Congratulations to the Isle of Wight’s most southerly town, Ventnor, which made it onto The Guardian’s “Ten of the UK’s best seaside towns” list.
Over the past decade, Ventnor has become a regular feature in the travel pages of the national broadsheet papers, with visiting journalists recognising the quintessential beauty of the Victorian terraces that wrap themselves around the small, but perfectly-formed bay.
For those willing to seek it out, this small seaside town oozes creativity, quirkiness and an ability to trigger childhood memories in its visitors, whilst offering the latest in food, entertainment and accommodation.
In the top ten
The entry reads:
A freshly grilled bacon sandwich on the top deck of the ferry heralded my childhood holidays to the Isle of Wight. Zipped up in cagoules as the wind gusted around us, my brother and I had tasted nothing finer. Our destination was Ventnor, a seaside town with everything a six-year-old could desire: a huge paddling pool with a 3D map of the island rising from its centre, a muddyish beach to splash about on, and bags of chips to eat as my feet dangled from a deckchair.
They’ve stopped serving bacon sandwiches on the top deck of the Red Funnel, but pretty much everything in Ventnor is reassuringly the same. The hairpin bends of the Cascade Road – actual name Shore Hill, which pitches visitors into the Victorian seaside town – still slaloms past colourful municipal bedding and steadfast granite villas. Much of the architecture survives from Ventnor’s 19th-century heyday as a health resort, and original bathing machines (without wheels) are now available to hire as beach huts.
Chips are still the snack of choice at Haven Fishery on The Esplanade, although these days they are accompanied with inventive crab options (samosas, croquettes). A 20-minute walk along the seafront takes you now, as then, to the subtropical Botanical Gardens, a safe place to get lost in, much like Ventnor itself.
See the other seaside town in the Top Ten list on The Guardian Website.
Image: ronsaunders47 under CC BY 2.0
