The donkeys were lovely and the museum had seating for when you get tired which was very helpful.read more

Even though my Aunt and I came here during the height of half-term, we were pleasantly surprised…read morethat we were able to have the run of Carisbrooke Castle (including the gardens and donkey wheel) without being impeded by crowds of kids run amok. It was easy to purchase tickets, although the guide at the front door was a bit overeager when it came to trying to sell us on the all-access pass to various English sites. Perhaps I had tourist stamped across my forehead, but more than likely he runs through the same spiel with everyone. The views of the surrounding countryside are excellent and it is hard to believe, until one actually sees it, how elevated one is until one is looking down. It never ceases to amaze me how much the English know about their own history and how lacking (for the most part, it is always dangerous to generalize) we Americans are about our own history, much less that of other countries. With that being said, the guides and instructional materials were excellent in providing an overview that anyone could appreciate, regardless of how much one knew going in about the time period in question. I even ended up picking up a souvenir guidebook to further my education.

Really nice and fun, it's free to walk around in and just look around so I'd recommend for anyone…read morein the area. There's a little arcade with old fashioned machine's that's really fun. The shipwreck museum is good and the staff are really helpful and friendly, though I'd be careful trying the helmet on because I almost knocked myself out (my own fault, not theirs).

This lovely little craft village hides what I can only describe one of the best restaurants on the…read moreIsle of Wight, Arreton Barn's Dairyman's Daughter. It's decorated with ephemera and Americana from by-gone decades, which is really interesting to take in, and keeps the kids amused, and the restaurant is pretty big. The entrance to the Craft village is even indicated by a old-style painted gypsy caravan, which sets the funky tone for the rest of the place. The main reason I'd recommend this, and the main reason we keep going back is that the price of the meals are spot-on, and the quality of the food is simply fantastic. It has every element of a good family dining-out experience. The food portions are generous, and the drinks cost are not excessive like a lot of pubs on this holiday island. Very highly recommended.

Time to let off some steam at the Isle Of Wight. With this Steam Railway no less…read more This is a little old steam railway on the Isle of Wight, so if you're making the Isle of Wight your holiday destination, this would be a great part of it. It's one of the many Heritage Railways in the UK and one of the prettiest. I've loved it for a very long time and probably always will. It's actually a good way to get around the island as well, which is funny because it's not really a method of transportation per se, and yet it is because it's such a small island and a lot of people don't bring their cars over here.

I wonder how many people reading this actually travelled by steam train when it was a daily mode of…read moretransport rather than a novel journey to remind of how it used to be? I ask because I did. Do I miss it heck, yes - the intoxicating unique smells, the noises, the sounds, especially the thump of huge slabs of heavy metal, hitting heavy metal yet staying unmarked and gold, red and black lacquered steam engines, dozens of yards long, breathing and hissing as if alive. Many's the time I got to be up with the driver and coalman as we chugged along - the intense fiery heat, sulphur smells and coal being fed continuously - real men of steel with hands that could crush you. Here at the Isle of Wight is a beautifully preserved railway with lovingly restored steam engines with comfortable period carriages and charming rural stations. It is charming and worth supporting but I suspect with its location it'll rarely ever draw a crowd. The staff are dressed in traditional Southern Railway uniforms from a different era of time that will never return. All that's left is five miles of Steam Railway and an electrified eight mile main line from Ryde to Shanklin from a railway system which once extended over 55 miles of mostly rural Wight. The first line opened in 1862 between Cowes and Newport and in 1900 a second railway delivered a complete island rail service. It's now a revenant to haunt those of us on what we had and stupidly allowed greedy politics to ruin letting them enrich only themselves - those who know the price of everything and the value of nothing; some things will never change as long as we stay stupid and the evidence is right in front of us from 1O Downing Street to Mar a Lago. The price of our stupid is already intolerable and fast becoming incalculable as we lurch toward fascism which is dictatorship lite.

The staff were very nice to us after we experienced some issues with the tickets the house was…read moregorgeous very historical and full of so much history. We had a lovely day. The grounds are beautiful and you to go and visit queen Victoria's private beach so much to do.

The house itself and the grounds were fabulous! Be sure to stop at the beach and put your toes in…read morethe water! But DO NOT eat at the terrace restaurant. The food was horrible. Unless you like stewed tomatoes, which they called curry, and a bowl of canned chickpeas in the salad! We did enjoy the tea and the view of the terrace gardens.