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In 686 Christianity was introduced by the West Saxon King Caedwala. In 1066 'William the Conqueror' conquered! As a result the Isle of Wight contains a rich store of ancient churches, castles and fortifications. After centuries of vulnerability, Carisbrooke Castle, the Island's main defence, was built by a relative of William the Conqueror. It was here, during the English Civil War, that King Charles I was imprisoned after fleeing to the Island from Hampton Court Palace. He was promptly imprisoned at Carisbrooke, from where he was returned to London for execution. He was beheaded in 1649. Centuries later, Queen Victoria has a happier association and took advantage of the coming of the railways to use Osborne House at East Cowes for her retreat. The house was enhanced for visiting heads of state as the Queen spent more of her later years on the Island. It was at Osborne House that she died on 22 January 1901.

  

The Isle of Wight is approximately 23 miles East to West, and 13 miles North to South, being about 150 square miles in area. It can be reached by ferry, catamaran, or hovercraft. Boating is a very popular pastime on the island, as you can see by the yachts in the pictures, with one of the World's premier regattas being Cowes Week, at the beginning of August.

Within its boundaries, the Isle of Wight contains a wide variety of landscapes from sheltered river valleys to wild, wind swept headlands, from long golden sandy beaches to forests, picturesque villages and market towns. The Isle of Wight is blessed with a very favourable climate, being consistently warmer and sunnier than the English mainland, with sub-tropical plants growing in sheltered south facing gardens. The main industries of the Isle of Wight are agriculture and tourism with the resident population of 125,000 more than doubling during the busy summer holiday season from May to September.

I visited the island on June 5, 1999. It was the first 'sightseeing' trip I did after arriving in the UK and it was to be the start of my interest in visiting as much of the UK as possible during my time here. We will definately have to visit again and stay for a few days next time as there is alot to see and do.