The Isle of Wight is a stunning island situated just four miles off the South Coast of England. It is famous for its beautiful scenery, beaches and internatonally renowed events including the Isle of Wight Festival, Cowes Week and Round the Island race. The island is easy to reach, just a short hop from mainland UK, making it ideal choice for a day out, short break or holiday.
The Isle of Wight is known as a county and is about 2 miles (3.2 km) off the coast of Hampshire. The capital of the island is Newport, with other towns such as Sandown, Cowes, Ryde, Shanklin and Ventnor making up the island's beauty with plenty of places to go sailing or relax by the beach. The shortest point between the island and the mainland is between Colwell Bay and Hurst Point, 1.2 miles.
The island can been seen from many points on the South Coast including Portsmouth, Hayling Island, Selsey, Lee-on-the-Solent, much of the Hampshire and New Forest coastline.
The Isle of Wight covers a 147 square miles in total, stretching 23 miles across from Bembridge on the east coast to The Needles on the west coast. The island is 13 miles long reaching from Cowes in the north (facing the mainland) to St Catherine's Lighthouse on the southern tip of the island. The Isle of Wight is one of a total of 82 islands that surround Britian. It is around 65 - 70 miles to travel around the outside of the island by car, bike or on foot. Many visitors enjoy taking on the round the island routes which offer the chance to enjoy the breathtaking scenery and explore the diverse nature of the island.
Discover some of the great places to stay, things to do and events that make the island such a great place to visit.
Zoom in and out of the map using the plus and minus icons in the bottom corner while selecting the map's markers will bring up more information about one of the featured towns or villages. Alternatively, click or tap the icon at the top left corner of the map to show a full list.
For directions, click on the icon of a red arrow in a white square that appears whenever a map marker or list item is selected.
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