Find things to see and do, and places to stay, in England.

England

The Isle of Wight is famous for its dinosaurs. With rocks about 126 million years old, the island has some of the best-exposed dinosaur material in Europe. 
Dinosaur Isle is the island's purpose-built museum that covers the story of the dinosaurs on the island, and also runs guided geology and fossil hunting field trips.

Attraction

Dinosaur Isle

The **Isle of Wight** isn't that far from Portsmouth or Southampton. The hovercraft that runs between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight claims it only takes ten minutes.
We were <Link href="/travel/exploring-the-isle-of-wight/">very impressed with the island when we visited</Link>. There's quite a lot for the family to do in a relatively small area. It's definitely somewhere we'll be going back to. <Link href="/travel/exploring-the-isle-of-wight/">Click here to see where we visited</Link>.
Click the '*Narrow down results*' button to find what you are after and click the Save heart next to each item to add it to your <Link href="/adventure-planner/">*Adventure Planner*</Link>.

The Isle of Wight isn't that far from Portsmouth or Southampton. The hovercraft that runs between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight claims it only takes ten minutes.
We were <a href="https://www.getoutwiththekids.co.uk/travel/exploring-the-isle-of-wight/">very impressed with the island when we visited</a>. There's quite a lot for the family to do in a relatively small area. It's definitely somewhere we'll be going back to. <a href="https://www.getoutwiththekids.co.uk/travel/exploring-the-isle-of-wight/">Click here to see where we visited</a>.
Click the 'Narrow down results' button to find what you are after and click the Save heart next to each item to add it to your <a href="https://www.getoutwiththekids.co.uk/adventure-planner/">Adventure Planner</a>.

Isle of Wight

The Red Squirrel Trail is a popular family bike trail in the Isle of Wight. 
The full route goes all the ways to Cowes and back. However, this is the alternate Red Squirrel Loop, which can easily be done in a day. 
Note that this route will probably be too tough for very small riders. It is also not completely traffic free, plus surfaces vary from tarmac, mud, and gravel.

The Red Squirrel Trail Loop

Elm Cottage is located in the small seaside town of Seaview on the Isle of Wight, complete with sea views.

Elm Cottage, Seaview

This is an easy stroll along the coastal path from the small town of Seaview to Ryde in the Isle of Wight.
The walk is suitable for pushchairs, although the path is a little bit bumpy at the Seaview end. Much of the wider sections are also cycle paths, although you do have to detour and ride through the park or road for some sections near SeaView.

There are wide sandy beaches at Ryde, along with a lifeguard service (seasonal), amusements, and plenty of places to get ice cream or a cuppa. 
There's a pier, where the island's train service has a station at the end of the pier. It is also where you can catch a hovercraft to Portsmouth, which is only meant to take 10 minutes to get to the mainland.
Along the walk, there are a couple of parks to explore, as well as the beach, of course.

Seaview to Ryde Coastal Walk

This is the summit of St Boniface Down, which is part of the Isle of Wight 3 Peaks Hiking Challenge

St Boniface Down

This is the summit of Appuldurcombe Down, which is part of the Isle of Wight 3 Peaks Hiking Challenge

Appuldurcombe Down

Each yurt sleeps 6 and comes with an ensuite toilet and shower, a cooking area, and a woodburning stove.
There is no wifi or TV in the yurt, but there are electricity and hot water.

Kids Love Yurts

Monkey Haven, on the Isle of Wight, is an award-winning primate rescue centre. 
They specialise in taking on primates (and a few other animals) that have been rescued from the illegal pet trade, street pedlars, or from other zoos, where for whatever reason, the monkey was being bullied by the others. These are all monkeys that cannot be rehabilitated into the wild, and so Monkey Haven creates a home for them.

Monkey Haven

Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight has had a mixed past. It's was a prison that kept Charles I during the Civil War, a somewhere for royalty to stay during the summer, and an artillery fortress in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
The castle is on a hilltop, and the first fort was built around 1000 years ago, probably to escape raids from Vikings.
Now the castle is one of English Heritage's top ten family attractions, as voted for by visitors.
There are plenty of castle ruins to explore, as well as visiting the castle's donkeys.
If the kids still have plenty of energy, there are 71 steps to climb around the remains of the 14th Century motte and keep.
Visit the English Heritage website to see if there's a family event on at the castle.

Carisbrooke Castle

This is the summit of St Catherine's Hill, which is part of the Isle of Wight 3 Peaks Hiking Challenge

St Catherine's Hill

Like all Camping Unplugged sites, White Meadow is committed to family camping in open country with campfires, dogs and of course children. We don’t have set pitches or electrical hook-ups and are tents only. No motor homes or caravans, though we do accept small VW type vans. 

White meadow is a broad meadow just about a kilometre from the Lepe Country Park and the beaches of the Solent, looking across to the Isle of Wight. Set on the Cadland Estate it has woods along the edges and has a small amount of woodland camping, but mainly offers open field camping. 

There are woods, beaches and footpaths to explore within easy walking. Tablets and smartphones are forgotten and you will sit grubby and happy around a campfire eating muscles collected on the seashore cooked in the very old fashioned way. White Meadow is the place childhood memories are made.

Dinosaur Isle

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