Way back in January we booked on the National Bank Holiday weekend to the Isle of Wight, after a bit of debate about whether it was too far to travel for a weekend.  Well, we decided that it was somewhere different for a change and why not! We’re glad we did.

In order to make the most of the short time available to explore the Isle, a 6.00am start on Saturday 29^th May saw Richard & Carol Kaye and Paul & Tricia travelling to Southampton, (via Jack’s Hill Café) to catch the 12.30pm Red Funnel Ferry.   

Now Paul, not being one to miss an opportunity, had managed to sell his Remus exhaust at the BMF show the weekend before.  Slight problem though – it was still attached to the bike at the show.   Anyway, a deal was struck with a chap, who just happened to live at Southampton, so we arranged to meet up with him at the docks. After what must have appeared like a bit of ‘dodgy dealing on the dockside’ the Remus and money changed hands and we managed to board the earlier than planned 11:30 ferry.  The chap who bought the exhaust promised that the weather on the Isle would be good – and he was right!

The ferry takes less than an hour to travel down the Southampton water and across the Solent and was very busy due to the Bank Holiday weekend and British Motocross GP taking place on the island. There was a good mix of bikes on the ferry with the tourers, customs and choppers. 

We arrived at East Cowes early afternoon and had a steady ride to Shanklin where we experienced a little difficulty finding the Ocean View Hotel, until Paul eventually worked out how to use his GPS. Isn’t technology amazing?  We would have found it much quicker had we followed the written instructions that Tony Smith had sent. The Ocean View Hotel is situated on a cliff top with views overlooking Sandown Bay with a cliff lift operating directly from ourside our hotel down to the promenade.  

During the afternoon some of us had a walk into old Shanklin village and through a small park with a path winding down to the seafront. The flowers and shrubs were much more advanced than up in the cold north of England.

There were a number of runs organized for the Sunday; however, the four of us took a clockwise run around the island taking in the A3055 coastal road up to the Needles via Ventnor and past Blackgang Chine.   The scenery was beautiful and the roads quiet.  

At the Needles, we opted not to walk up to the end point of the island to see the Needles due to the steep incline, wearing heavy gear and it being rather warm but still managed to find a good viewing point quite near to the car park.

During the afternoon we headed back across land to the seaside town of Ventnor, catching a glimpse of the Motocross on the way.  Ventnor is built on a series of terraces that zig zag down to the seafront and the winding road with its tight turns down to the front is reminiscent to a mini San Francisco.

The Ocean View Hotel was okay and good value for money but it reminded us of SAGA hotels where the evening meal was served early with no stops for breath between courses and dinner was over and done with by 8pm.  The staff, particularly the waitresses, were from foreign parts.  After asking several times at breakfast for brown sauce and the waitress nodding and saying “yes” she eventually brought us brown toast.  

The weekend was well attended with several members staying the night before to make the most of the weekend.   We think it would have been ideal to spend an extra day on the Island to explore a little more and visit many of the attractions such as Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s seaside home and Carisbrooke Castle where Charles l was imprisoned.  There is so much to see and not enough time in a weekend, but well worth another visit in the future.

Many thanks to Tony & Val Smith for organising the weekend.

Tricia & Paul Hannon