collage of our day at isle of wight

The Isle of Wight in a Day? Here’s What You Can Get Up To

Visiting the Isle of Wight for the day may seem like an unachievable trip but, if like me, you live within an hour’s drive of the nearest docks, you can easily jump on the ferry, hovercraft or catamaran and be on the beautiful within 60 minutes. Your choice of transport will all depend on what activities you intend on getting up to when over on the island. If you want to be on the island in 10 minutes you can do so via the hovercraft from Southsea to Ryde. You can be on there in 22 minutes via a catamaran from Portsmouth to Ryde or 25 minutes from Southampton West Cowes. With both of these options, you won’t have your own mode of transport once on the Isle of Wight but there are bus services which can take you to the landmarks of your choice and the open top is a lovely way to take it all in on a summer’s day. We chose to take 1 car for 5 of us so opted for the ferry service from Southampton to East Cowes which takes 55-60 minutes. We booked online the night before (it was a last-minute, spontaneous decision), we selected our times for departure and printed out our ticket; all very easy and quick to do. On arrival, you simply show your printout and wait in your car until instructed to drive straight on. We paid extra for priority tickets, meaning we drove on and off first so there was no waiting around and no wasted time.

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Why Cornwall is a Great Holiday Destination With a Baby

Our first ever holiday as a family was to the stunning county of Cornwall when Jake was just 6 months old. We didn’t fancy attempting a holiday abroad with a baby due to the fact we didn’t know how he would take to the heat or even flying so we looked at our options of where to stay in the UK. Cornwall stood out to us because there is just so much to see and do and let’s face it when you have a baby your priorities of what a holiday has to offer completely change – bye, bye long days spent sunning yourself on a beach whilst drinking cocktails!

We booked a caravan on the family-friendly site of Sandymouth Holiday Resort which is set in North Cornwall and has plenty of onsite facilities which include a shop, a play area, bar and restaurant, an indoor swimming pool and plenty of green space for playing games. Just down the road is Sandymouth Beach which stretches for 2 miles down to Bude. With its golden sand, beautiful scenery and perfect waves for surfing/bodyboarding, it is the perfect place for the whole family to enjoy. We enjoyed the holiday so much that we returned to the same caravan park and the same caravan the following year when Jake was 18 months old.

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Why Southsea is a great day out for all the family

I have lived in Hampshire all my life and spent a lot of my childhood visiting the great places it has to offer. Certain places hold special memories for me and the coast, especially Southsea and Hayling Island, were two of my Mum’s favourite destinations. 

Southsea is located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island and is most well-known for its castle, its naval history, the events which take place on the common and its pier. Each time I visit there seems to be a new gem to discover. As a child, I would enjoy the funfair, arcades, the Pyramids Centre and I adored the model village. As an adult, I have loved going down there for a long dog walk and to pick up a treat of honeycomb for the journey home! Since having Jake we have found Southsea to be a perfect place to visit from being baby up until now at three.

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My Top Ten Travel Must-Haves

It may only be February but after what seems like the longest cold spell I am craving the warmth of the sun and just this week we have been discussing where our holiday destination will be this year.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that last year’s holiday was a very special one. Having previously only taken Jake to Cornwall on our trips, we were thrown into experiencing our first holiday abroad with him because my sister chose Zante, Greece as the venue for her wedding. Taking a two-year-old on a plane was something

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Our New Year Trip To Exmoor

We decided to escape the parties and fireworks this New Year mainly due to our elderly dog who is no longer able to cope with the noises, which gave us the perfect opportunity to retreat to the Exmoor countryside with the family and enjoy some quality time before the rat race of work and routine had to begin again.

After hunting around on the internet I was over the moon when hubby found a little cottage in an idyllic setting which allowed dogs (and because my sister forgot to find somebody to look after her pet, we also took a hamster!) After a three-hour drive I was very happy to see this as we pulled up.

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Wherever The Train Takes Us: Visiting Hythe

Visiting Hythe was a last-minute decision for my birthday this year but I am so glad that my husband suggested it. Jake had begged and begged us to take him on a train so we decided to combine my trip with his – he is train mad! We had originally planned a trip to London but with colds and tonsillitis getting to us we opted for the closer city of Southampton which provides an easy gateway across to Hythe.

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The Experience of Taking a Toddler Abroad

If you follow my blog and facebook page you will be aware that we recently travelled to Zante for a two week holiday to watch my sister get married. Taking a toddler abroad was one experience we hadn’t wanted to do until he was a little bit older as we were concerned about taking him on plane being so young, we were unsure on how he would cope in the heat, we were reluctant to let the routine go out the window and, mostly, we had slightly selfish reasons because we felt we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the beach as we used to when we were child-free!

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