Wight has a plethora of excellent places to eat with children. However, when I realised that they are excellent at labelling allergens, we returned, a mere 28 years later. It is not fine dining but the food was much better than I was expecting. They also have a nice garden overlooking the creek and it’s very family friendly. The inside is a bit gloomy for my liking so we ask for a table with a view of the creek if we’re sitting inside. The Sloop Inn is one of those Stonehouse Pizza and Carvery restaurants, so you can choose from a carvery, pub grub or pizzas. We like them because their allergen menu lists ‘may contains’ rather than just ingredients. The allergen list is all done online, which is a little confusing (particularly as I never get a phone signal at The Sloop). However, it does give reassurance that it’s likely to be up to date. I’ve found the staff to be very helpful too. Shout out to Michelle who has been a big help to us when we’ve visited. 2. Pizza Hut, NewportI used to enjoy family-owned seaside bistros on holiday rather than American-owned multinational chains. This gear-change occurred when I saw Pizza Hut's excellent allergen labelling. Much like The Sloop, their menu highlights 'may contains' as well as deliberate ingredients. Other plus points are that Pizza Hut in Newport is easy to get to, it’s next door to the cinema and it’s got free parking. The downside is that the menu is a bit limited beyond pizza (understandably) and that you usually leave feeling like you’ve eaten too much. Perhaps that's just me. The Pizza Hut salad bar is a cross contamination nightmare, but you may find that your allergen isn’t present so you can tuck in. In our case, the ice cream machine provides much joy to a child who is normally told they can’t have an ice cream whilst at the seaside. Pizza Hut prefer you to order on your phone but we usually ask them to do it the old fashioned way so that they can alert the kitchen of the allergy. 3. Beefeater in Newport or Sandown Cliffs Cookhouse + PubThese two pubs/restaurants are both run by Whitbread. The plus side is that they separate different tree nuts on their allergen menu, rather than bundling them all together. They also have a process in place for preparing allergen meals, which they have explained to us before. The downside is that they don’t label ‘may contains’, they just label actual ingredients. Beefeater is in Newport and has some nice outdoor eating by the River Medina. Meanwhile, Sandown Cliffs is on the seafront (let’s not worry about the fact that Sandown isn’t known for its cliffs). Beefeater has much easier parking but Sandown Cliffs is right by the beach, so you can go for a beach wander after your meal. Greene King is another big chain worth exploring. They've got five pubs on the Isle of Wight including The Hare and Hounds near Robin Hill, Ryde Castle Hotel, The Folly in Whippingham, The Crab in Shanklin and The Fountain in Cowes. Their website/app has a lot of detail on allergens. However, they don't label may contains so they may not fit the bill for you. 4. Correo Lounge, NewportCorreo Lounge arrived on the Isle of Wight fairly recently, in the nice building which once housed Prezzo and Newport Post Office before that. They’ve also got branches on that mainland. I’ve not eaten there yet, but we plan to give it a go as their allergen menu is comprehensive. They list ‘may contains’ which is what caught my eye - most restaurants that aren't huge chains don't bother with this level of detail. From our point of view, it looks hopeful as I can’t see any peanuts on the menu at all. Of course, that may change and they may sell them behind the bar but we shall see. I will update after our first visit… Update: October 2022We gave Correo Lounge in Newport a go in October half term 2022. It was an all-round excellent experience with better-than-average food and on-the-ball-staff who asked if anyone had an allergy before we had taken our coats off. They confirmed that they have no nuts or peanuts onsite (as of October 2022, please check for yourself) and that they have a process for cooking a meal for someone with an allergy. Correo Lounge also had Guess Who for the children, which kept them occupied. The main downside was having to pay to park, but I coped admirably with that and only complained to Mrs Guru about it four or five times. 5. McDonalds (Newport and Ryde), KFC (Newport and Lake) and Burger King (Newport)Ahhhh, the sweet refuge of a big chain selling burgers and chicken. We dine out at McDonalds far more than we should because we know their allergen menu so well. KFC and Burger King are less regular outings for us, but both have done the job when plans have fallen through or when we haven’t booked somewhere. The Newport McDonalds doesn't currently have a drive thru, although there are plans to open one on the edge of the town. We had a debacle last time which meant Mrs Guru didn't get a tomato in her Chicken McCrispy but I'm sure you'll have more luck. A few other thoughts about outing out with an allergy on the Isle of WightAs I said, I cannot guarantee you that these restaurants and pubs will fit the bill for you and your allergy. However, they are a good start in your search for somewhere to eat out with a nut allergy, peanut allergy or another allergy on the Isle of Wight. Also keep in mind that details change all the time, so this may go out of date pretty quickly. If you have had a positive experience with eating out with a nut allergy on the Isle of Wight (or another allergy), please leave a comment below. What about allergy menus at independent restaurants on the Isle of Wight?You'll have noticed that I've focused on chain restaurants rather than the many excellent independent pubs, restaurants and cafes on the Isle of Wight.
This goes against my natural inclination which is to promote family run businesses. If you have had a good experience with allergies at one of these, please comment below. If you're reading the comments, please remember that the details may be wrong or out of date. Believe it or not, some information you read on the internet isn't true. The reason for my focus on big brands is that I've generally found that big chains are very on-the-ball when it comes to allergies. They understand that they can't pop to Asda if they run out of an ingredient, because the allergen menu will no longer be accurate. They also tend to offer more detail in their allergen lists, such as including 'may contains' rather than just the main ingredients. I appreciate this may be too big a job for a small family-run restaurant. Another factor is that independent pubs and restaurants tend to change hands from time to time. I could name a couple of pubs on the Isle of Wight which have given us excellent information about allergens in the past. However, I'm wary of you reading this blog in five years' time and assuming things haven't changed. Anyway, good luck! We went to Jersey recently. It’s a lovely Island, although of course it doesn’t compare to my own beloved Isle of Wight (and it’s a 10 hour ferry from Portsmouth, rather than a 40 minute ferry). Le Petit Train in St Helier brought back memories of The Dotto Train which used to trundle along the seafronts of Sandown, Shanklin and Ryde on the Isle of Wight until 2011. After a little googling, I discovered this article from Isle of Wight Radio suggesting that the trains might be making a return to Ryde. The sight of the packed train on Jersey convinced me that there’s still demand for something similar on the Isle of Wight. I’ll admit that it was a Bank Holiday but there was not a single seat available. It wasn’t particularly cheap either at £9 return for an adult or £4 return for a child (i.e. £26 for a family of four). About four years ago, Ryde had a Boro Beach Bike which was a pedal powered thing which covered the seafront. I admired the innovation greatly but (from memory) it only lasted for one season. My hunch is that a Dotto train would do better business, based on my thirty seconds of market research on Jersey.
The majority of the passengers on Le Petit Train were either families with young children who fancied a go on a choo-choo train or older passengers who fancied a sit down. I am generalising of course, but you get the idea. The Boro Beach Bike was a little too grown up for my children at the time, as their feet wouldn’t reach the pedals. It also required a certain amount of participation which may not appeal to those looking for a relaxing outing. Personally, I would start with a route which travels from Ryde Pierhead, along the esplanade to the Dell Cafe and then into Puckpool Park. That would provide a combination of good views and a useful service for Wightlink and Hovertravel's foot passengers who want to go to Appley rather than Sandown or Shanklin. The seafront in St Helier in Jersey also had some rather cool four person bicycles which worked alongside Le Petit Train (Chucklevision style bikes for anyone of my age). They were painfully hard to cycle, but we enjoyed having a go and didn’t mind paying £8 for a few minutes of entertainment. The chap with the bum bag who took the money for Le Petit Train was also hiring out the bikes, which seemed like a good use of resources. Perhaps a combination of the two would work well on Ryde seafront. If anyone wants to launch this venture then I'll cough up for a ride to get you started.  Sandhard Beach was not exactly busy at 6am I’m running out of beaches which I haven’t photographed for my interactive map. I’m up to 47, which isn’t bad for an Island which is 23 miles by 13 miles. Sandhard Beach has been on my list ever since it featured on The Beast Must Die, which was a Britbox TV Series. I proudly offered Mrs Guru a running commentary of where different parts were filmed until it came to a scene on an unfamiliar beach. My mother will tell me that we went to Sandhard Beach weekly when I was in Primary School but I couldn’t remember it.  This footpath off the main road leads to Sandhard Beach I decided to visit without the children at 6am. Adventures are safer at this time, as I don’t have to contend with complaints if it turns out that the beach is a lagoon or the parking is miles away. My adventure didn’t start well as I realised that I didn’t have any trousers or shorts available. This may sound ridiculous, but my clothes were not accessible without waking up the rest of the house, which I wasn’t willing to do. As I closed the front door, I convinced myself that my boxer shorts looked a bit like shorts (they didn't) and that no-one would be around to challenge me. It was a hot day, so perhaps passers by would assume I was just heading off for a swim. Parking at Sandhard Beach isn’t easy. The closest I could find was the small pay and display car park next to Yarmouth Harbour. It’s then about 10 minutes on foot over the bridge and through to the entrance. In hindsight, it might have been better to park at Fort Victoria (currently free parking) and follow the coastal path towards Yarmouth. It looks to be a similar distance. When I reached my parking spot, I felt a little more self conscious that I was stood in Yarmouth in my pants and searched the car boot for some swimming shorts. Alas, they weren’t available. However, I did find my wetsuit and concluded that walking around in a wetsuit would look less strange than walking around in tatty boxer shorts. I squeezed into my wetsuit (just the lower half) and set off.  The walk to the beach was very enjoyable, even without any trousers  Eventually, I saw one other person on Sandhard Beach The beach is really lovely. It’s not got golden sands but there are patches of shingly sand which some previous visitors had turned into sandcastles. A pair of flip flops had been abandoned nearby. Sandhard Beach is a good choice if you like to see activity from the beach and it also seems to be dog friendly. The Harbour is usually busy, with the Wightlink ferry coming and going, as well as yachties arriving to compare red trousers. There’s also a nicely laid out section with stands and seating for barbecues. I believe this was the work of Yarmouth Harbour, for which I offer my commendation. I returned to the car and made a mental note to pack trousers on my next early morning outing.  You might like to park at Fort Victoria and walk along the coastal path |
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
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