Isle Of Wight, June 08

At last, a new post! No excuses, just being lazy!!

We went on hols to the Isle of Wight at the end of June. It's somewhere both Paul & I had fun childhood holidays & we wanted to take Charlotte there.

We stayed in Godshill, near the centre of the island. Our cottage had lovely views & lots of animals wandering around just outside the front door. There were ducks, geese, chickens, cockerels, llamas, sheep & horses.

Charlotte at the Isle of Wight lavender farm.

We had lots of fun during our week on the Island. There was so much to do & see that we didn't manage to fit everything into the 1 week.

We went to a model village in Godshill, Charlotte loved the trains & the hot air balloons.

Next up was a visit to Dinosaur Isle where we were in & out within 5 minutes as Charlotte didn't like the dinosaur noises that were playing in the background. Thank goodness we had free tickets!

Then we went to Shanklin where we had a wander along the seafront & Lottie had a go on a huge inflatable slide.

Next day it was time for a ride on a steam train.

Another walk along the seafront, this time it was a much windier day!

Next day, we went to Osborne House, Queen Victoria's holiday home. We took a ride on a pony trap on the way up to the house, Charlotte loved it & it was worth the 10 min wait.

Next on our visit agenda was a trip to the Zoo, where we saw lots of animals, including a mini crocodile, armadillos (or "hairy pillows" as Charlotte kept calling them!).


Charlotte with her latest cuddly toy acquisition - an oselot called Beau after the one at the zoo.

After lunch we were lucky enough to catch the birds of prey show. We saw a gorgeous big fluffy barn owl which we were allowed to stroke (I don't think we'll ever be as close to a barn owl again!), there was also a Harris Hawk who did a very impressive hunting display. This was the best part of the day for me.

Charlotte on the teacups ride at The Needles theme park, we ended up having 4 rides on here & 3 on the carousel!

We then went to the Alum Bay sand shop where Charlotte chose an elephant shape to fill with sand. I remember doing the same with a bell shape when I was on a school camp trip to the IOW in 1984.

Another day, another tourist attraction! Off we went to Blackgang Chine, somewhere I remember from my camp trip with school. It's changed a bit though, as a lot of what I saw has fallen into the sea. Charlotte really enjoyed it here, there was so much to do & see.



This will make you laugh, here's a pic of me with the bartender in Frontier land.....


and here's a picture of me with the same bartender 24 years earlier! Loving my hairstyle!



Another flashback, Charlotte having a ride on a big horse......


and Mummy on the same horse 2 decades earlier!!


Charlotte & I on the log flume ride. I really didn't think she would go on this, thought she would back out at the last minute, but she was well up for it!





Back to the seaside where Charlotte made some sandcastles & had a paddle in the sea.

Ooops, someone was paddling a little vigorously & fell into the water!

All too soon it was the end of our week away. We packed up the car & came back on the ferry. Oh well, we have another holiday in September, this time to Cornwall.