Margo

After reading a couple of books on the life of Queen Victoria and her family, I have become interested in visiting Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Now I will be taking a 2+ week tour of other parts of England and Scotland next May but I want to come to London 3 days earlier than the group. One reason is to visit Osborne House.

That being said, is it possible to take a train from LHR to, say, Portsmouth or Southampton? Will I need a car (I have driven all over England over the years so that doesn't scare me)or is there bus transportation to I of W? Is there an organized tour from London to Isle of Wight for a daytrip?

Thanks so much for any information.

janisj

I personally would not try it as a day trip. But there is so much else to see in the area why not do an overnight or even 2 nights? Either on the IOW or in Lymington or somewhere else on the Mainland.

There is good bus service on the IOW and you can cross on the ferry as a foot passenger.

Other places of interest would include the New Forest, Beaulieu (worth most of a day by itself), Bucklars Hard, everything on the IOW of course, plus Portsmouth docks/Mary Rose/HMS Victory.

You would not absolutely need a car, but the more sites you want to squeeze in, the easier it would be of you did drive.

willit

I would guess the easiest way would be a Train from Waterloo to Portsmouth harbour, from where you would catch the catamaran ferry to Ryde, and from there a bus to Osborne house.

I would not take a car , as the ferry is very expensive - even the "Special offers" are around the £25 - £30 area.

kaneda

If you decide to take a car, book the ticket beforehand.

A good alternative day out is Leeds Castle, in Kent, south of London. Take a train from: Victoria, Charing Cross, Waterloo east, or London Bridge. Get off at Bearsted and take the shuttle bus to the castle.

janisj

Of great places to visit -- Leeds Castle is pretty far down the list. It does have lovely grounds/gardens. But inside it is pretty uninteresting and is basically a conference center and wedding venue. It is best known for its effective marketing. Just in Kent/East Sussex there are probably 15 or 20 better castles/gardens.

tod

Margo - Many years ago ( too many!) we travelled to the IOW to stay at Chale Abbey. During our week we went to all the major attractions including Osborne House.
I would love to go back and see the things that interested me the most about this glorious elegant home.

One was the Swiss cottage play house in the grounds, filled with childhood collections of shells, butterflies, drawings and writings. If my memory serves me correctly a lot of things relate to our present Queen Elizabeth and her late sister Margaret.

As for getting there and back in a day- I don't think so. Spend a night or two and see some of what the island has to offer. You won't be sorry!
I do remember changing trains at Woking( I guess that's all changed now) and arriving right in the ferry terminal.

willit

You would not normally need to change at Woking, just get the direct train to Portsmouth. Get out at Portsmouth Harbour - not Portsmouth & Southsea, and you are virtually in the ferry terminal.

If you get an early start, I see no reason why you shouldn't do it as a day trip.

An 8am train from Waterloo should get you to Portsmouth at 9:35. The ferries leave every half hour, so you could well catch the 9:45. The number 4 bus from Ryde Esplanade to Osborne house is half hourly but you should be able to easily get the 10:30 and be at OH by 11am.

Other posters are correct though - The IOW is considered by many to be "England as it was" - and is well worth an overnight stay. Similarly, although a fairly ugly city, Portsmouth has many attractions should you wish to use it as a base.

Margo

This trip is just for Osborne House on Isle of Wight. Leeds was lovely but will miss it this time. After doing some further research there does seem to be some choices.

1. A rail/air bus shuttlefrom LHR to Woking Station, then connecting to Portsmouth ferry.

2. From Southampton , take the Redfunnel ferry to Cowes, then it is a 10 minute drive (taxi ride?) to Osborne House.

3. The Wightlink ferry runs from Portsmouth to Fishbourne where we can rent a car for the day.

But the most interesting idea is an overnight trip with Anderson Tours. It is a bus pickup at several London hotels, goes to the IOW, spends an overnight at a hotel in Sandown--so there are parts of two days doing castle tours and seeing other sights. BUT it does not mention visiting Osborne House. The cost is 79GBP. Anderson Tours also does a daytrip to IOW but again not to Osborne House.
Have any of you Fodorites taken a trip with Anderson Tours? They have many, many trips listed.

I guess my feelings would be to land at LHR, then go into London for the night, then go to IOW the next day, stay overnight there then return to London late the second day. So how should I do this? Would like to take bus or train to the port, take the ferry, then maybe rent a car. Any other suggestions?

GeoffHamer

You can easily get to Osborne House by bus from Ryde or East Cowes.
From London, take a train from Waterloo to Portsmouth for the Ryde ferry (www.wightlink.co.uk) or to Southampton for the East Cowes ferry (www.redfunnel.co.uk).
From Heathrow, take the bus to Woking, then a train to Southampton or Portsmouth.
Buses on the island are run by Southern Vectis (www.islandbuses.info). Route 4 goes from Ryde to East Cowes via Osborne House Gate every half hour. Route 5 goes from East Cowes to Osborne House Gate every 15 minutes.
If you want to stay overnight on the island, Ryde has lots of hotels and b&bs, and good transport links to the rest of the island. East Cowes is a miserable place, but there is a ferry across the river to Cowes which is much more interesting.

optimystic

IMO Osbourne House is well worth visiting.

If you want to see Osbourne House and the tour doesn't go there, don't take the tour! If you did take a tour, you would probably only have a short amount of time at Osbourne, which really undermines the whole point of visiting the island.

I recommend the London Waterloo-Portsmouth Harbour/Wightlink FastCat route if travelling from central London, its very easy. (From LHR take the Woking RailAir bus and board the train there). You can buy a through train ticket to Ryde Esplanade at Waterloo or LHR. On arrival at Portsmouth Harbour follow the signs to the 'FastCat' (or just follow everyone else getting off the train!). On weekdays the FastCats are timed to meet the London trains. On arrival at Ryde Pier Head you can either walk down the pier (1/4 mile) to the bus station, or take the train.

Bus travel on the island is good. At the bus station at Ryde Esplanade bus stops are clearly marked. GeoffHamer gives good info on bus routes. Bus drivers on the island are friendly and will help you with where to get off the bus.

Alternatively, you can rent a car on the island - try Esplanade Car Rental, which is right across from Ryde Esplanade train & bus station.

There are many places to stay on the island, like GeoffHamer I would recommend Cowes or Ryde.

West Wight is the most beautiful part of the island (Yarmouth, the Needles, Alum Bay, Freshwater Bay, Compton Bay), if renting a car I suggest you drive over there.

I lived on the island for 16 years, and still visit there several times a year, so any more questions just ask!

optimystic.

Margo

Wow, thanks to GeoffHamer, optimystic, willit and others for this detailed information. I am really getting into this as I find that it is "doable" even to me who gets easily confused by train schedules, let alone plane (from the US), bus (from LHR to Woking), train (from Woking to Portsmouth Harbour) then ferry (to Ryde Pier) with a return two days later from Ryde to Waterloo Station. Haven't decided whether to rent a car at Ryde Esplanade for the two or three nights that we will be on IOW. But if there is an automatic drive car available that will be our best way to see the island.

Now the next thing is a recommendation for a B&B or 3 or 4 star hotel in Ryde or maybe Cowes. Someone on this board submitted a list of finalists for the Bed and Breakfast of the Year in England for 2003. There was a B&B called Newnham Farm outside Ryde that was on the list. Has anyone stayed there or know of it? Other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again, Margo

optimystic

Hi Margo,

do you know what kind of place you are looking to stay - i.e. in a town or village, or somewhere more remote?

I don't know anything about Newnham Farm - but it looks great on the website! - http://www.newnhamfarm.co.uk I will ask my family if they know anything about it.

I cannot absolutely recommend any other hotels as I always stay with family on the island, but here are some to consider:

Ryde is a busy Victorian seaside resort. Within Ryde itself, two of the main hotels are the Ryde Castle (www.rydecastle.com) and Yelfs (http://www.yelfshotel.com) . Yelfs is right on Union Street (the main drag), so rooms could be noisy. Ryde Castle is on the seafront, a good, slightly quieter location. I have not stayed at either but have enjoyed the bars at both - I would stay there. However these are town hotels, not country B&Bs.

Another one to throw in the mix is Bourne Hall in Shanklin (www.bournehallhotel.co.uk). Relevant to your trip as it was built on Queen Victoria's orders for one of her ladies in waiting, it is now a hotel - it has lovely views and the house is beautiful. I have eaten in the restaurant and food is fantastic. We loved it so much we've decided to have our wedding there next year! However its a bit further out of the way in the south of the island, so you would really need a car.