Moaning about the price of Solent crossings is a national sport on the Isle of Wight. “The Solent is one of the most expensive stretches of water in the world.” Jane Knight, The Independent “It’s often mooted that mile for mile, the Solent is the most expensive stretch of water to cross in Europe and […]
Category archives: Isle of Wight
Angry acid-spitting creatures in Parkhurst Forest
The refurbished red squirrel hide at Parkhurst Forest was launched this weekend by Gift to Nature. I was there to take a guided walk and also a group of children from Hunnyhill Primary School round and show them the hide, plus a few other things! I promised that I’d show the visitors angry acid-spitting animals […]
Under the Pier
“Ever seen a sponge garden or spotted a star ascidian? Now’s your chance! Join Spectrum’s Natural Wight and Ian Boyd from Arc for a unique rockpooling opportunity and discover the amazing array of marine life living under Ryde Pier.” This is the video we made when we accepted that invitation on a sunny Ryde afternoon. […]
Isle of Wight Natural Area profile: what it is and why you should read it
The government’s advisor on the natural environment, Natural England, has just published the long-awaited Natural Character Area profile for the Isle of Wight.Sounds dull? It isn’t. NCA profiles are being compiled for the whole of England, and each one is an in-depth analysis of the landscape, wildlife and human activity within one of England’s 159 […]
Is the Isle of Wight bigger than Rutland at low tide?
Is the Isle of Wight bigger than Rutland at low tide? This question has been having a bit of a battle on the Isle of Wight page at Wikipedia. The Ranger is interested in this question, for, although like much of Wikipedian debate it involves dancing on the head of a pin, it also raises […]
Sign causes minor confusion.
Here’s a sign that I haven’t actually worked out yet. By the spacing it seems likely that somebody has made a cunning adjustment to the sign… unless the Gurnard Coal Seams are more plentiful than I’d thought. But what did it originally say? I’m still scratching my head.
Why Queen Victoria’s secret beach should remain secret
Evicted from his office by the noisy Isle of Wight Festival today, the Ranger instead spent the day on a tour of the Osborne Estate, Queen Victoria’s island retreat, still lovingly maintained much as she left it. Just occasionally there are privileges associated with being a Ranger, and today was one of those rare moments. […]
Tippers’ Walk the Wight timelapse
A wonderful bit of rapid-fire sightseeing from IW media personality and Twitter impresario Tippers. http://youtu.be/aC6ioBMVlFI Tippers writes: Walk the Wight is an annual event on the Isle of Wight to raise money for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice. It is a 26.5 mile trek from one end of the island to the other. Along the way, […]
A Day in the Life: Sandown Bay
I like to have a good moan and rant, as regular readers will be aware. But it’s also worth standing back sometimes to remember just why I do the job I do, and why it’s so great. My friends over at myisleofwight.com have helped me do just that with this exquisite video homage to the […]
A petrifying walk on the beach
The Isle of Wight’s geology is something that it’s easy to see – so much of it is on display at the edges… and we’ve got lots of edges. What’s more, there’s a massive variety of it, and it includes those all-important dinosaur fossils that make the headlines and draw the tourists. Most dinosaur-hunters end […]