This summer, Lee spent a great 2 weeks on the Isle of Wight. He went with his mum - travelling by train to the coast, catching the Turbo train first from Wokingham to Guildford, then another SWR train to Portsmouth Southsea, followed by a Hoverbus to the port to catch the Hovercraft. A busy day of travelling!
There were up to 103 passengers on-board, and it sped across to Ryde Esplanade in just 10 minutes.
Lee and his mum stayed in Sandown, in a lovely B&B called Fernside Guest House. Lee stayed upstairs in room 7, while his mum was downstairs in room 12. Two dogs named Winston and Mabel also live at the B&B! Every morning, Lee ate a yummy Full English breakfast, with cereal and coffee and juice, and for dinner, they visited several different restaurants for some lovely meals, including fish and chips.
Lee saw a lot of the sights and spent time on the beaches. He and his mum visited Shanklin, which was very pretty and very hilly, and saw a lovely waterfall. They also went to Ryde, Alum Bay – where there were chair lifts right up and down the cliff!
Lee and his mum visited a lot of stations, including some very overgrown stations which are no longer in use. (The Newport – Sandown line closed in 1956.) There are now only 5 trains on the whole island run by the Island Line railway from Shanklin, through Lake, Sandown, Brading, Smallbrook Junction, Ryde St Johns Road, Ryde Esplanade to Ryde Pier Head.
This line connects to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway at Smallbrook Junction, with 3 other stations called Ashey, Havenstreet and Wootton. Lee travelled on the steam train, which was great fun, especially the request stop at Ashey where you have to flag the train down to get back on.
Lee saw a lot of buses - one day he took a tour of the island on the open-top bus, the Downs Breezer. He sat up at the top and listened to the commentary about the island and the history of the hovercraft, while seeing loads of things, including camper vans, animals, and taking some nice photos of the scenery. They saw a huge cruise ship too and travelled over a swing bridge!
They had great weather every day, aside from one day of rain, and overall had a lovely holiday. We're looking forward to hearing about your next trip, Lee!