I have long wanted to visit Osborne House, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Tuscan styled holiday home on the Isle of Wight so it was with great pleasure that I finally fulfilled this ambition. The House itself is in a beautiful position, with views across landscaped gardens down to a distant sea. The shame of…
Watts Gallery – a little Surrey Gem
I keep seeing signs for Watts Gallery fly past me as I drive along the A3 motorway up to London – so this Sunday, I took the turning and went to see what’s what (sorry – just couldn’t help myself!). Joking aside, I am so glad I did as this is in fact an Artists’ Village although…
Glorious Shanklin Chine
I’m focussing on the Isle of Wight at the moment and another magical childhood memory – visiting the mysterious and exotic Shanklin Chime! The formation of the Chine (a local word of Saxon origin for a deep narrow ravine), has taken place over 10,000 years and the stream running through it would originally have flowed into…
Shanklin Revisited
My happiest childhood memories are of the Isle of Wight and a small seaside village – Shanklin. It’s been a while since I last visited and I was hoping against hope that it would appear the same. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. We used to stay at a beachside hotel called Shoreside which I adored – we…
Another day, another Castle!
I have visited Southsea Castle, Portsmouth, on more occasions than I care to remember but I have to say, on this last and most recent visit, the old girl is looking better than ever! Located on Southsea Beach, between the common and South Parade Pier, you can easily understand its strategic importance and why Henry VIII…
The Mary Rose Museum has landed …
From certain angles, the award-winning Mary Rose Museum has the look of a flying saucer, landing right next to Nelson’s historic flagship, HMS Victory in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. When you step inside however, that is where the similarity ends – even though the technology that has brought us to this point in Mary Rose’s history is…
Taking inspiration from the world around you …
Although I reference my clients occasionally, I don’t normally talk about my “day job” within this, my personal travel blog. For this week however, with no apologies, I am focussing on my newest client – the newly reopened Mercure Box Hill Burford Bridge Hotel. The reason? I admire what the owners, Mercure and Trevillion Interiors…
The last line of defence: Hurst Castle
None of my friends seem to have heard of Hurst Castle – at least the one here in the UK. So, just to be crystal clear, I am referring to Henry VIII’s English castle rather than Randolph Hearst’s Californian home! Hurst Castle at the tip of the Solent is a pristine example of Henry VIII’s policy of…
Let’s go fly a kite …
I have always loved kites – seeing their colourful shapes, soaring around the air, dancing in the wind, is a happy reminder of childhood (even if in most cases, our kites seemed to dive-bomb the ground!). So it was with great anticipation that I visited my second Portsmouth International Kite Festival at Southsea Common. There were…
Pawprint Series: A splendid beach in West Sussex
I know I have written about it before but I am penning this as a devoted dog owner. It being, of course, the West Wittering Estate in West Sussex and if you love a pristine, white sandy beach, then this is the place to be. Dog owners, like me, use the far end of the beach, past…
a3traveller.com 