FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

WHERE TO STAY THE GEORGE

Quay Street, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, PO41 0PE; www.thegeorge.co.uk. Tel: 01983 760331. £125-£200. A 17th-century townhouse on the water’s edge, previously home to an Island Governor who entertained King Charles II. Original architectural features, comfy boutique rooms and fine dining combine to make for memorable stays.

THE SEAVIEW HOTEL

High Street, Seaview, PO34 5EX; www.seaviewhotel.co.uk. Tel: 01983 612711. £105-£190. A stone’s throw from the sea in the village of Seaview, this converted Victorian townhouse offers a warm welcome and comfy, contemporary rooms. The restaurant, with maritime decor and a focus on fish, has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand for outstanding, affordable food.

NORTH HOUSE

32 Sun Hill, Cowes, PO31 7HY; www. northhousecowes.co.uk. Tel: 01983 209453. £99-£195. A chic boutique hotel cleverly converted from listed Georgian townhouses. Guest rooms are a good size and come equipped with Nespresso coffee machines, mini-bar, some with wet-rooms or roll-top baths. Don’t miss out on delicious fish dishes at the Oyster Store Restaurant.

VILLA ROTHSAY

29 Baring Road, Cowes. PO31 8DF; www.villa-rothsay.co.uk. Tel: 01983 295178. £90-£165. Victorian villa overlooking the Solent where guests return year after year, many of them among the sailing fraternity and some of them celebrities. It oozes oldfashioned charm. The drawing-room, with antiques, honesty bar and piles of maritime books has fine views.

HILLSIDE

151 Mitchell Avenue, Ventnor, PO38 1DR; www.hillsideventnor.co.uk. Tel: 01938 852271. £156-£206. A thatched house set high above the town, with fine views across Ventnor to the sea. The owner is Dutch and the decor is elegant Scandinavian, with a superb collection of COBRA art. The restaurant makes the most of produce from the five-acre garden.

WHERE TO EAT

(prices are for a two-course meal with wine).

THOMPSON’S

11 Town Lane, Newport, PO30 1JU; www. robertthompson.co.uk; Tel: 01983 526118; £50. (closed Sun, Mon and off season Tue). Chef Robert Thompson was the youngest British chef to earn a Michelin star, aged 23. He opened his first solo restaurant here in 2015. It’s lively and stylish, and his sublime dishes make the most of island produce. Menus vary from excellentvalue lunches to the 8-course tasting menu with matching Wine Flight.

GARLIC FARM CAFÉ

Mersley Lane, Newport, PO36 0NR; www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk. Tel: 01938 867333; £20. (normally breakfast and lunch only). Wafts of garlic greet you as you arrive at this little café on the island’s popular Garlic Farm and seventy-five per cent of the dishes contain garlic. Try the black pudding burger, the whole roasted garlic bulb or the mezze sharing platter, followed perhaps by the black garlic sundae.

THE HUT

Colwell Chine Road, Colwell Bay, Freshwater, PO40 9NP; www.thehutcolwell.co.uk Tel: 01983 898637; £40 (open Apr to Oct only). Don’t expect a little shack – this sizeable restaurant serves up the likes of beetroot gravadlax with local white crab and fennel ceviche, giant scallops or grilled lobster as well as more standard café fare. Many diners arrive by boat – they will pick you up from your mooring.

TAVERNERS

High Street, Godshill, PO38 3HZ; www. thetavernersgodshill.co.uk; Tel: 01983 840707; £30. (closed Sun evening). This welcoming country pub in picturesque Godshill is popular for its local real ales and dishes using home-grown and other local produce. The menu has pub classics including a wonderful suet-crust beef and ale pie, along with more sophisticated fare from the Specials Board.

GETTING THERE

You can get to the Isle of Wight from London by train and ferry in around two hours. Wightlink (www. wightlink.co.uk) operates vehicle ferries from Portsmouth to Fishbourne and from Lymington to Yarmouth. Red Funnel (www. redfunnel.co.uk) links Southampton and East Cowes (60 mins) and has a passenger-only ferry from Southampton to West Cowes (25 mins). For the fastest route take the 10-minute trip on the world’s last remaining commercial hovercraft service, linking Southsea in Portsmouth and Ryde. For island buses: www.islandbuses.info