Virtual Isle of Wight tours to fill five minutes

I wasn't completely convinced that virtual tours were the answer to keep us all sane during these unprecedented/difficult/worrying times (delete according to mood).

I thought it might be like putting up pictures of an ex-girlfriend all around the house straight after being dumped. You'd be much better to put on an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, make a ham and cheese toastie and begin listing reasons why you're better off without her (Ed: think you might be oversharing).

But after taking a look at a few of them, I felt they were worth a share. If you really get into it, try setting up a desk fan next to the screen to offer a cool breeze. Pour some concrete into a C-shape in your garden and decorate it with dinosaurs for the Isle of Wight minigolf experience. Or for the authentic seaside day out ask a neighbour to charge you £7 to park on their drive for the day, from a safe distance of course.

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1. The Isle of Wight Guru Car Park Viewpoint tour

We normally recommend our Car Park Viewpoint Tour for cold or rainy days where you want to see some of the Isle of Wight without getting off your bottom.

However, it's also useful during a global pandemic when you would like to see the glorious views from the top of Brading Down, Gurnard seafront or Freshwater Bay. 

We've embedded a couple of our favourites here, but the whole selection can be found here.

You can click on each one and turn around.

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2. Seven seconds at Compton BAy

I assume this 360 view of Compton Bay from Wightlink had to be limited to seven seconds because the camera is set up on the cliff edge which tends to collapse regularly (remember when the car park was twice as big?).

Still, it's good fun being able to turn around briefly, particularly as it includes real life moving people.

Get yourself an ice cream out the freezer and a coffee in a polystyrene cup and you'll feel like you're there.

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3. Amazon World

Here's a slightly longer 360 degree video, featuring a selection of human and animal species.  

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4. Ventnor Botanic Garden

Next up it's everyone's favourite microclimate - Ventnor Botanic Gardens. I wouldn't quite say you could persuade yourself that you're there, but it's a good effort nonetheless.

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5. Newport Roman Villa

Finally, a trip inside Newport Roman Villa. As I've mentioned before, my only memory from visiting here was on a school trip when us nine year olds were overwhelmed with giggles when we saw the scantily clad statues.