I don't see any mention of the Isle of Man in many travel books, or the Isle of Wight for that matter. We have been to many parts of England and the U.K. in the past three years, and are looking for different experiences. If anyone has any suggestions regarding the outer islands, please advise. Thanks!
Posted by
Menlo Park, CA
63 posts
Hi Linda, I was fortunate enough to travel to the Isle of Wight last year during Christmas time. It was an excellent experience; the grounds of Osborne House are gorgeous and well worth a visit. The Isle also houses Carisbrooke Castle where Charles I was imprisoned before his execution. I would recommend taking a car to the island on the ferry (I took from Portsmouth). I was surprised at how large the island was! Haven't had the opportunity to get to the Isle of Man but would love to one day. If you make it there, please post about your experiences on this Travel Forum. Have a lovely time should you decide to go!
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2517 posts
The Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight are popular holiday destinations for Brits.
If you're looking for "different" that would certainly apply to the IoM as it's neither part of England nor the UK.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/aug/09/isle-of-man-trains-trams
Posted by
UK
1015 posts
The Isle of Wight is a pretty place, with some old-fashioned - slightly rundown - seaside resorts. Feels like going back to the 1950s sometimes. Osborne House, Queen Victoria's favourite home, is worth a visit if you're there but I don't think there's anything else that makes the Isle of Wight worth a lengthy journey.
Still quite popular with British families, and there's good hiking too, but I find it hard to get excited about. If I were looking for seaside & hiking I'd rather head for Dorset, Devon or Cornwall. Especially because the car ferry journey across to the IOW can be very expensive.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
The Isle of Wight is less than 4 miles off the mainland, so is hardly an outer island! This is more popular than the Isle of Man to us Brits, as it is further south, where there is a better chance of good weather. It's a bit like going back in time, but the roads can't cope with the hoardes during the summer school holidays.
Look at visitisleofwight.co.uk or visitisleofman.com for ideas. The IoM gets booked up a year in advance when the TT races take place.
I also like the Isles of Scilly off Cornwall if you want something different.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32912 posts
Interesting? trivia abut the IoW is that the train on the island is an old London Tube train.
Posted by
1222 posts
You mention the UK, have you thought about Scotland? Inner and outer Hebrides, and the Orkneys. We did a tour of Mull, Iona and Staffa from Oban that was great. And the Orkneys were fantastic and really quite reasonable to get to by ferry.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
The Isle of Man is worth visiting for rail enthusiasts as it has both the narrow gauge Isle of Man Railway and the unusual rural electric tramway, the Manx Electric Railway.
Posted by
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
1446 posts
About 4 years ago we visited the Isle of Wight. Osborne House and Carisbrooke Castle were worth the visit. Also, a very great falcon show on the island which we always enjoy. We did have a car that we took on the ferry from Portsmouth, and it was necessary to get around. It was a very good experience for us. This year we have been investigating visiting the Channel Islands. I know planes depart from several spots in England - we were going to fly from Gatwick. However, it appears family illness is going to necessitate us pushing the trip out, but it looks like a fun place to visit. Lots of WWII history there.