Isle of Wight

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Tourism and heritage

Compton Chine, looking east towards Blackgang

The heritage of the Island is a major asset, which has for many years kept its economy going. Holidays focused on natural heritage, including both wildlife and geology, are becoming a growing alternative to the traditional seaside resort holiday. The latter has been in decline in the United Kingdom domestic market, due to the increased affordability of air travel to alternative destinations.

Tourism is still the largest industry on the Island. In 1999, the 130,000 Island residents were host to 2.7 million visitors. Of these, 1.5 million stayed overnight, and 1.2 million visits were day visits. Only 150,000 of these visitors were international visitors. Between 1993 and 2000, visits increased at a rate of 3% per year, on average.^[33]

At the turn of the nineteenth century the Island had ten pleasure piers including two at Ryde and a "chain pier" at Seaview. The Victoria Pier in Cowes succeeded the earlier Royal Pier but was itself removed in 1960. The piers at Ryde, Seaview, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor originally served a coastal steamer service that operated from Southsea on the mainland. The piers at Seaview, Shanklin, Ventnor and Alum Bay were all destroyed by storms during the last century. Today only the railway pier at Ryde and the piers at Sandown, Totland Bay (currently closed to the public) and Yarmouth survive. Blackgang Chine is arguably the oldest theme park in the UK, and one of the oldest in the world.

As well as more traditional tourist attractions, the Island is often host to walking holidays ^[34]. or cycling holidays through the attractive scenery. Almost every town and village on the Island plays host to hotels, hostels and camping sites. Out of the peak summer season, the Island is still an important destination for coach tours from other parts of the United Kingdom and an annual walking festival has attracted considerable interest.

A major contribution to the local economy comes from sailing and marine-related tourism.

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Transport

Main article: Transportation on the Isle of Wight

A map of the island from 1945

The Isle of Wight has a total of 489 miles of roadway. Major roads run between the main island towns, with smaller roads connecting villages. It is one of the few counties in the UK not to have a motorway, as the islands largest road is only a dual carriageway, running from Coppins Bridge in Newport, towards the north of Newport near the Island’s Hospital and Prisons.

A comprehensive bus network, operated by Southern Vectis links most island settlements with Newport as the central hub. Most island towns receive a 24 hour bus service to Newport.

The island's location 5 miles off the mainland means the most common form of transport is by boat. Car ferry and passenger services are run by Wightlink and Red Funnel as well as a hovercraft operated by Hovertravel. However, fixed links have also been proposed.

The Island is home to the smallest train operating company in the United Kingdom's National Rail network, the Island Line, running a little under 14 kilometres (about 8.5 miles) from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin.

There are currently two airfields for general aviation, Isle of Wight Airport at Sandown and Bembridge Airport.

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Communications

All of the Island telephone exchanges are broadband-enabled and in addition, some urban areas such as Cowes and Newport are covered by cable lines. Some areas, such as Arreton, have no broadband access in certain places.

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Media

The Isle of Wight has one local broadsheet newspaper, The Isle of Wight County Press. It discusses local issues and is published each Friday, or on the last working day if a public holiday falls on a Friday.

The Island had a television station called Solent TV from 2002 until its closure on Thursday, 24th May, 2007.

The Island has two native, commercial radio stations and has access to other nearby local stations based off the Island. Since 1998, Isle of Wight Radio has broadcast on 107 and 102 FM, as well as on the internet, and on the AM band since 1990. In 2007, Angel Radio began broadcasting on 91.7 FM from studios in Cowes.^[35]

Active local websites with coverage of Island news include Ventnor Blog and Island Pulse.

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Prisons

The Island geography, close to the densely populated south of England, led to it gaining three prisons: Albany, Camp Hill and Parkhurst which are located outside Newport on the main road to Cowes. Albany and Parkhurst were once among the few Category A prisons in the UK until they were downgraded in the 1990s. The downgrading of Parkhurst was precipitated by a major escape: three prisoners (two murderers and a blackmailer) made their way out of the prison on 3 January 1995 for four days of freedom before being recaptured. Parkhurst especially enjoyed notoriety as one of the toughest jails in the British Isles and "hosted" many notable inmates, including the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and the Kray twins.

Camp Hill is located to the west of, and adjacent to, Albany and Parkhurst, on the very edge of Parkhurst Forest, having been converted first to a borstal and later to later a category C prison. It was originally on the site of an army camp (both Albany and Parkhurst were barracks), where there is a small estate of tree-lined roads with well-proportioned officers' quarters (with varying grandeur according to rank, but now privately owned), to the south and east.

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Education

Main article: Education on the Isle of Wight

There are sixty-nine Local Education Authority-maintained schools on the Isle of Wight, and two independent schools. As a rural community, many of these schools are small, with average numbers of pupils lower than in many urban areas. There are currently five high schools. However, there are plans to close at least one of the high schools. There is also the Isle of Wight College, which is located on the outskirts of Newport.

The Island uses a middle school system.

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Famous residents

Main article: List of Isle of Wight people

Over the years, the island has had many well-known visitors. Many come over for health reasons due to the cool sea breeze and clean air. For example, Winston Churchill and Karl Marx were visitors to the Island. Notable residents include:

Robert Hooke, a 17th century natural philosopher and polymath, is perhaps best known for his definition of Hooke's Law of Elasticity, but he also coined the term "cell" to define the basic unit of life and made valuable contributions in the fields of physics, astronomy and microscopy.
Alfred Tennyson, who was Poet Laureate to Queen Victoria, lived at Freshwater and became Baron Tennyson of Aldworth in the County of Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight.
Tennyson's friend Julia Margaret Cameron, a renowned portrait and creative photographer, lived nearby at Dimbola Lodge which is now a museum dedicated to her work.
Sir Christopher Cockerell, inventor of the hovercraft, lived in East Cowes while it was being developed by Saunders-Roe.
Alan Titchmarsh, the renowned UK gardener, is High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight in 2008/9.^[36]

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Selected places of interest

Key
	Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
	Accessible open space
	Amusement/Theme Park
	Castle
	Country Park
	English Heritage
	Forestry Commission
	Heritage railway
	Historic House
	Museums (free/not free)
	National Trust
	Zoo

Alum Bay
Appuldurcombe House
Blackgang Chine
Brading Roman Villa
Carisbrooke Castle , where King Charles I was imprisoned
Dimbola Lodge , home of Victorian photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron
Dinosaur Isle
Fort Victoria
Godshill Village, and Model Village
Isle of Wight Steam Railway
Isle of Wight Zoo, Yaverland
Medina Theatre, home to the Islands entertainment including music and performances.
The Needles , which is near "The Old Battery" museum and Old Look-out Tower tea-room
Osborne House , where Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert had their country residence
Quarr Abbey
Robin Hill
Botanic Gardens, Ventnor
Yarmouth Castle , associated with King Henry VIII

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Notable media references

The 1980s pop group Level 42 is from the Isle of Wight.
The Northumbrian scholar, Bede, recorded the arrival of Christianity on the Isle of Wight in the year 686, when the population was massacred and replaced by Christians.^[37]
The Beatles' song "When I'm Sixty-Four", written by Paul McCartney, refers to renting a cottage on the Isle of Wight (if it's not too dear).^[38]
The Isle of Wight is called The Island in some editions of Thomas Hardy's novels in his fictional Wessex.
The Isle of Wight is the setting of Julian Barnes's novel England, England.
The Island also features in John Wyndham's novel The Day of the Triffids and Simon Clark's sequel to it, The Night of the Triffids.
In the radio series Nebulous, the Isle of Wight has been accidentally disintegrated by Professor Nebulous while he was trying to move it slightly to the left on Janril 57, 2069.^[39]
Bob Dylan recorded the songs "Like a Rolling Stone", "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)", "Minstrel Boy", and "She Belongs to Me" for the album Self Portrait live on the Isle of Wight.
The Isle of Wight is the setting in D. H. Lawrence's book The Trespasser, filmed for TV in 1981 on location.
In the 1966 novel Colossus, the entire Island is selected for the development of a new base by the supercomputer, Colossus.
The Isle of Wight is the setting of Graham Masterton's book Prey.
Parts of Frágiles (Fragile: A Ghost Story), a 2005 movie starring Calista Flockhart, were filmed on the island.
Karl Marx visited the Isle of Wight on numerous occasions while he was writing The Communist Manifesto.
The Commodore 64 game 'Spirit of the Stones' by John Worsley was set on the Isle of Wight.^[40]