please empty your brain below
the Isle of Wight used to be one of two regular holiday locations for me in my childhood years (that and Blackpool - long before the introduction of cheap flights and resorts abroad).

I went back there a few years ago, to revisit one of my childhood memories and it surprised me how little it had changed.

It would seem the whole island was in some form of stasis from the 70's and 80's.

I also used to inhabit a hotel for an off season weekend every year while pretending to be a vampire - more an excuse to drink vast amounts of alcohol and not worry about the stagger home.

I miss it.

Tom Reynolds | Homepage | 29.08.08 - 3:07 a.m. | #

By spooky coincidence I've just been decluttering and found an article on Carisbrooke Castle in July's English Heritage Magazine. I'll stick it in the post to you.

Blue Witch | Homepage | 29.08.08 - 10:42 a.m. | #

Ventnor station is a classic example of the problems of the Beeching Axe. The most useful feature of that line apart from serving the pier was the tunnel to Ventnor which avoided a difficult journey by road. But maintaining the tunnel and providing an extra substation meant continuing to serve Ventnor would have been disproportionately expensive. So the bean-counters closed it on the basis that people would catch a bus to Shanklin and continue by train. Of course in the real world that doesn't happen.

Arguably they should have made the more rational decision to either keep the entire line open to Ventnor or close the lot.

Pedantic of Purley | 29.08.08 - 1:08 p.m. | #

WE had many happy family holidays on the Isle of Wight for years.

Well, with no car, & small children, you want to go somewhere that doesn't involve travelling all day, that has a decent public transport system, & has plenty of stuff for small children, later bigger children, to do for when it's sunny, & when it isn't.

Many, many happy memories.

DH & I pop over occasionally, just to check that it's still there. We only live in central Portsmouth, but even the major metropolices of the Island are at least fifty years behind with traffic. For that matter, Ventnor looks as if it slipped through a time warp & remained in the 1950s, but lovely just the same.

Bronchitikat | Homepage | 29.08.08 - 1:48 p.m. | #

There used to be one of those machines which punched your name out of a thin aluminium strip on Ventnor station in the 60s. Steam engines were still running in 1965.

felix | 29.08.08 - 8:23 p.m. | #

I seem to remember on the ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg when you get midway you can still see France when Ventnor is on the horizon. It really is not very far

Simon | Homepage | 29.08.08 - 8:31 p.m. | #

Forgot to say....isn't there a super wheeze whereby one buys a season ticket between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade for about 200 quid, giving you immense savings on travel on the BR network worth quite a bit more than that?

felix | 29.08.08 - 10:25 p.m. | #

They used the tunnel to Ventnor to cultivate mushrooms for a while.

rashbre | Homepage | 29.08.08 - 11:04 p.m. | #

Thanks for pic linky

Not the greatest image as it was absolutely hammering down at the time - but the chine is rather a sight to see.

Steve | Homepage | 31.08.08 - 3:30 p.m. | #

Being born in Chichester and still having family there I had many a holiday on IoW as a child. Love the place and need a nostalgic return. You did miss out with Shanklin Chine, although the only way to properly enjoy the golf at the top is in a thunder storm. Trust me.

joe | Homepage | 01.09.08 - 5:42 p.m. | #











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