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Ryde




For the Australian city, see: Ryde, New South Wales .

  Place Ryde
  Map Ryde - Isle of Wight dotpng
  Population 26,152 (1991 Census)
  District Isle Of Wight
  County Isle Of Wight
  Region South East England
  Ceremonial Isle Of Wight
  Traditional Hampshire
  Constituency Isle Of Wight
  Police Hampshire Constabulary
  PostalTown RYDE
  PostCode PO33
  DiallingCode 01983
  GridReference SZ591923
  Euro South East England


and showing the well-known twin spires.]]
Ryde is a British seaside town and the second largest urban area on the Isle Of Wight , with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast.

The town grew in size as a Seaside Resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower Ryde in the Nineteenth Century . The influence of this era is still strongly visible in the town's central and sea facing architecture.

As a resort, the town is noted for its expansive sands that occur at low tide, making its pier necessary on the wide beach for a regular passenger service. Ryde Pier is a listed structure which is the fourth longest in the United Kingdom , and also the oldest. At one time Ryde had two piers; the other being the Victoria Pier. Ryde has its own Inshore Rescue service which mostly has to deal with people becoming stranded on sandbanks as the incoming tide cuts them off from the shore.


TRANSPORTATION

The Hovercraft to Southsea operates from the esplanade close to Ryde Esplanade Railway Station and the bus station. A Catamaran service run by Wightlink operates from Ryde Pier to Portsmouth Harbour which connects with both Island Line trains and mainland trains to London Waterloo .


ENTERTAINMENT

An ice rink and a pavilion, converted to house a night club and bowling alley feature on the esplanade, the former being the home of the Isle of Wight's ice-hockey team, the " Wightlink Raiders ".


FAMOUS CONNECTIONS

  • David Icke - is a Ryde resident

  • Sam Browne - the soldier after whom the belt was named, retired and lived the last years of his life in a house called Argosy on East Hill Road, Ryde

  • Philip Norman - the writer who attended Ryde School and has written about his childhood on the Island.

  • Karl Marx visited Ryde for health reasons in the summer of 1874

  • Michael Sheard - the actor who played Mr Bronson in '' Grange Hill '' and appeared in '' Star Wars '', lived in Ryde and died there in 2005.

  • Raymond Allen - the TV writer who attended Ryde Secondary Modern School and wrote the BBC series Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em .

  • William Hutt , the colonial administrator, was educated in Ryde

  • William Booth - the founder of the Salvation Army spent the first part of his honeymoon in Ryde

  • Mark King - the Level 42 musician, originally from Ventnor , opened a Pub , Joe Daflos, in Union Street, Ryde in the 1980s.

  • Anthony Minghella - the Hollywood director was born in Ryde in 1954 . His parents are well-known local residents, and own an ice cream factory in Wootton (about 2 miles away). At the time of his birth they ran a cafe in Ryde High Street.

  • Albert Pollard - the historian was born in Ryde on 16 December 1869 .

  • John Lennon and Paul McCartney - the title of the song "Ticket To Ride" was inspired by a trip John took to Ryde in the 60's. Paul also mentions the Isle of Wight in the song "When I'm 64."