Isle of Wight info please

Baybee1984

full-time-mum wrote: »

It was that bad, was it?
Just asking as it is a Tesco Clubcard Days Out venue.

Aw its not that bad
Depends what you like really. Google it and see if its for you

gazzak_2

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Avoid the Needles Pleasure Park; we used to threaten our lad we'd take him there again if he was naughty!

Agreed. Absolute waste of time and so far from anywhere else.

LesD

gazzak wrote: »

I've never ever had a good fish and chips from any chippy on the island, avoid.

Petrol at supermarkets only unless you want to pay big prices.

Blackgang Chine: Get there early for easy parking and to go on all the big rides before the monster queues begin.

Unlike others I can't recommend the dinosaur museum as it's overpriced and you're through it in an hour.

Amazon World for me personally was very poor too.

If it rains, there's a play area on Sandown pier where the younger ones can run riot in while you enjoy a coffee and see them on monitors, 5 and under is best.

We had 4 days near Yarmouth earlier this year and thought then the journey to the other side of the island in peak season must be hell!

F&C - only tried one (in Shanklin) and it was TERRIBLE!!!

Petrol - I was amazed that Morrisons seemed 1 or 2p cheaper than on the mainland!

BGC - In my view, not for teenagers. But great for 5-10 yos.

Dinosaur Isle - reasonable price if you get a one-goes-free offer.

Amazon World - hmm, many recommendations, but I was very disappointed.

Sandown Pier - great crazy golf if you get a one-goes-free offer.

There were lots of discount books on the ferry going over. Make sure you pick some up.

gazzak wrote: »

Agreed. Absolute waste of time and so far from anywhere else.

But very near to Yarmouth!

tod_dorset

For full time mum and anyone else visiting the island , there is loads of information on things to do and places to go on http://www.allaboutgoingout.com/isleofwightdaysout.php Give it a try.

NPowerUser

I live on the Isle of Wight so I feel able to coment on this thread.

The roads are truely dreadful, I drive a taxi here, so again first hand experience. If you use public transport expect to pay £3 - £4 for a one way ticket per person on the buses, taxis start at £3 during the day, £4.50 from 10.30pm and start at £6 after midnight.

The Island has not kept up with the whistles and bells you can get on the mainland. If your kids are expecting a Thorpe Park, Alton Towers experience they are in for a shock!

Plenty of places to eat out but I would imagine they are going to get very bored quickly. Dinosaur Isle takes about 15 minutes to get round, the same as the Wax Museum in Brading. Blackgang Chine is OK but again more aimed at little kids.

Its a lovely place to live but the kids that live here are bored rigid. If you come to Ryde on a Friday night you will see 100's of them hanging around the bus station. There is a drug problem in Ryde but I expect so have many other places around the UK.

As I said, it great for couples wanting to laze on the beach, pub lunches and plenty of places to eat. Not for kids unless under 10 years old that have never been to a theme park.

Avoid Freshwater Bay (close to Yarmouth where you are staying) between 2.30pm and 6.00pm if you want hot food as The Sandpipers (Fat Cat) is the only place that serves hot food on the bay, but not between said times, as I found out the other week. :mad:

Apart from that, have a great time.

full-time-mum

NPowerUser wrote: »

I live on the Isle of Wight so I feel able to coment on this thread.

Thanks - fingers crossed for good weather as a beach holiday will suit us all!

Where do you go for fish and chips? Surely they can't all be bad.

Oldernotwiser

full-time-mum wrote: »

It was that bad, was it?
Just asking as it is a Tesco Clubcard Days Out venue.

Absolutely THAT bad. I wouldn't go again if they gave ME Tesco's vouchers! (And neither would the lad.)

Just to add; I moved from there last year and agree with the above comments.

full-time-mum

Well, we're back and the weather was fantastic - we spent most of the week on Compton Bay. NT car park with toilets and a ice-cream van. Fantastic waves for the children. Only slight negative is that the sea comes in nearly all the way so not much beach at high-tide.

Went to the Needles. Beautiful Views and the space angle was interesting, especially as we had seen the feature on the TV Coast programme. We didn't go into the battery. We walked down to Alum Bay. The cliffs were beautiful if spoilt by the yellow safety tape strung along the base (supposedly for safety but I suspect more to do with protecting their financial interest in the coloured sand!).

I agree with the comments on the 'park' at the top of the cliff. Even a poor travelling fairground would do better and it was expensive. £4 for a return trip on the cable car and £1 to go into each of the shops (glassblowing demo/sweet-making demo). We didn't bother even though we could do it with Tesco Tokens.

Steam railway was pleasant, if a little short. Be warned, on Thomas, and presumably other special events, they won't take Tesco tokens and hike the prices. We turned up on Thomas day and the cost of the short journey had risen to £40ish for a family. Certainly worth a visit on a dull day with Tesco vouchers though.

Also went to the dinosaur isle place in Sanddown (as it was raining and we could use Tesco tokens). Not very impressed. If you are really into dinosaurs and associated geology then you may get something out of it but otherwise we thought it was poorly laid out. Its described as interactive. There was a remote control dinosaur robot which was quite good but the rest of the interactive displays consisted of a jigsaw, blocks on a slope to illustrate speed of dinosaur movement which didn't work, a map of the island with lights to show where fossils have been found - partially working plus a couple of other basic displays.

The Zoo was good although mainly tigers so avoid if you don't like them. I found the written infomaiton gauged at about the right level. Simple enough for the youngsters but not so basic as to be boring for the adults. I learnt a lot about the decimation of Madagascar and the sissal war in our persuit of bio-degradable shopping bags!

Fish and Chips at Rainbows in Freshwater were OK and there was a reasonably large Co-op there too.

While on the Island we wished we'd joined the National Trust using Tesco but I've just looked and it doesn't seem to be there anymore - I'm sure it used to be. That would have been a good deal as we could have parked at the beach for free and visited several tourist attractions for nothing too. There are several English Heritage sites on the island too and that is still on Tesco.

We didn't find any problems with the roads. Obviously smaller and windier than equaivalents on the 'mainland' but I don't want motorways when I'm on holiday. The only time we hit traffic was at East Cowes on the way back for the ferry. You need to allow plenty of extra time.

We also discovered that there is a good chance of getting on an earlier ferry if you arrive at the right time. (Red Funnel).

BillScarab

Glad you had a good time FTM.

Your right about the tides at Compton though, you need tio be careful as well as the cliffs have a habit of bits dropping off.

full-time-mum

BillScarab wrote: »

Your right about the tides at Compton though, you need tio be careful as well as the cliffs have a habit of bits dropping off.

Yes we noticed the odd bits dropping off.

You also have to watch the locks on the ladies loos - the bolts are a bit rusty and aren't openable from the outside. Had a very panicy moment when DD2 (6) locked herself in, despite strict instructions not to. There was no window and we had visions of having to call out the fire brigade.:eek::eek: