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Tourist attractions on the Isle Of Wight

Appuldurcombe House is the impressive shell of a grand 18th-century baroque style stately home of the Worsley family. It is near Wroxall on the Isle of Wight.

The great eastern front to Appuldurcombe House It is now managed by English Heritage and is open to the public. A small part of the large and magnificent 1.2 km² estate which once surrounded it is still intact, but other features of the estate are still visible in the surrounding farmland and nearby village of Wroxall, including the grand entrance to the park, the Freemantle Gate, now only used by farm animals and pedestrians.
Appuldurcombe began as a priory in 1100. It became a convent, then the Elizabethan home of the Leigh family. From here, the site came into the ownership of the Worsleys.
The present house was begun in 1702, replacing the large Tudor mansion left to Sir Robert Worsley. The architect was John James. Sir Robert never saw the house fully completed. He died on 29 July 1747.
The house was greatly extended in the 1770s by his great nephew Sir Richard Worsley. The newly extended mansion was where Sir Richard brought his new wife, whom he married ‘for love and £80,000’. The famous Capability Brown was commissioned in 1779 to design the ornamental grounds at the same time as the extensions. A romantic ‘ruin’ called Cooke’s Castle was built on the hill opposite to improve the view.
Freemantle Gate, the former grand entrance to the Appuldurcombe Estate.During Sir Richard's time the house held a magnificent collection of works of art, and played host to some of the most eminent figures of the age.
The subsequent owner, Charles Anderson-Pelham, the 2nd Baron Yarborough (later first Earl of Yarborough), founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes, made few changes to the house, and was quite happy to retain the property as a convenient base for his sailing activities. In 1855 the estate was sold. An unsuccessful business venture ran Appuldurcombe as an hotel, but with its failure, the house was then leased for use as a college for young gentlemen.
The house was inhabited for a few years in the early 20th century by the large community of Benedictine monks who had been exiled from Solesmes Abbey in France and were shortly to settle at Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight. Troops were billeted in the house during both world wars. It was badly damaged in the Second World War, when a Dornier Do 217 that was engaged in a mine laying mission turned inland and dropped its final mine very close to the house on February 7, 1943 before crashing into St Martin's Down.
Although the house is now mainly a shell, its front section has been re-roofed and glazed, and a small part of the impressive interior recreated. Even in its present state, Appuldurcombe still retains an air of its baroque grandeur—when it was justly called the "grandest house on the Isle of Wight".


Blackgang Chine

Blackgang Chine is the location of a natural chine (a coastal ravine) in the soft Cretaceous cliffs near Ventnor at the southern tip of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.
Unstable terrain due to the underlying Gault Clay strata has resulted in a succession of huge landslips, notably in the 1920s, giving the area a very rugged and spectacular appearance quite atypical of southeast England.
The site is home to the Blackgang Chine amusement park, established in 1843 by Victorian entrepreneur Alexander Dabell, whose descendants have owned it ever since. It is allegedly the oldest theme park in the UK, and famous for its lifesize plastic dinosaurs. Originally a general-purpose scenic and curiosity park, it featured a whale skeleton and landscaped paths down the chine to a waterfall and the beach below. The paths were swept away in the early 1900s, and the continuing coastal erosion has since obliterated the chine itself and forced the owners to repeatedly move the clifftop facilities inland. The park's focus now is themed entertainments for families with young children. The same owners run a sister site, the Robin Hill countryside adventure park.
Blackgang is also the name of the nearby village. According to a May 2000 talk to the Isle of Wight Postcard Club by the present owner, Mr Simon Dabell, the etymology is simply "black pathway" (the original appearance of the chine), but the theme park understandably fosters the interpretation of a smuggling origin. Thus visitors to the park are greeted by a gigantic fibreglass smuggler between whose legs they must pass to enter.
Clifftop walks in and around the area give panoramic views of the English Channel and the south-western Isle of Wight coast. Blackgang is also notable for dinosaur fossils and the nudist Blackgang Beach.
Blackgang was the birthplace of the actress and comedienne Sheila Hancock.

Carisbrooke Castle

Early History
The site of Carisbrooke Castle may have been occupied in pre-Roman times. The existence of a ruined wall suggests there was a building there in late Roman times. The Jutes may have taken over the fort and the by the late 7th century. An Anglo-Saxon stronghold occupied the site during the 8th century. Around 1000, a wall was built around the hill as a defence against Viking raids.
Norman History
After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror gave the Isle of Wight to his friend William fitzOsbern who built a wooden structure. The castle is mentioned in Domesday book under Alvington, and was probably raised by fitzOsbern, who was made first lord of the Isle of Wight. From this date lordship of the Isle of Wight was always associated with ownership of the castle, which thus became the seat of government of the island.
In 1100, Henry I gave Carisbrooke to Richard de Redvers. The castle was garrisoned by Baldwin de Redvers for the Empress Matilda in 1136, but was captured by Stephen.
Later History
The castle remained in the possession of Richard de Redvers family until 1293, when Countess Isabella de Fortibus sold it to Edward I, after which the government was entrusted to wardens as representatives of the crown.
In the reign of Richard II it was unsuccessfully attacked by the French (1377). The keep was added to the castle in the reign of Henry I, and in the reign of Elizabeth I, when the Spanish Armada was expected, it was surrounded by an elaborate pentagonal fortification by Sir George Carey.
Charles I was imprisoned here for fourteen months before his execution in 1649. Afterwards his two youngest children were confined in the castle, and the Princess Elizabeth died there. Most recently it was the home of Princess Beatrice, daughter of Queen Victoria, as Governor of Isle of Wight, 1896-1944.

Entrance to Carisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke was the strongest castle on the island, though it does not dominate the countryside like many other castles.
There are traces of a Roman fort underneath the later buildings. Seventy-one steps lead up to the keep; the reward is a fine view. In the centre of the castle enclosure are the domestic buildings; these are mostly of the 13th century, with upper parts of the 16th. Some are in ruins, but the main rooms were used as the official residence of the Governor of the Isle of Wight until the 1940s, and they remain in good repair.
The Great Hall, Great Chamber, and several smaller rooms are open to the public, and an upper room houses the Isle of Wight Museum. Most rooms are partly furnished, but on the whole it is the fireplaces and other features of the rooms themselves which are most interesting.
One of the main subjects of the Museum is King Charles I. He tried to escape from the castle in 1648, but was unable to get through the bars of his window.
The name of the castle is echoed in a very different structure on the other side of the world. A visit to the castle by James Macandrew, one of the founders of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, led to him naming his estate "Carisbrook". The name of the estate was later used for Dunedin's main sporting venue.
The Main Gate
The gateway tower was erected by Anthony Woodville, Lord Scales in 1464.
The Chapel
The chapel is located next to the main gate. In 1904 the chapel of St Nicholas in the castle was reopened and re-consecrated, having been rebuilt as a national memorial of Charles I. Within the walls is a well 200 ft. deep, and another in the centre of the keep is reputed to have been still deeper.
The Well-House
Near the domestic buildings is the well-house with its working donkey wheel. As it is still operated by donkeys, the wheel is a great attraction and creates long queues.
The Constable's Chamber
The Constable's Chamber is a large room located in the castle's medieval section. It was the bedroom of Charles I when he was imprisoned in the castle, and Princess Beatrice used it as a dining room. It is now used as the castle's education center.
The Earthworks
Surrounding the whole castle are large earthworks, designed by the Italian Federigo Gianibelli, and begun in the year before the Spanish Armada. They were finished in the 1590s. The outer gate has the date 1598 and the arms of Queen Elizabeth I.
English Heritage
The castle is one of the major attractions now owned by English Heritage.

Dimbola Lodge

Dimbola Lodge was the Isle of Wight home of the Victorian pioneer photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.
It is now the home of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust, and a photographic museum.
History of the property
Julia Margaret Cameron bought two adjacent cottages in Freshwater Bay from a local fisherman called Jacob Long in 1860. In order to make the house look more beautiful to her friends returning from the beach, they were linked by a central tower in the Gothic style current at the time. The structure dominates the skyline from Freshwater Bay and gives a focus to the surrounding area.
Dimbola Lodge served both as her home and her studio. It was here that the greatest of Julia Margaret Cameron's photographs were made.
After the Camerons returned to Ceylon the property was again divided into two parts. These were later renamed Dimbola, which became a private residence and holiday flats, and Cameron House which eventually became unoccupied and under the threat of demolition by developers. The Julia Margaret Cameron Trust acquired both properties in 1993 and it is now open to the public.

Dinosaur Isle

Dinosaur Isle is a museum located on the Isle of Wight.
The museum was designed by Isle of Wight architects Rainey Petrie Johns in the shape of a giant pterodactyl, it claims to be the first custom built Dinosaur museum in Europe. The £2.3 million cost of the museum was provided by Isle of Wight Council and the National Lottery Millennium Commission. Dinosaur Isle opened to visitors on 2001-08-20.

Fort Victoria (Isle of Wight)

Fort Victoria was a single tier battery with defensible barracks west of Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, England, built in the 1850s, later used as a submarine mining centre and training area for military purposes.

The larger barrack blocks were demolished in 1969, but the sea-facing casemates were not, and this is now all that remains of the Fort. It can now be visited in its role as a country park. The linear park follows the coastline, and has spectacular beaches and soft cliffs. Through the wooded upper cliff area runs the old military road to Fort Albert. The path is now a part of the Round the Island Footpath.
Fort Victoria is the Isle of Wight's largest and most popular country park, owned and managed by the Isle of Wight Council, it has several attractions in the old fort buildings including a marine aquarium, a planetarium, a cafe and the ranger base from where, in the summer months, educational visits are operated by the rangers.
The Fort provides easy access to the beach, and excellent views of the Solent, Hurst Castle, and passing shipping.

Isle of Wight Steam Railway

Vintage carriage and O2 Class 0-4-4T no. 24 Calbourne.The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is a heritage railway line on the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England across the Solent from Portsmouth and Southampton. The Isle of Wight Steam Railway passes through five and a half miles of unspoiled countryside from Smallbrook Junction station to Wootton station, passing through the small village of Havenstreet where the line has a station, headquarters and depot. At Smallbrook Junction the steam railway connects with the Island Line.
The railway is owned and operated by the Isle of Wight Railway Co. Ltd. and run largely by volunteers. Services are operated on most days from June to September, together with Sundays in April, May and October and public holidays. Over each August bank holiday weekend, the railway organises the Island Steam Show, which combines an intensive service on the railway with displays of various sorts of steam power including traction engines and steam fair equipment, together with other attractions that vary year by year.
As the name suggests, services are hauled by steam locomotives, with most of the fleet having spent much of their working life on the island's railways. The principal locomotives in use are:
Calbourne, 02 class 0-4-4T number W24, built in 1891 for the London and South Western Railway and transferred to the island in 1925.
Freshwater, Terrier class number W8, built in 1876 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and transferred to the island in 1913.
Newport, Terrier class number W11, built in 1878 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and transferred to the island in 1902.
These locomotives are supported by a handful of more recent steam and diesel locomotives.
The locomotives are complemented by two distinct fleets of carriages. One fleet consists of bogie carriages built between 1911 and 1924, representing the final generation of steam hauled stock used on the island. The other fleet consists of four-wheel carriages built between 1864 and 1898 representing the previous generation; most of these have been rebuilt from bodies previously sold off for use as holiday homes or storage sheds. The two fleets are not normally mixed in the same train.
The first railway on the Isle of Wight, opened in 1862, linked Newport and Cowes. It became the nucleus of the Isle of Wight Central Railway. The line from Ryde to Newport was opened in 1875 and by 1890 the island was served by an extensive network of lines. However most of these lines were relatively poorly trafficked, reflecting the isolation and poverty of the island in general.
This isolation and poverty meant that island's railways could rarely afford to acquire new locomotives or rolling stock and instead relied on using already elderly equipment transferred from the mainland. Much of the equipment currently used on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway falls into this category, representing usage on the island in the early twentieth century but also the mid to late nineteenth century on the mainland.
The first railway closures started in 1952 and in 1966 the Ryde to Newport and Shanklin to Ventnor lines were closed. The last steam services on the island ran on the remaining Ryde to Shanklin line on December 31st 1966. However a small group of rail enthusiasts formed the Wight Locomotive Society and raised funds to preserve one of the last steam locomotives, W24 Calbourne, and a number of the remaining carriages. Then, in 1971, the Isle of Wight Railway Co Ltd was formed to buy the 1½-mile length of track between Wootton and Havenstreet. From that early beginning, the railway has been gradually extended back from Havenstreet towards Ryde. This extension reached Smallbrook Junction (and the still operational Ryde to Shanklin railway) in 1994, and a brand new interchange station was built at that location to permit visitors to change to and from Island Line trains there.
An extension of the line westwards from Wootton to Newport has been suggested in the past but now seems unlikely – the site of Newport station now lies under a road and houses have been built on another part of the old line. A slightly more possible extension is one from Smallbrook into Ryde St Johns Road station, using one of the two Island Line tracks on this stretch, although this will depend on the future of Island Line.

Robin Hill

Robin Hill is a family theme park, billed as a countryside adventure park, in the centre of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom.
It is located close to the pub "The Hare and Hounds", in Adgestone. It is the sister park of Blackgang Chine, another Isle of Wight amusement area. Its attractions include: "The Time Machine" "Simulator", "Squirrel Tower", and the famous "Toboggan Run", a 300 metre course of metal half-pipe, designed as a track for toboggans (including brakes).
As well as a park for family fun, its other attractions include a wide wildlife variety, including the red squirrel, a mammal once native to all of Britain until it was gradually pushed aside by its accidently imported Canadian cousin, the grey squirrel. Robin hill is one of its very few sanctuaries.
Robin Hill is known all across the island and is a popular attraction for tourists there.


Alum Bay

Alum Bay is a sandy bay near the westernmost point of the Isle of Wight, England, within sight of The Needles. The bay is noted for its multi-coloured sand cliffs.
An amusement park exists at the top of the cliffs, and during the summer season a chair lift takes tourists down to the beach below.
Samples of the sand in vials and jars were for many years available in tourist shops all over the island. Some fine examples of pictures made with the coloured sand also exist. The practice of collecting sand for these purposes is no longer possible, due to the continuing erosion of the cliffs, and so sand is now imported and dyed for the purpose of making such souvenirs. Signs on the beach warn tourists not to climb the cliffs because of the danger of sandslides. A facility for visitors to fill their own sand vials has been incorporated into the amusement park.

The Needles

The Needles is a row of distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, England, close to Alum Bay. A lighthouse has stood at the western end of the formation since 1859. The formation takes its name from a needle-shaped pillar called Lot's Wife that used to stand in its midst until it collapsed in a storm in 1764. The remaining rocks are all short and squat and not at all needle-like, but the name has stuck. The Needles can be considered as an extension of The Undercliff, the cliffs which make up much of the southern coast of the Isle of Wight.
The Needles Old battery was built on the cliff top above the stacks in 1861–63 to guard the West end of the Solent. It was initially equipped with 7" Armstrong RBLs, which were replaced by 9" RMLs in 1873. Early searchlight experiments were conducted in 1889–92, just after which the new battery was built higher up the cliff. In 1903 the old guns were considered obsolete and thrown off the cliff. During World War I early trials of anti-aircraft guns were carried out, and the site saw action in World War II. The new Needles guns were scrapped in 1954. The headland was used for Black Knight rocket tests from 1956–71, and the site is now open to the public, owned by the National Trust.

It was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the South.





 

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Sunnycott Caravan Park welcomes Cowes visitors

Sunnycott Caravan Park · Rew Street · Gurnard · Cowes · Isle Of Wight · PO31 8NN
Telephone: +44 (0)1983 292859 ·  
E-mail: ·info@sunnycottcaravanpark.co.uk  Website: www.sunnycottcaravanpark.co.uk

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