Cowes

If you embark from Southampton, your ferry will cross the Solent channel and dock at Cowes, near Queen Victoria's Osborne House. Cowes is a magic name in the sailing world because of the internationally known Cowes Week yachting festival (www.cowesweek.co.uk), held each July or August. At the north end of High Street, on the Parade, a tablet commemorates the 1633 sailing from Cowes of two ships carrying the first English settlers of the state of Maryland.