Isle of Wight Villages

Isle of Wight villages are amongst the prettiest in the UK. Many chocolate box villages have delightful thatched cottages and welcoming olde worlde pubs. Countless famous people visit the Island each year to escape the pressure of their normal lives and many own property here. So, if youre deciding where to stay on holiday, one of the wonderful villages on the Isle of Wight makes a perfect choice for the tourist, with superb accommodation on offer at various locations around the Island.

Below is a list of Isle of Wight villages.

Adgestone is a small village on the Isle of Wight. It is located close to Brading in the east of the Island.

Arreton is a village between Newport and Sandown and has a thousand year old church.

Bembridge is located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. Bembridge lays claim to be the largest village in England and was once cut off from the rest of the Island.

Binfield is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight near Newport.

Binstead is positioned two kilometres from Ryde in the northeast of the Island. There are two churches (the Methodist and the Holy Cross) and a monastery (Quarr Abbey). There is a beach within walking distance.

Blackwater is located three kilometres south of Newport close to the centre of the Island. The famous singer, Robbie Williams once visited for three nights to reportedly get away from the media.

Bonchurch is a village next to Ventnor and is one of the earliest settlements on the Island. It boasts some large and striking Victorian houses and a pretty village pond. The sea views here are superb and between the village and coastline is the tiny church of St Boniface, which was built by Benedictine monks, circa 1070.

Bowcombe is located three kilometres southwest of Newport, in the centre of the Island.

Brighstone is situated about six miles southwest of Newport, near the Island's southwest coast.

Its original name was Brixton and dates back to the 12th century. It has beautiful thatched houses, a pretty church (St Marys, built in the 1180s) and small village museum with free admission.

Brook is on the south west coast of the Island. There are miles of trails and bridleways which are perfect for walking, cycling and riding. There is a Norman church to be found at the top of the village. Brook is the major kitesurfing and windsurfing venue on the Isle of Wight, due to the outstanding waves along this stretch of coastline.

Calbourne is in the west of the Island, eight kilometres from Newport. It is one of the most photographed Isle of Wight villages, made famous by the picturesque row of 18th century thatched cottages in Winkle street. There is a 9th century church next to the village green. It is also the home of Westover cricket team, who play on the green.

Chale is situated near the southernmost tip of the Island. Both holidaymakers and locals alike, enjoy the remote coastline and rugged beauty of the rural surroundings.

Cranmore is to be found about three miles east of Yarmouth, in the northwest of the Island.

Easton is located close to Totland in the west of the Island.

Fishbourne is a small village between Wootton and Ryde and includes the Wightlink car ferry terminal to and from Portsmouth.

Freshwater is a village and parish at the western end of the Island. Nearby Freshwater Bay is a small cove on the south coast. Alfred Lord Tennyson lived at nearby Farringford House.

Gatcombe is positioned four kilometres from Newport in the centre of the island.

Godshill is the typical English village, with several tea gardens and a lovely old-fashioned feel. It is located between Newport and Ventnor in the southeast of the Island. It has many attractions for visitors including a Toy Museum and Model Village. There is a large coach and car park in the centre of the village, opposite a superb family pub.

Gurnard is situated on the northern coast of the Isle of Wight, to the west of Cowes. Sailing is the main activity here and Gurnard has its own sailing club.

Hamstead is about three miles east of Yarmouth, in the northwest of the Island.

Havenstreet is a village located about 2 miles southwest of Ryde. It is home to Havenstreet Station, the focal point for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway

Knighton is a small hamlet close to Sandown. The old manor house, Knighton Gorges used to stand there, but only the two stone gateposts remain. Rumour has it, every New Year's Eve the house reappears in ghostly form. Locals have also claimed having seen animal-like gargoyles (which were removed many years ago) on top of each gatepost!

Lake is a village and civil parish nestling between Sandown and Shanklin. It is a large village with an excellent sandy beach and is much quieter than its two neighbours.

Mottistone is in in the southwest of the Island, 11 kilometres southwest of Newport . It is home to a church and a 16th century manor house

Nettlestone is a village on the Isle of Wight about 4 miles south east of Ryde.

Newbridge is located nine kilometres from Newport in the west of the island.

Newchurch is situated between Sandown and Newport in the southeast of the island. It is the most extensive parish on the Island.

Newtown is a small hamlet and is located on the large natural harbour on the north-western coast.

Ningwood is a small village, located about three miles east of Yarmouth in the northwest of the Island.

Niton, near Ventnor is split into two halves - Upper Niton and the lower part of the village which is known as Niton Undercliff which includes the most southerly point of the Isle of Wight, St Catherine's Point and St Catherine's Lighthouse. The church at Niton has a sixteenth-century tower and squat spire. The church has both Norman and mediaeval walls. The chancel is of the Decorated period, and has a rich modern reredos. There is a porch from the 14th century and the large Norman font that has a band of moulding and pointed arches on round pillars is around 700 years old. The chancel is 15th century.

Norton green is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight, located just north of Freshwater in the west of the island.

Nunwell is a small village close to Brading in the east of the island.

Porchfield is situated seven kilometres southwest of Cowes in the northwest of the island.

Rookley can be found five kilometres south of Newport in the centre of the island.

Seaview is popular with tourists and is about 10-minutes by car from the town of Ryde. It is a charming, historic village with narrow streets, a sandy beach and a lively harbour. It is one of the Islands most popular sailing centres.

Shalfleet is located between Yarmouth and Newport and is built around a Norman church.

Shorwell is positioned eight kilometres from Newport in the southwest of the island and includes the 12th century church of St. Peters. It is a very picturesque village with many thatched cottages and a superb cosy pub.

St. Helens is situated on the eastern side of the Island and has a fine village green on which cricket is played during the summer and football in the winter.

St Lawrence is a village between Ventnor and Niton and can suffer regular landslips. The tiny 12th century old church of St Lawrence was for many years considered to be the smallest church in the British Isles.

Thorley is placed in the northwest of the Island, two kilometres from Yarmouth.

Wellow is located about two miles east of Yarmouth and features St. Swithins church.

Whippingham is situated two kilometres south of East Cowes in the north of the island.

It is probably best known for its connections with Queen Victoria, especially its church, redesigned by Prince Albert.

Whitwell is a small village in the south of the Island, about five kilometres to the west of Ventnor, close to Niton and Godshill. It has a church, pub and White Well after which the village was named.

Wootton can be found between Ryde and Newport. The area of the village close to Wootton Creek is known as Wootton Bridge, and in the past, this was actually a separate settlement. The Isle of Wight Steam Railway terminus is to be found at Wooton.

Wroxall is in the south of the Island, near Ventnor. It is close to Appuldurcombe House - once the grandest and most striking house on the Isle of Wight

Yafford is a hamlet located nine kilometres from Newport in the southwest of the Island. It has a non operational water mill, which was working until 1970.

Martin Ager

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A Writer's Vacation

I usually dont go on vacation. A vacation takes me out of my house, away from my keyboard, far from my wireless network. Ive grown to love the little conveniences of my home, the height of my desktop computer, the luxury of using my laptop even while cooking a big meal, the unexpected warmth of my dogs breath against my leg. Before even packing, I miss my bed, my bathroom, my EVOO.

A vacation poses a leap of faith into the unknown. Aside from my normal apprehensions about going way up in the air on some physics principles and prayers, I wonder about the accommodations which never seem to match the brochure. Furthermore, there are noises I am used to sleeping through, locks I feel secure behind, and small amounts of identifiable dirt I can live with peacefully. And then there is the matter of being idle. Vacationing people are not only expected to leave home and family, theyre expected to leave their work. Needless to say, I had more difficulty with the latter, but I did agree to give it the old college try.

Yellow-belly that I am, I did not brave the trip alone. In addition to members of my immediate family, packets of Immodium, and a big bottle of hair conditioner, I packed a few other writers for company. I packed a modest size notebook. I packed enough pens and pencils to rewrite War and Peace, all of which I carried around in my oversized purse, awkwardly lifting and dropping passports and tickets, removing and replacing the books innumerable times for Tic Tacs and gum, knowing it was worth any inconvenience to be able to read on demand.

At our destination, my family predictably abandoned me to pursue fun, and I set up shop. I angled a lounge chair out of the sun on a balcony facing the ocean, and pulled out the first of my books. I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator in our suite, and sat out there a good thirty seconds enjoying the view, the breeze, the quiet, noting my husbands position on a sailboat in case he asked the way the kids used to ask if I had seen them doing tricks in the water. Now my vacation was beginning. I was finally going to be able to enjoy someone elses work, without interruption.

The first ten pages were easy enough. And once I put the towel over my legs to keep from getting one of those sunburns I preached about to my kids, the second ten were bearable. During the next five or so, I finished the last of my peanut M&Ms from the airport, moving directly into my pack of Eclipse. And then I did my best to balance my sunglasses over my reading glasses, which worked, until there was no getting out of the sun on that chair.

As luck would have it, there was also a table and chair set on the balcony, which I could easily position in the shade, so I picked up my water bottle, my towels, my purse, my book, and changed locations. So I was upright. Being upright didnt preclude relaxation. I methodically noted the position of my daughter and husband now in a yellow kayak, acknowledged the mountains, the palm trees, my son who came to get his bathing suit, the heat of the sun, the strength of the breeze against the pages of my paperback, and then this strange black bird which started yelping insistently. I stood up as if to ask why it was disturbing my newly found peace. It seemed to be cursing me out, again and again, until I knew how Dorothy felt to be so very far from Kansas.

Offended, I clutched the railing of the balcony, mourning my lack of peace, wondering how early they started serving tropical drinks at the bar. The bird was relentless. What, I asked myself, could it possibly want from me? I was a stranger, invisible to the other, nicer birds who didnt feel the need to keep calling out to me. I stared up at the sky until my eyes watered, watching this bird for any Hitchcock leanings. He was definitely a screamer. Mom? That would be my luck. While the other tourists were bobbing to reggae, I was under attack by the winged ghost of my mother.

Suddenly I seemed to wake up and understand where I was. I wasnt on vacation. I had traveled into a wonderful new setting! I immediately reached for my notebook and cursed the very resolve that brought me here without my computer, because I was certain I would never be able to write as quickly as necessary in order to capture every sight, smell, and sound for some future story. Six pages later, the ocean still rolled about laughing at me. Bring it on, I smirked. I had towels. I had water. I had a whole new world to imagine.

L. A. Rentschler, author of the newly released novel Mother (amazon.com). Author of Jitters which was produced as a Lifetime Original Movie. Playwright, best known for Deathbed. IWWG. Dramatist Guild of America. http://www.larentschler.com

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