Hopefully this page will help a returning visitor to go to an updated or new areas within my existing site which they may not have seen.
Aug 10
Two more beaches are featured in our beaches guide. After enjoying ourselves in The Owl and Monkey Haven this deserves a recommendation within my attractions section.
Just got back on the 7th after spending a great 2 weeks on The Island. I have some updating to do with new places that we visited, updated areas will be mentioned here. The Taverners in Godshill, Benghal Palace nr Newport and The Propeller Inn, Bembridge are the new places deserving a recommendation in my Pubs for a drink and Pubs for Food sections.
June 10
11 Isle of Wight beaches achieved Quality Coast Awards this year and the Marine Conservation Society and EnCams Blue Flag awards for 2010 are now included in my beach guide.
April 10
New page for Isle of Wight local events 2010 - if you would like a mention get in touch. Apologies for no updates of late....I have spent the last 3months decorating!!!
Dec 09
I would like to wish all viewers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Nov 09
No updates for the time being; our builder has personal and financial problems and has spent our money on other jobs and now has no money to buy materials or progress ours....
I am sorry for no new updates, pictures or new galleries recently. Our house extension is taking far, far longer than estimated due to our builder to put it simply 'messing us about' and dragging his heels with the basic structure build. We have found this very stressful, and we do not need this frustration especially when December is fast approaching, after all when he is work is complete that is when our work starts!
Oct 09
St Helens beach gallery. Dennis Moor's memories of visiting The Island from as far back as the 50's.
Sept 09
A new Villages and beaches gallery index page has been created as well as the first new gallery now complete - Ventnor's being the biggest I have started with that one, older pages will still be accessible till the changes are made. New pictures taken this year are also starting to finally appear, The Garlic Farm pages have also been updated.
I apologise for the delay, we are half way through having our house extended at the moment {two storey side extension} and have been very busy with this project up to now - and will continue to be for the next several weeks!
July 09
Just arrived back home from spending 10 days on the Island {22nd July-1st August}. We had some great sunny and warm weather despite the forecast and weather experienced on the mainland! I have some new pubs to recommend for food and drinking as well as some more information and photographs, which will be updated soon.
What are Chines? Looking forward to our yearly visit to The Island again soon, much to do and some new places/sights for us to look at.
June 09
My attractions section has finally had a revamp, six previous webpages of 25 recommended attractions are now in one place. Content is very similar but there is extra information in there - postcodes are now included for example as well as a few new pictures and the Map page has been updated with the changes.
Local events on The Isle of Wight for 2009 page has returned - if you have a local event you wish for me to mention then let me know. Blue Flag beach awards as well as the M.C.S. bathing water quality and Quality Coast Awards are now included for 2009 in my recommended beaches section.
March 09
Another Island distant memory added to the reader's memories page.
February 09
After a seasonal break you may notice some parts of my website undergoing changes - this will take a while so please be patient. Looking forward to our visit to The Island again this year.
October 08:
Luccombe beach a hidden gem, new pictures added. Miscellaneous pictures section has had a new page. Fishermans Cottage at the end of Shanklin's Esplanade has a new dedicated page.
September 08:
Culver Haven Inn and adjacent area including the Lord Yarborough monument, Culver Battery has been included in two new pages. Childhood memories from Hugh Barker has been added. Some new/updated pictures placed into Shanklin Old Village pages.
August 08:
Whilst the UK experienced quite a wet August this year, the fifth wettest on record in fact, but Shanklin had the highest hours of sunshine in the UK for August - 130% of the average amount. The Shipwreck & Maritime Museum was evaluated following its move from Bembridge into Arreton Barns, Arreton. With much improved facilities and more space I am pleased to recommend this interesting attraction once again - New pages and pictures.
The Garlic Farm near Newchurch has now been included in our recommendations of places to visit with some pictures and information. Love garlic? You will like this place! I have just finished the fresh large bulb I purchased some 7 weeks ago. The grand total of hits for the index page of this site has just gone over the 100,000 mark - my thanks to all of you!The Model Village in Godshill has had some new pictures included within some new pages for this very popular attraction. Godshill village has had another new page added for 2008 as well. Sorry, there has been no new updates for a while because we have just got back from having a week away near Whitby, what a great area this is as well. New updates to this site will start to appear again very soon.
July 08:
The Merry Wives of Windsor have had a mention in the Isle of Wight Events page which has been very quiet lately. Average food prices for eating out in the South of the Island has been updated, and it is good that more pubs are offering the choice of 'smaller portions' on their menus this year.
The Hare & Hounds, The Taverners, The Blacksmiths Arms, Ale & Oyster, and The Crab Inn all join our pub guide as newly recommended for food or a place to have a pleasant drink.
Amazon World now has three pages of pictures to accompany the recommendation. A newly recommended attraction Waltzing Waters now features within my attractions section. Carisbrooke Castle comes highly recommended to see with new pictures and information. Some pictures are starting to appear in my Miscellaneous picture gallery. Ventnor picture gallery has had some new pages for 2008.
June 08:
We have just returned from having 7 glorious days {out of 9} on the Island and a large update with many new pictures will shortly be under way. We visited some new pubs this year and have some new ones to recommend for food. We had some great weather and this may be the best year for photography so far. The EnCams Blue Flag status awards 2008 for beaches has just been announced for this season and Ventnor now proudly has its Blue Flag status back. It is not just about the all important quality of bathing water but also about other standards and facilities within the beach area. Shanklin and Sandown beaches also have this award and my recommended beaches section has been updated accordingly.
March 08:
The highly recommended Spyglass Inn pages have had a revamp to include a link to our experience of drifting sea fog on a hot and humid day which we had not seen before at such a low level.
February 08:
Brinley Davies from St.Malo, France sent me this request; "I wonder if you can help me. I have tried many times via various web sites to find any information regarding St Catherines Open Air School. I believe this is the correct name but when I was a patient there about 1951-1952. I always thought of it as a HOME under the supervision of the nuns. there was an old Victorian house in the grounds at the top of a hill, the chapel and school rooms and canteen were at the bottom of the site. I have tried many different ways to try and contact any other boys who were resident at this time but to no avail and most enquiries have referred me to the large chest clinic which was, I believe, a different hospital altogether". - If you were a previous resident and would like me to pass on your contact details to Brinley then send me an email at isle-of-wightattractions@ntlworld.com
http://www.postcards.shalfleet.net/ Great local site containing old postcard pictures as well as place information along the way has been added to my links pages. About the Author {myself} page has been updated and is linked via guestbook pages or here. I am searching for Dore's that came from or around the Newchurch area, my mother now knows she has family from this area around the 1800's. Any help or pointers - much appreciated. After a very brief look I realise there were quite a few Dore' family lines from the Island - this could be quite complicated.
A new page calledEvents on The Isle of Wight - displaying brief details of some local, fund raising or charitable events during 2008 that may be of interest to the visitor of this site or The Island. If popular I may list these by month - if you would like a mention then feel free to contact me. The Buddle Inn has had some more recent pictures inserted into my recommended pubs section.
January 08:
Some minor changes to my attractions section with some new websites to mention, the http://www.buddleinn.co.uk/ has now got a web presence for example. I am working on converting my recommended attractions into a downloadable more compact .pdf file, if it works I may apply this to my pub guide. We are looking forward to visiting The Island this year after a year break and that will more than likely mean more information and pictures to share as a result. I am also looking forward to sampling food and beer at some of my favourite pubs as well as some new ones. I was pleasantly surprised when Park-Resorts chose 9 of my photographs to appear in their new 2008 brochure, two being at full page size, they also have some smaller pictures of mine within their website; http://www.park-resorts.com/attractions.asp?id=37
November 07:
A much needed update to my 'whereabouts of recommended places to visit' map has finally taken place. October 07: Another page added to the picture gallery of Shanklin Old Village.
July 07:
A picture of the wreck of the ship "Carbon" off Compton Bay added at the end of my beaches guide. Norma Doohan clearly remembers her past spent in St. Catherine's during 1956-58, a small entry of these memories are in my guestbook.