Short Breaks in Yarmouth
Yarmouth makes an excellent base from which to explore the western end (known as The West Wight) of the Isle of Wight. It has wide choice of restaurants and cafés to choose and a regular ferry service to Lymington on the mainland that takes just half an hour. There are many beautiful routes for walkers, such as the Coastal Path leading you to the iconic Isle of Wight chalk stacks, the ‘Needles’; the former railway line, now a bridleway known as The Causeway, leading to Freshwater and the Tennyson Trail, which takes you through stunning scenery much loved by the famous Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. A large proportion of The West Wight is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Wildlife lovers will find numerous species of birds to observe and may even spot one of the island’s red squirrels, now a rarity in Britain having been ousted by the widespread grey squirrel.
Yarmouth Harbour is a popular mooring with sailors and extensive harbour facilities and marine services are available. The Yarmouth Carnival and Regatta takes place in August, where a host of fun packed events are on offer including kite flying, decorated dinghies and a classic car display. For a nostalgic boating trip, visitors can enjoy a round-island trip on the Waverley, an old paddle steamer which runs in the high summer season.
Yarmouth Castle was built by Henry VIII in the sixteenth century, as one of his many sea defences against foreign invasion. It is now open to the public and provides a perfect platform on which to picnic while enjoying superb views of The Solent.
West of Yarmouth is the Fort Victoria Country Park, offering a marine aquarium, an underwater archaeology centre, a planetarium and a model railway, as well as delightful woodland and coastal walks.