Isle of Wight
A 30 minute ferry trip will take you to this magical holiday destination - the Isle of Wight with its wonderful rolling countryside, sandy beaches, picturesque villages and splendid views. The National Trust owns nearly 4,000 acres of countryside and 17 miles of rugged coastline: a little time spent discovering Southern England’s secret will be time well spent. Well worth a visit are the spectacularly sited Needles Old Battery set high on the western tip of the island, Bembridge Windmill, built around 1700 and the only one surviving on the island and glorious Mottistone Manor Garden.

The Needles
It was the threat of a French invasion that prompted the construction in 1862 of this spectacularly sited fort, which still has its original gun barrels. Much has been restored and there are also stunning views of the Hampshire and Dorset coastlines. Above the old fort, high on The Needles Headland, is a row of single-storey former coastguard cottages, now holiday homes – the names of which originate from shipwrecks off the Needles rocks in the last two centuries. Whilst their exteriors are not very photogenic, they are at the end of a continuous area of 370 acres of open downland owned by the National Trust and make a really comfortable base from which to explore the island.

National Trust places nearby: The Needles Old Battery, Tennyson Down, Compton Bay, Mottistone Manor Garden, Brighstone, Newton Old Town Hall. Shop and pub: Totland, Freshwater. Tea-room/café/restaurant: tea-room at The Needles,Totland. Beach: Freshwater Bay within walking distance. Other attractions: The Needles Park, Isle of Wight Pearl, Fort Victoria Country Park. Activities: walking, fishing, horse riding, water sports.

Ordnance Survey Landranger Map 196