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Home / Destination / Europe / UK / Elsewhere / Things to do in the Isle of Wight with kids

Things to do in the Isle of Wight with kids

November 11, 2013 by Gretta Schifano 17 Comments

Yaverland beach. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Yaverland beach. Copyright Gretta Schifano

There are loads of things to do on the Isle of Wight with kids. The island lies just a few miles off the coast of Hampshire in southern England and is a motorway-free oasis. I visited the Isle of Wight one October half term with my husband and ten year-old son. We stayed at the island’s ideally placed Premier Inn (read my review A family friendly place to stay on the Isle of Wight) and had a really enjoyable trip. These are some of the great things to do on the island with children.

Go fossil hunting

In 2009 four year-old Daisy Morris discovered fossils from a previously unknown dinosaur species on Atherfield beach. Thrillingly, the pterosaur species Daisy discovered has since been named after her as Vectidraco daisymorrisae. The Isle of Wight is Europe’s most important site for dinosaur fossils because of its soft clay cliffs which are continuously crumbling into the sea releasing the prehistoric remains which they contain. Compton Bay and Brighstone beach are some of the best places to find fossils. At Compton Bay you can even walk in some giant iguanadon footprints made around 120 million years ago. Dinosaur Isle (below) offers some great guided family fossil walks, which you need to book in advance. Read about our fossil hunting experience in my post Fossil hunting in the Isle of Wight.

Dinosaur Isle

A beachside purpose-built museum shaped like a pterosaur, Dinosaur Isle houses the island’s fossil and geological collection and has some fun interactive exhibits. It’s a very hands-on place with animatronic life-sized dinosaurs, a sandbox for excavating fossils, boxes of dinosaur smells (as imagined by someone who thinks about these things) and loads more. There’s also a room for younger children upstairs with soft toys, colouring materials and model dinosaurs to make. The expert paleontologists based here can help you identify any fossils you show them.

Carisbrooke Castle

This imposing 12th century castle is where King Charles I was imprisoned before he was executed. Carisbrooke Castle is at Newport at the island’s centre and these days is under the care of English Heritage. There are battlements to climb, mini cannons to sit on, ruins to play in and a short film telling the castle’s story. The highlight is seeing the castle donkeys walking inside the huge, old oak wheel to show how it was used in the past to draw water from the castle well. The donkeys seem happy and well cared for and only work the wheel for a few minutes at a time. Here’s Jill showing us how it’s done:

The Needles Old Battery & New Battery

Perched on the Isle of Wight’s western tip The Needles Batteries are now under National Trust care and make for a fascinating visit. It’s a beautiful twenty minute walk to the Batteries along the cliffs from the nearest car park, or you can catch a bus. The Old Battery is a Victorian fort built to defend Britain from French invasion. It was used during both world wars and offers some great views of the iconic Needles rocks as well as a cafe with homemade cakes. The New Battery is very exciting because it was a secret space rocket testing site during the Cold War employing up to two hundred people. Read more in my post Secret rocket testing on the Isle of Wight.

Go to the beach

The Isle of Wight has a beautiful coastline and some lovely beaches so makes a good choice for a family bucket-and-spade holiday in the summer. The beaches are still beautiful outside of summer too and are great places for walking, playing, and fossil hunting at any time of year.

Blackgang Chine

Opened in 1843 this 40-acre theme park is the oldest on the island. Blackgang Chine’s first attraction was a whale skeleton which is still on display today and is the largest in Europe. It’s in a great cliff-top location on the west of the island and besides a roller coaster and water chutes it has themed attractions including dinosaurs, cowboys, fairies and pirates as well as exhibitions of local history and crafts.

Owl & Monkey Haven

The Owl & Monkey Haven is a sanctuary for a range of rescued primates and birds of prey. There are talks from keepers where you can get really close to the animals and you can also book a marmoset encounter for the chance to interact with these cute creatures. There are two great play areas for kids as well as a cafe.

Family travel lowdown: We travelled to the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth as guests of  Wightlink. Day return fares start from £38 for a car and up to four people, while short-stay return fares (up to four nights) cost from £48. Wightlink also offers a range of Wight World tickets, which include day return ferry travel and entry to an Island attraction (from £44 for a family of four). Wightlink publishes a series of lovely,  free themed guides to the Isle of Wight.  Thank you to Wightlink and the National Trust for providing our tickets for the purposes of this review.

More on the Isle of Wight

You can read more about our trip in these posts:

Fossil hunting in the Isle of Wight

Secret rocket testing in the Isle of Wight

A family friendly hotel in the Isle of Wight

Family car review – a Skoda Yeti on the Isle of Wight

Holiday snaps: Yaverland, Isle of Wight

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Related

Categories: Elsewhere, Things to do in...
Tags: Carisbrooke Castle, Dinosaur Isle, Fossil hunting, Isle of Wight, Owl & Monkey Haven, The Needles New Battery, The Needles Old Battery

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Louise says

    February 26, 2014 at 9:55 pm

    Sounds brilliant and some fabulous tips there. We are hoping to visit there this week and even more tempted after reading your post! X
    Louise recently posted…Silent Sunday 23/02/14My Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      February 27, 2014 at 11:06 am

      I hope you have a lovely time – let me know if there are any places to add to my list!

      Reply
  2. Lucy Carter says

    February 17, 2014 at 1:22 pm

    We love the isle of wight! Robin Hill Country Park is a great place to go with the children 🙂

    Reply
  3. Coombe Mill - Fiona says

    November 16, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    Considering how small it is there is a lot to see and do on the Isle of Wight. It sounds like you all had a fantastic time exploring all it’s many attractions. Thanks for linking up and sharing with Country Kids.
    Coombe Mill – Fiona recently posted…Country Kids from Coombe MillMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      November 18, 2013 at 9:03 pm

      There are loads of things to do there – we need to go back as we ran out of time.

      Reply
  4. Kriss MacDonald says

    November 16, 2013 at 4:09 pm

    The Isle of Wight and the Needles have special meaning to me – when we return to UK on the top of my list is taking my kids there so this list is great!!
    #countrykids
    Kriss MacDonald recently posted…137 steps and 3133 milesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      November 16, 2013 at 4:34 pm

      That’s good to hear – let me know if you have any tips to add to the list after you’ve been!

      Reply
  5. Scattymumofboys says

    November 16, 2013 at 10:54 am

    Oh my Dudness! (as my 2 yo would say) The Dinosaur Isle looks fab and he’s obsessed with dinosaurs. We’ve not been fossil hunting yet so will have to do that before long. The Isle of Wight looks like a fab place to go and explore.
    Scattymumofboys recently posted…#Countrykids at Wepre ParkMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      November 16, 2013 at 11:07 am

      The isle of Wight is definitely the place to go if your son’s into dinosaurs and fossil hunting is really fun.

      Reply
  6. Emma says

    November 14, 2013 at 1:15 pm

    I am ashamed to say I have never been… Sounds like there is loads to do though. One day! 🙂
    Emma recently posted…Vienna by NightMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      November 14, 2013 at 1:29 pm

      It’s a lovely place to go, I’m sure you’d enjoy it.

      Reply
  7. Hilary says

    November 13, 2013 at 8:09 pm

    Myself and my family go to the Isle of Wight and we have had so many adventures. A couple of my boy’s favorite places and things to do are going to The Seaview Wildlife Park which is fall of the loads of different birds and animals such as penguins, meerkats, flamingos etc, we also like to go to Sandown Pier which is fall of loads of arcade games, ten pin bowling and of course views of the Island and in the summer months they have the trampolines open. My boys also like going on the Island tour bus rides around the Island.
    We have also been on the Steam Railway a few times and they love watching the countryside go by and they think it is amazing and it is so peaceful. If you have children that like Thomas the tank engine there is a shop there that sells loads of Thomas stuff.
    The beaches are of course amazing on the Isle of Wight and if you head over to Alum Bay you can ride chair lifts down to the Needles and around again and have so much fun with all the different shops that are there.

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      November 13, 2013 at 8:26 pm

      They all sound like great things to do, thanks for sharing your tips. I think we’ll have to go back another time because there’s so much more to do.

      Reply
  8. Susanna says

    November 12, 2013 at 7:31 am

    I LOVE the Isle of Wight. For us, it’s not too far away, and I love the feeling you get when you step on the ferry. I wrote a similar post from our last trip, it’s here: http://amodernmother.com/2013/05/west-bay-club-isle-of-wight-review-kids-2.html
    Susanna recently posted…Family traditions: Making Gravenstein apple pieMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      November 12, 2013 at 10:51 am

      It’s definitely a great place for a family trip – I’ll pop over and read your post.

      Reply
  9. Sarah Ebner says

    November 11, 2013 at 10:05 pm

    Sounds brilliant – and so much to do!
    Sarah Ebner recently posted…The Eiffel Tower – with our tips for visiting with kidsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      November 11, 2013 at 10:24 pm

      There really are loads of things to do there. I think we’ll have to go back another time.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Fossil hunting on the Isle of Wight - Mums do travel says:
    February 8, 2014 at 4:34 pm

    […] time of year to go – I learnt this on a guided family fossil walk on Yaverland beach in the Isle of Wight. I was were there with my husband and the youngest in October while the eldest was on her Spanish […]

    Reply

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This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.

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