Arrive early enough, and you'll see Steephill Cove's fishers (Jimmy and Mark) landing your lunch – the sanded wooden tables here are just steps from the sea. It makes a spellbinding spot to sip chilled wine, sample succulent lobster and revel in Wight's new-found driftwood chic. Booking essential.
Boathouse
Top choice in Isle of Wight
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
15.39 MILES
Portsmouth's blockbuster draw sees you gazing at the evocative hulk of Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, and jumping aboard Nelson's Battle of…
15.57 MILES
The raising of the 16th-century warship the Mary Rose in 1982 was an extraordinary feat of marine archaeology. The £35-million, boat-shaped museum that's…
15.53 MILES
As resplendent as she is venerable, HMS Victory was Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and the site of his famous dying words 'Kiss…
11.36 MILES
Lemon-frosted and Italianate, Osborne House is pure Victorian pomp. Built in the 1840s at the behest of Queen Victoria, the monarch grieved here for many…
16.64 MILES
The Victorian fort complex at Wight's western tip is home to two gun emplacements where engrossing displays reveal how the site was established in 1862,…
15.31 MILES
The magnificent warship HMS Warrior was at the cutting edge of technology when she was built in 1860, riding the transition from wood to iron and sail to…
6.58 MILES
The exquisitely preserved mosaics here (including a famous cockerel-headed man) make this one of the finest Romano-British sites in the UK. Wooden…
29.93 MILES
Bournemouth's sandy shoreline regularly clocks up seaside awards. It stretches from Southbourne in the far east to Alum Chine in the west – an immense…
Nearby Isle of Wight attractions
3.41 MILES
A crenellated 19th-century navigational aid that marks the island's southernmost point. Tours climb the 90-odd steps up to the lantern room, revealing…
3.74 MILES
Known locally as the Pepperpot, this 34ft, octagonal, 14th-century tower constitutes England's only surviving medieval lighthouse.
6.58 MILES
The exquisitely preserved mosaics here (including a famous cockerel-headed man) make this one of the finest Romano-British sites in the UK. Wooden…
7.86 MILES
Charles I was imprisoned here before his execution in 1649. Today you can clamber the sturdy ramparts and play bowls on the very green the doomed monarch…
5. Isle of Wight Steam Railway
8.97 MILES
Regularly chugs the one-hour journey from Smallbrook Junction to Wootton Common.
9.34 MILES
At this idyllic sand-and-shingle spit bordering the mouth of the River Yar, trails snake past swathes of sea pink, marram grass and rare clovers. It's…
11.36 MILES
Lemon-frosted and Italianate, Osborne House is pure Victorian pomp. Built in the 1840s at the behest of Queen Victoria, the monarch grieved here for many…
14.44 MILES
Portsmouth played a key role in the assault mounted by Allied D-Day forces in 1944. A £5 million revamp means this exhibit now combines audio-visual…