Great place for the family especially younger children. Chance to meet lots of different animals up…read moreclose. Feeding sessions throughout the day and tractor rides depending on the weather. OK cafe and indoor play areas too, take home your own eggs.

This is a great place to take kids. This is a working farm with lots of activities for children…read more The farm is well organised and the staff are very friendly. They organise great birthday parties for children.

Friend decided to do a tour for her Hen Night. You are met at Bus Station, The Hard, Portsmouth by…read morea red double decker bus, driver and guide in costume. You are taken around Southsea and Old Portsmouth, do not expect spooky, spooky, but there are a few surprises along the way, do not want to spoil it, more a historical tour than spooky. I really enjoyed it though, great for something different, if especially around Halloween.

Thompsons in the High Street is a nice travel agents. When you walk in it is not intimidating like…read moresome travels agents can be. It's a fairly small shop but there is always someone there to assist you. Whether you just want books to think about holidays, or would like some more detailed advice on where to book, you will not go wrong by checking Thompson's out. In the time of the credit crunch it is always wise to shop around but this shop will do its best to give you a competitive quote. The staff are lovely and will do their most to fulfil your travel needs, whether that is a caravan in Weymouth, or a five star hotel on the Barrier Reef. Definately worth checking out. I'll use again and again.

I wonder how many people reading this actually travelled by steam train when it was a daily mode of…read moretransport rather than a novel journey to remind of how it used to be? I ask because I did. Do I miss it heck, yes - the intoxicating unique smells, the noises, the sounds, especially the thump of huge slabs of heavy metal, hitting heavy metal yet staying unmarked and gold, red and black lacquered steam engines, dozens of yards long, breathing and hissing as if alive. Many's the time I got to be up with the driver and coalman as we chugged along - the intense fiery heat, sulphur smells and coal being fed continuously - real men of steel with hands that could crush you. Here at the Isle of Wight is a beautifully preserved railway with lovingly restored steam engines with comfortable period carriages and charming rural stations. It is charming and worth supporting but I suspect with its location it'll rarely ever draw a crowd. The staff are dressed in traditional Southern Railway uniforms from a different era of time that will never return. All that's left is five miles of Steam Railway and an electrified eight mile main line from Ryde to Shanklin from a railway system which once extended over 55 miles of mostly rural Wight. The first line opened in 1862 between Cowes and Newport and in 1900 a second railway delivered a complete island rail service. It's now a revenant to haunt those of us on what we had and stupidly allowed greedy politics to ruin letting them enrich only themselves - those who know the price of everything and the value of nothing; some things will never change as long as we stay stupid and the evidence is right in front of us from 1O Downing Street to Mar a Lago. The price of our stupid is already intolerable and fast becoming incalculable as we lurch toward fascism which is dictatorship lite.

Time to let off some steam at the Isle Of Wight. With this Steam Railway no less…read more This is a little old steam railway on the Isle of Wight, so if you're making the Isle of Wight your holiday destination, this would be a great part of it. It's one of the many Heritage Railways in the UK and one of the prettiest. I've loved it for a very long time and probably always will. It's actually a good way to get around the island as well, which is funny because it's not really a method of transportation per se, and yet it is because it's such a small island and a lot of people don't bring their cars over here.

Excellent Hog Roast. Staff all super helpful and friendly. Meat moist and full of flavour. Loads of…read moredelicious sides and the chocolate brownie pudding was to die for. Can't recommend them highly enough!

Very efficient, loads of sailings, freindly service, takes 35 minutes, book on line (don't worry…read moreabout their request to print off the booking confirmation, they'll accept your booking reference as evidence and print off a ticket in the office). Not cheap, but then what is? Fantastic views of Lymington and Yarmouth from the decks. The lounges are comfy with big picture windows. Excellent trip and well worth it for an easy way to have a scout round the Isle of Wight. Recommended.

One of the worst ferry terminals I've had the pleasure to spend time at. The building has no cash…read morepoint and the coffeeshop has no working card machine! (12th November 2013). The saving grace is that the building has a toilet! My tip bring hard cash if you find yourself stuck here for an hour or so.

If you live in Lymington, you may end up with Lymington disease, so be careful…read more What a beautiful little old town - one of those little Old Towns, and it's just very memorable, and somehow unlike any other little town we've been to recently. So absolutely gorgeous then. The old station house looks like a beautiful old pub or large cottage. It's one of the highlights of the town. It's little and old and beautiful and definitely prettier than the nearby railway station. The service is away from the main town and it just has a single track that comes down here. It's been a line for a hundred and fifty years now which is pretty amazing.

Lymington is a great place for a day out, and this gorgeous little station is well worth a visit in…read moreits own right. Viewed from the car park outside, it looks much like any other station, but step inside and you're transported to another world entirely. The Station Master is friendly and welcoming and the walls are plastered with pictures of steam trains, newspaper reports and authentic railway posters of yesteryear. Every nook and cranny from the ticket office to the waiting room is filled with little bits of history including old signs and signal equipment, and more personal items such as old suitcases with labels saying where they've been. Real care and attention has been lavished on this station, even down to silly things like soft covers on the metal chairs in the waiting room, and the staff and supporters deserve to have real pride in what they've created. Brilliant.

There is seriously soooo much to see and do here. It's not "just a house" that you can check out,…read morebut also the private beach of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, their Swiss Cottage, royal gardens, and beautiful surrounding forestry and "adventure paths." We delegated our time, first of all checking out the Swiss Cottage. This was Prince Albert's idea, as he had "fond memories of his time growing up in Germany with his brother," where they had a Swiss-style chalet and gardens. After his death in 1862, the museum was added to the cottage. Points of interest in the Swiss Cottage: museum, Royal children's garden plots, and the children's tool shed. I loved the museum! It was presented in a fun, informative way, so that it can be interesting to both adults and children. You "meet" all of the Victoria and Albert's children (Princes Arthur, Leopold, Alfred, and Edward; Princesses Beatrice, Victoria, Louise, Alice, Helena) accompanied by pictures and informative text. Ever wondered which child was Victoria's or Albert's favorite? You can find out here. Surprisingly to me, a lot of the info was followed by a sketch from Victoria or Albert, and they were actually quite good. We took a pathway outside to our next destination: the beach. The path was lovely, with a pebbled walkway fringed by trees and greenery. Since the day was lovely, there were a lot of families on the beach. Queen Victoria's bathing machine was on display here--we could see the exterior but not the interior. Bathing machines were used to protect women's' modesty, and they would go into these machines, which would then be run into the sea via a ramp, "the wheels guided by grooves, and pulled back up using a wire rope and winch." We found an unoccupied dock further down the beach and my friend dipped her feet into the chilly water. I dipped my hands into the water, letting the sand trickle through my fingers. There's a small cafe on the beach that serves ice cream, tea, and coffee, and we decided on the wonderfully named Knickerbocker ice cream. This confection was about 6 pounds, served in a plastic sundae-type cup, and consisting of "blackcurrant and strawberry ice creams layered with crushed honeycomb and cream." It. Was. A. Damned. Delight. Served with a long wood spoon that inflected the slight flavor of popsicle sticks, it sweet and crunchy, and easily shared between two people. We followed another path back to the house after the beach. This house is gorgeous. Sort of a beige-y sandstone color on the outside, decorated with sculptures and fountains, featuring tilework at various points. Originally, we entered through the dining room and went back outside once we realized that was actually the end. Ooops. The interior is just as lovely as the exterior. The Queen's Bedroom is here is home to the very bed that the queen died on in 1901, "surrounded by her relative." Some of the furnished rooms in the house also have brief explanations for the pieces. Example: "The painting above the fireplace, 'The Entombment' by Gustav Jager was painted for Prince Albert in 1845 and has always been in this room. The painting shows the Prince's 'avante garde' taste, as the German school did not become popular until the 1850s." THE VERDICT: Part museum, part home, part slice of history, the home and grounds are lovely. I particularly liked the Indian and Colonia Exhibition in Albert Hall that Queen Victoria opened in 1886. As we were leaving the Dunbar room, I noticed the wall was two different colors, and when I went to snap a picture, an employee said that the wall was once covered in wallpaper, and when they removed it, they found a stunning design behind it. They took paint chip samples, and through science and old pictures, they were able to establish the original colors. And then they hand-painted the room these colors. Beautiful, sweeping ceilings (which I mention because many of them had crown moulding or other beautiful plastering that was gorgeous--seriously... look up!), lovely furniture, artwork, light fixtures, vases, and sculptures. This place is a verifiable treasure trove of original artwork and items. If you enjoy any of those things I previously mentioned, you will enjoy the Osborne house. If you don't, I would suggest checking out something else on the island. MY TIME: We spent about 3 hours here, and honestly I believe we could have spent another hour here. There really was just a TON to see. TIPS/SUGGESTIONS: - Dogs are allowed here along the trails. Woof! - There's a courtesy minibus that runs between the house and the beach, but the walk between the two is beautiful and relaxing. -This is probably a wonderful place to bring the family for a picnic on the beach.

The staff were very nice to us after we experienced some issues with the tickets the house was…read moregorgeous very historical and full of so much history. We had a lovely day. The grounds are beautiful and you to go and visit queen Victoria's private beach so much to do.