“IT is impossible to imagine a prettier spot” is what Queen Victoria said of her beloved Isle of Wight. Having recently visited the island for the first time, I’m inclined to agree.
My sister Sophie and I travelled to the Isle of Wight with Daish’s Holidays, specialists in UK coach breaks. The family-owned company, which has its 45th anniversary this year, has 12 hotels at resorts including Llandudno, Blackpool, Weymouth and Scarborough, and a fleet of luxury coaches.
I love coach trips, so this was right up my street. From our Bradford pick-up point, we travelled in a brand new coach to Portsmouth, taking the ferry to Fishbourne. We stayed four nights in Daish’s very first hotel, winner of the 2024 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award. The hotel dates back to the early 18th century and once hosted Queen Victoria herself as a guest.
The elegant 72-bedroom Daish's Hotel is in the charming seaside town of Shanklin. Our spacious, comfortable twin room overlooked the hotel garden, where we relaxed with a beer and got to know other guests.
The holiday package includes a three-course dinner each evening; there’s a wide choice and the food is excellent. With a menu including honey roasted ham, beef and onion pie, chicken tikka masala, various quiches, chocolate fudge gateau and morello cherry pie, we were spoilt for choice. Our highlights included delicious creamy fish gratin, vegetable lasagne, chicken caesar salad, salmon fish cakes and yummy rhubarb crumble and lemon and raspberry posset.
There was a wide choice of hearty cooked breakfasts too.
After dinner we enjoyed quizzes, bingo and cabaret acts in the bar. Most hotel guests were older retired people - couples and groups of friends - but there were also some of our age, and a family with teenagers. We got to know Mike and Chrissie, a lovely couple from Cornwall who go on regular Daish’s holidays. There was a relaxed vibe, it was nice to catch up each evening, and the friendly, attentive hotel staff made us feel at home throughout our stay.
Located off the south coast of England, the Isle of Wight offers plenty of attractions for all ages. The island has an impressive bus service, with an efficient network linking all areas. The top deck of a bus is a great way to explore. We visited Sandown, which has one of the island’s finest beaches, and wandered on the pier and along the seawall, which leads to Shanklin, stopping for a mocktail at a chic beach bar overlooking the bay.
Shanklin has a lovely seafront too, with plenty of family-friendly attractions, not least Jurassic Bay crazy golf. Dino-themed sites are a thing here - a nod to the dinosaurs that once roamed the island. Shanklin’s old village is delightful, with pretty thatched teashops and pubs. One evening we took a walk through Rylstone Gardens, the lovely park in the old village, where we heard the sound of brass. We followed the music to a bandstand where a brass band was playing to a seated audience. Perfect for a summer evening!
Shanklin Chine - an ancient tree-lined ravine with a series of waterfalls - connects the village to the beach and esplanade. Once a smugglers’ haunt, the Chine is the island’s oldest visitor attraction, enjoyed by Jane Austen, Keats and Charles Dickens.
Keen to visit Osborne House, we booked a trip at the hotel, which arranges various excursions and cruises. Queen Victoria enjoyed holidays on the Isle of Wight since childhood and in 1845 she and Prince Albert bought the Osborne estate at East Cowes and built a private home in a striking Italianate design. Filled with furniture and artworks gifted to the royal couple, Osborne was a happy seaside home for Victoria, Albert and their nine children.
The fascinating property includes the Council Room, where the Queen’s privy council of ministers met and where, in 1878, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his telephone, and Victoria’s bedroom, where she died in 1901. The stunning grounds, with grand terraces and a gorgeous walled garden, were largely designed by Prince Albert.
Swiss Cottage, an Alpine chalet, stands in grounds that Albert gave to the children. Comprising a model fort, summer house (housing replicas of the youngsters’ painted wheelbarrows) and vegetable plots, it was where they learned gardening, housekeeping, cookery and entertained their parents.
A short walk down a wooded valley is Osborne Beach, where the royal children collected shells and learned to swim. It’s a beautiful spot to recline on deckchairs and admire the sea view. On display is Queen Victoria’s bathing machine, which carried her to the water.
Next day we took a bus to Newport and another to Alum Bay, home to the Isle of Wight’s world-famous landmark: The Needles. The row of chalk stacks, with a lighthouse perched on the tip, is named after a fourth needle-shaped pillar which collapsed in 1764. To reach the rocks we took the chair lift - spectacular views! - to Alum Bay beach, then a boat out to the Needles.
The row of chalk stacks, rising about 30 metres from the sea off the western coast of the island, overlook the 21 shades of Alum Bay’s coloured cliffs, which twinkled in the sunlight. The chair lift (I loved it, Sophie couldn’t get off it fast enough) took us back up the cliff to a complex of shops, cafes and children’s rides.
At the Sand Shop you can create sand ornaments (a tradition since the mid-1800s when Queen Victoria was presented with an Alum sand souvenir) and at Alum Bay Glass there are glass-making demonstrations.
On the way back we called at Godshill’s charming model village.
Set in two acres of an old Vicarage garden, it re-creates Godshill and Shanklin in the 1930s, with miniature houses, shops, churches, a beach and railway. Little model townsfolk are dotted around, Morris dancing, playing cricket, gathered at a wedding and around a bandstand.
All too soon our friendly coach driver had arrived at the hotel to pick us up, for the journey back to the ferry.
Like the model village, the Isle of Wight is quintessentially English, with its thatched cottages, country gardens and stunning coastal vistas. We loved exploring the island, from the comfort of Daish’s elegant hotel.
* Daish’s Hotel, High Street, Shanklin, Isle of Wight. Tel. 01983 862 274. Visit
https://www.daishs.com/isle-of-wight/daishs-hotel
The package includes: coach travel or free parking on-site; Breakfast and three-course evening meal; On-site entertainment.
Prices until June 2025 based on two people sharing a standard room: £159 self-drive-£179 coach to £559 self-drive-£579 coach.
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