Information AboutIsle Of Wight |
The Isle of Wight is an English Island and County , off the Southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire , between the Solent and the English Channel . Popular from Victorian Times as a holiday resort, the Isle of Wight is known for its natural beauty and as home to the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes , a town that hosts a world famous annual Regatta . The Island possesses a rich history including its own brief status as a Vassal kingdom in the Fifteenth Century . It was home to poet Alfred Lord Tennyson , and Queen Victoria had her much loved summer residence and final home Osborne House built in East Cowes. Its maritime history encompasses boat building and sail making through to the manufacture of Flying Boat s and the world's first Hovercraft . Its space history includes the launch of the Black Arrow and Black Knight space rockets. It is home to the Bestival and the recently revived Isle Of Wight Festival , which, in 1970, was one of the largest Rock Music events ever held. The island is also one of the richest Fossil locations for Dinosaur s in Europe . In 686 AD, it became the last part of the British Isles to convert to Christianity , almost a century after the rest of Great Britain .[http://freespace.virgin.net/iw.history/archive/newsjul5.htm#news ''Saxon Graves at Shalfleet'', Isle of Wight History Centre, August, 2005] ''England, A Narrative History'', Peter N. Williams ''The English Accept Christianity'', The Story of England, Samuel B. Harding The island is the smallest Ceremonial County in England (when not including the predominantly urban counties of Bristol and the City Of London ) at 380 Km&2 (147 Sq mi ), just beating the revived Rutland at 382 km&2 (148 sq mi), although at low tide it is actually larger than Rutland. With just one Member Of Parliament and 132,731 permanent residents in the 2001 Census , it is also the most populated Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom . It has historically been part of Hampshire . HISTORY See Also: History of the Isle of Wight at Carisbrooke Castle ]] The Norman Conquest created the position of Lord Of The Isle Of Wight . Carisbrooke Priory and the fort of Carisbrooke Castle were founded. The Island did not come under full control of the crown until it was sold by the dying last Norman Lord, Lady Isabella de Fortibus, to Edward I in 1293. The Lordship thereafter became a Royal appointment, with a brief interruption when Henry De Beauchamp, 1st Duke Of Warwick was crowned King of the Isle of Wight, King Henry VI assisting in person at the ceremony, placing the crown on his head. He died in 1445, aged 22. With no male heir, his regal title expired with him. Henry VIII , who developed the Royal Navy and its permanent base at Portsmouth , fortified the Island at Yarmouth, East & West Cowes and Sandown, sometimes re-using stone from dissolved monasteries as building material. Sir Richard Worsley, Captain of the Island at this time, successfully commanded the resistance to the last of the French attacks in 1545; the French attempts to conquer the Island being decisively stopped after the English victory in the Battle Of Bonchurch . Much later on, after the Spanish Armada in 1588, the threat of Spanish attacks remained and the outer fortifications of Carisbrooke Castle were built between 1597 and 1602. During the English Civil War King Charles fled to the Isle of Wight, believing he would receive sympathy from the governor, Robert Hammond. Hammond was appalled, and incarcerated the king in Carisbrooke Castle. and its grounds are now open to the public]] , at the Needles battery, at the western tip of the Island. In 1904, a mysterious illness began to kill '' Acarapis Woodi ''. The disease (now called Acarine Disease ) frightened many other nations, because of the importance of bees in Pollination of many food plants. Laws against importation of honeybees were passed, but this merely delayed the eventual spread of the parasite to the rest of the world. The in the previous year. The Festival was revived in 2002 and is now an annual event, with other, smaller musical events of many different genres across the Island becoming associated with it. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND WILDLIFE Isle of Wight is approximately diamond in shape and covers an area of 380 sq km (147 sq mi). Slightly more than half of the Island, mainly in the west of the Island, is designated as the Isle Of Wight Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The Island has 258 sq km (99.6 sq mi) of farmland, 52 sq km (20 sq mi) of developed areas, and 92 km (57 mi) of coastline. The landscape of the Island is remarkably diverse, leading to its oft-quoted description of "England in Miniature". The West Wight is predominantly rural, with dramatic coastlines dominated by the famous chalk Downland ridge, running across the whole Island and ending in The Needles stacks — perhaps the most photographed aspect of the Isle of Wight. The highest point on the Island is St Boniface Down , at 241 m (791 ft), which is also a Marilyn . and Alum Bay .]] The rest of the Island landscape also has great diversity, with perhaps the most notable habitats being the soft cliffs and sea ledges, which are spectacular features as well as being very important for wildlife, and are internationally protected. The River Medina flows north into the Solent , whilst the other main river, the River Yar flows roughly north-east, emerging at Bembridge Harbour on the eastern end of the Island. Confusingly, there is another entirely separate river at the western end also called the River Yar flowing the short distance from Freshwater Bay to a relatively large estuary at Yarmouth . Where distinguishing the two becomes necessary, each may be referred to as the ''eastern'' or ''western'' Yar. The south coast of the Island adjoins the English Channel . Without man's intervention the Island may well have been split into three with the sea breaking through 1) at the west end of the Island where a bank of pebbles separates Freshwater Bay from the marshy backwaters of the Western Yar east of Freshwater, and 2) at the east end of the Island where a thin strip of land separates Sandown Bay from the marshy basin of the Eastern Yar, east of Sandown. Yarmouth itself was effectively an island with water on all sides and only connected to the rest of the Island by a regularly breached neck of land immediately east of the town. Island wildlife is remarkable, and it is one of the few places in England where the but, instead, rare and protected species, such as the Dormouse and many rare Bat s, can be found. The Glanville Fritillary butterfly's distribution in the United Kingdom is largely restricted to the edges of the crumbling cliffs of the Isle of Wight. A competition in 2002 named the Pyramidal Orchid as the Isle of Wight's County Flower .http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/plantlife-discovering-plants-county-flowers.html Plantlife: County flowers. The Island is known as one of the most important areas in Europe for finding Dinosaur fossils. The eroding cliffs also assist hidden remains to become more visible. Climate Being one of the furthest south points in the UK, the Isle of Wight has a warmer climate than other areas which results in high levels of tourism, particularly along the south of the island. It also has a longer growing season than other areas in the UK. {Link without Title} GEOLOGY circa 1910]] The Isle of Wight is made up from a wide variety of different rock types which date from Early Cretaceous times (around 127 million years ago) to the middle of the Palaeogene (around 30 million years ago). All the rocks found on the Island are sedimentary, made up of mineral grains from previously existing rocks. These are all consolidated to form the rocks that can be seen on the Island today, such as limestone, mudstone and sandstone. Rocks on the Island are very rich in fossils and many of these can be seen exposed on the beaches as the cliffs erode. Cretaceous rocks, normally red, show that the climate was previously hot and dry. This provided suitable living conditions for dinosaurs. Dinosaur bones and footprints can be seen around the Island along beaches, especially at Yaverland and Compton bay. Along the northern coast of the Island there is a rich source of fossilised shellfish, crocodiles, turtles and mammal bones. The youngest of these dates back to around 30 million years ago. The Island is mainly made up of Tertiary clays, in most of the northern parts of the Island, limestone, upper and lower greensands, wealden and chalk. POLITICS See Also: Politics of the Isle of Wight , 1859-60.]] The Isle of Wight is a Ceremonial and Non-metropolitan county. As it has no district councils (only the County Council), it is effectively a Unitary county, although not officially. It is unique in England in this way — all other unitary areas are single districts with no county council, while the Isle of Wight is the other way round. It also has a single Member Of Parliament , and is by far the most populous Constituency in the united Kingdom (more than 50% above the average of English constituencies). As a constituency of the House Of Commons , it is traditionally a battleground between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats . The current MP, Andrew Turner is a Conservative, and his predecessor Dr Peter Brand was a Liberal Democrat. The Isle Of Wight Council election of 2005 was a landslide victory for the Conservative Party, displacing the long serving "Island First" group, a coalition of Liberal Democrats and independents. There has been a minor regionalist movement, in the form of the Vectis National Party and Isle Of Wight Party , but this has generally performed badly in elections. DEMOGRAPHICS From the census taken in 2001, the islands population was at 132,731. This shows a change of 5.4% since the last census in 1991 which is a higher increase than the average for the UK at 2.6%. The mean age of people from the island is 43.19. This is higher than the national average of 38.65. From the 2001 census data, the population on the Isle of Wight by age group is: {Link without Title} The most popular religion on the island is Christianity, with 73.72%, however this census question was optional and 7.89% did not wish to state a religion. MAIN TOWNS See Also: List of places on the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight's county town is Newport, in the centre of the island. There are also smaller towns along the coasts particularly on the east side of the Island. Many of these such as Sandown and Ryde attract many tourists each year. As well as the major towns, the island also has many smaller villages, some of which also attract many tourists for example Godshill. LANGUAGE AND DIALECT The distinctive Isle of Wight accent is a somewhat stronger version of the traditional Hampshire Dialect , featuring the dropping of some Consonant s and an emphasis on longer Vowel s. This is similar to the West Country Dialects heard in Southwestern England, but less removed in sound from the Estuary English of the Southeast. In common with many other English regional dialects and accents, a strong Island accent is not now commonly heard, and as speakers tend to be older, this decline is likely to continue. The Island also has its own local and regional words. Some words, including ''grockle'' (visitor) and ''nipper/nips'' (a younger male person) are still commonly used and are shared with neighbouring areas. A few are unique to the Island, for example ''overner'' (a mainlander who has settled on the Island) and ''caulkhead'' (someone born on the Island or, for sticklers, those born there from long-established Island stock). Other words are more obscure and used now mainly for comic emphasis, such as ''mallishag'' (meaning Caterpillar ) and ''nammit'' ("noon-meat", meaning food). Some other words are "gurt" as in large or great, also "gallybagger" as in scarecrow.1. ECONOMY .]] This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Isle of Wight at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Industry and agriculture The largest industry on the Isle of Wight is tourism, but the Island has a strong agricultural heritage, including sheep and dairy farming and the growing of arable crops. Traditional agricultural commodities are more difficult to market off the Island because of transport costs, but Island farmers have managed successfully to exploit some specialist markets. The high price of these products overcomes the transport costs. One of the most successful agricultural sectors at present is the growing of crops under cover, particularly salad crops, including tomatoes and cucumbers. The Isle of Wight has a longer growing season than much of the is also grown for its oil {Link without Title} . The largest sector of agriculture has been dairying, but due to a low milk price, and strict UK legislation for UK milk producers, the dairy industry has declined. There were nearly one-hundred and fifty dairy producers of various sizes in the mid-eighties, but this has now dwindled down to just twenty-four. The making of sailcloth, boats and other connected maritime industry has long been associated with the Island, although this has somewhat diminished in recent years. Although they have reduced the extent of the plants and workforce, including the sale of the main site, GKN operate what was once the British Hovercraft Corporation a subsidiary of, and known latterly, when manufacturing focus changed, as Westland Aircraft . Prior to its purchase by Westland, it was the independent Saunders-Roe . It remains one of the most notable historic firms, having produced many of the Flying Boats , and the world's first Hovercraft . The Island's major manufacturing activity today is in composite materials, including a large manufacturer of wind turbine blades (Vesta's). Bembridge Airfield is the home of Britten-Norman , manufacturers of the world-famous Islander and Trislander aircraft. This is shortly to become the site of the European assembly line for Cirrus light aircraft. The Norman Aeroplane Company is a smaller aircraft manufacturing company operating in Sandown . There are have been 3 other aircraft manufacturers that built planes on the Island. A list of aircraft and airplane manufacturers as well as airfields on the Isle of Wight A major contribution to the local economy comes from the world-famous international Sailing Regatta , Cowes Week , which is held every August and attracts over a hundred-thousand visitors to the Island. Other major sailing events are held at Cowes, including the Admiral's Cup held biennially in July and the Commodores' Cup in August. In 2005, Northern Petroleum began exploratory drilling for Oil , with its Sandhills-2 borehole at Porchfield but ceased operations in October that year, after failing to find significant reserves. Breweries There are three breweries on the Island. Goddards Brewery in Ryde which opened in 1993http://www.goddards-brewery.co.uk/aboutus.htm; David Yates, who was head brewer of Burts and Island Brewery, started brewing as Yates Brewery at the Inn at St Lawrence in 2000 http://www.yates-brewery.co.uk/; Ventnor Brewery, under new management, is the latest incarnation of Burt's Brewery which has been brewing on the Island since the 1840s http://www.ventnorbrewery.co.uk/1840.html. Services Tourism and heritage ]] The heritage of the Island is a major asset, which has for many years kept its economy going. Holidays focused on natural heritage, including both wildlife and geology, are becoming a growing alternative to the traditional Seaside Resort holiday. The latter has been in decline in the United Kingdom domestic market, due to the increased affordability of air travel to alternative destinations. Tourism is still the largest industry on the Island. In 1999, the 130,000 Island residents were host to 2.7 million visitors. Of these, 1.5 million stayed overnight, and 1.2 million visits were day visits. Only 150,000 of these visitors were international visitors. Between 1993 and 2000, visits increased at a rate of 3% per year, on average. A website with Isle of Wight statistics for investors At the turn of the nineteenth century the Island had ten Pleasure Piers including two at Ryde and a "chain pier" at Seaview . The Victoria Pier in Cowes succeeded the earlier Royal Pier but was itself removed in 1960. The piers at Ryde, Seaview, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor originally served a coastal steamer service that operated from Southsea on the mainland. The piers at Seaview, Shanklin, Ventnor and Alum Bay were all destroyed by storms during the last century. Today only the railway pier at Ryde and the piers at Sandown, Totland Bay (currently closed to the public) and Yarmouth survive. Blackgang Chine is believed to be the oldest theme park in the UK, if not the world. As well as more traditional tourist attractions, the Island is often host to walking holidays http://www.wight-walks.co.uk. or cycling holidays through the attractive scenery. Almost every town and village on the Island plays host to hotels, hostels and camping sites. Out of the peak summer season, the Island is still an important destination for coach tours from other parts of the United Kingdom and an annual walking festival has attracted considerable interest. Transport Sea By far the main form of access is by Boat from the mainland, with regular vehicle Ferry services and passenger services being available through the ferry companies:
There are regular proposals for further routes, and during Cowes Week additional services have been known to operate — notably a fast Catamaran service between West Cowes and Lymington. Rail The Island is the home of the smallest Train Operating Company in the United Kingdom's National Rail network, the Island Line . This runs some 8½ miles from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin , down the eastern side of the island via Brading and Sandown . These are electric trains, using former London Underground rolling stock. The Island also has a steam-operated heritage railway, the Isle Of Wight Steam Railway . The steam railway connects with the Island Line at Smallbrook Junction . This was part of the former Ryde to Newport line. Before the days of Richard Beeching in the 1950s/1960s the Island boasted a comprehensive railway network based on a triangle of lines connecting Ryde, Newport and Sandown. Branch lines led from Sandown to Bembridge and from Newport north to Cowes and west to Yarmouth and Freshwater. Two other lines ran to Ventnor : # an extension of the aforementioned Island Line from Shanklin and # a branch of the Newport-Sandown line via Godshill and Wroxall. The two lines terminated at different levels above the town. Today much of the old rail network has been converted to cycle ways, including the Newport-Cowes, Newport-Sandown and Yarmouth-Freshwater sections. Other sections can still be traced on the ground, including the two tunnels where the Ventnor lines were taken through the downs. Roads A sign used to greet visitors to the Island disembarking from the car ferry at Fishbourne , stating ''Island Roads are Different, Please Drive Carefully''. Hansard 20 Dec 1995 : Column 1457 It is a joke amongst local residents that the reason Island roads are different is due to a lack of maintenance by the Council. Nevertheless the lighter traffic, quieter roads and slower speeds are noticeable to the visitor and are one of the reasons the Island has remained attractive to tourists from the busier mainland. The Island has 489 miles of roadway and is one of the few counties in the UK not to have a motorway. Buses The main bus company for the Isle of Wight is Southern Vectis . It provides a total of 24 different bus routes for the island with the most regular routes going to major towns such as Ryde and Cowes. From April 2006, the company changed its livery on all buses (excluding open top buses) to two shades of green and also operated buses on a newly designed, simplified network. This new network did not allocate certain routes with different livery, as had been done previously. During the summer, Southern Vectis also opperates four open top tour routes, The Medina Tour, The Sandown Bay Tour, The Downs Tour and The Needles Tour. These are popular for many tourists visiting the island during the Summer months. Wightbus also operate buses on the island, mainly taking students to and from school, however they do also help Southern Vectis with some of its routes. Walking and cycling The Island has an extensive network of byways, bridleways, footpaths and cycle tracks, including 520 miles of public rights of way. Several long distance paths are highlighted on Ordnance Survey maps and local signs, including a coastal path round the whole Island. Sustrans National Cycle Network routes 22 and 23 have sections through the Isle of Wight, including off road sections of route 23 between Cowes and Newport and Newport and Sandown along disused railway lines. There is a signed round the island cycle route primarily on road, as well as a 12 mile on and off road leisure route called the Sunshine Trail. The Island holds an annual Walking Festival in May and Cycling Festival in July. Air There are two small airfields for general aviation: Isle Of Wight Airport at Sandown and Bembridge Airport . These are busy with day-trippers in summer, travelling by light aircraft. Fixed Link Currently the only way to get to the island is by boat, a fixed link by tunnels or bridges has been discussed. Communications All of the Island telephone exchanges are broadband enabled and in addition, some urban areas such as Cowes and Newport are covered by cable lines. Some areas, such as Arreton, have no broadband in certain places. Media The Isle of Wight has one local broadsheet newspaper, The Isle of Wight County Press. It discusses local issues and is published each Friday, or on the last working day if a public holiday falls on a Friday. The Island's television station was Solent TV. In March, 2006, it was launched onto Sky. Unfortunately, this was not financially sustainable and the station became insolvent, causing its closure on Thursday, 24th May, 2007. The Island has one radio station, Isle of Wight Radio, broadcasting on 107 and 102 FM and the internet. It is a commercial radio station and is listened to by many Island residents. The Island has access to other nearby local radio stations. However, these are based off the Island. PRISONS The Island geography, close to the densely populated south of England, led to it gaining three 1995 for four days of freedom before being recaptured. Parkhurst especially enjoyed notoriety as one of toughest jails in the British Isles and "hosted" many notable inmates, including the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and the Kray Twins . Camp Hill is located to the west of, and adjacent to Albany and Parkhurst, on the very edge of Parkhurst Forest, having been converted to a Borstal and later a category C prison. It was originally on the site of an army camp (both Albany and Parkhurst were barracks) where there is a small estate of tree-lined roads with well-proportioned officers' quarters (with varying grandeur according to rank, but now privately owned) to the south and east. EDUCATION See Also: Education on the Isle of Wight There are sixty-nine Local Education Authority -maintained schools on the Isle of Wight, and two Independent School s. As a rural community, many of these schools are small, with average numbers of pupils lower than in many urban areas. There are currently five high schools. However there are plans to close at least one. There is also the Isle Of Wight College , which is located on the outskirts of Newport. The Island uses a Middle School system. MAJOR EVENTS Many events take place each year across the island, all designed to appeal to different groups of people. Many of these take place in the summer, and so attract many tourists visiting the island. A few notable examples include: FAMOUS RESIDENTS See Also: List of Isle of Wight people Over the years, the island has had many well known visitors. Many come over for health reasons due to the cool sea breeze and clean air. For example, Winston Churchill and Karl Marx . Perhaps not a globally famous person, Alan Titchmarsh the renowned UK gardener, also has a connection to the Isle of Wight and will assume High Sheriff Of The Isle Of Wight duties on the island. SPORT There is a variety of sporting activity on the Island. Cowes Week is the longest-running regular Regatta in the world with over 1,000 yachts and 8,500 competitors taking part in over 50 classes of yacht racinghttp://www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk/web/code/php/main.php?section=home. The Isle of Wight Marathon is the United Kingdom's oldest continuously held marathon, having been run every year since 1957 http://www.rydeharriers.co.uk/Marinfo.htm. T he course starts in Ryde, passing through Newport, Shanklin and Sandown, before finishing back in Ryde. It is an undulating course with a total climb of 1,505 feet. In 1851 the first America's Cup took place around the Island. The Island is home to the Isle of Wight Islanders Speedway team, who compete in the sport's second division, the 'Premier League. The club was founded in 1996, with a first-night attendance of 1740. The now-disbanded is particularly prevalent on the Island and boast several of the nation's premier clubs, such as the Wight Knuckle Ryders. SELECTED PLACES OF INTEREST
NOTABLE MEDIA REFERENCES
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EXTERNAL LINKS
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