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Three Steps to Child Heaven: bucket, spade and shrimping net ... Weather permitting, there is little to beat an English seaside holiday and what could be more quintessentially English than the Isle of Wight? Despite its undoubted comfort, there is something of the Enid Blyton about the Priory Bay Hotel, near Seaview in the Isle of Wight. This rambling pile has been much added to over the years. Big, airy rooms that are homely rather than grand look onto gardens that slope through pine trees down to a private beach. Delicious high teas are laid on for smaller guests: fish fingers, sausages, yoghurts and I am sure someone would supply lashings of ginger beer if requested. There are 7 principal rooms, 9 standard doubles and 2 family suites in the main house and 9 cottages in the grounds of which 4 are self-catering. The bedrooms are a delight - simple but beautifully decorated. Extra beds/cots can be provided on request. Once the children are safely in bed, all traces of fish fingers are banished. Chef David Whissen has come from several seasons in the Caribbean and prides himself on his fresh local cuisine. During the day, you can wander from your poolside seat down to
the beach - there is a beachside café during the summer.
The tide goes out for miles and there is loads of sand. Alternatively,
the Priory Bay's gardens include a 9 hole golf course and tennis
courts. In the summer, the Island becomes a sailor's paradise. Sailing in the picturesque nearby villages of Bembridge and St Helens is club-based but sailing courses can be arranged for adults and children at the Island Youth Water Activities Centre or the United Kingdom Sailing Academy, both in Cowes. Cowes Week itself takes place from 3rd to 10th August and it is worth an early start to the Royal Yacht Squadron to see the various classes set off. The seaside towns of Ventnor and Shanklin, the England of yesteryear, are close by and if you feel like venturing further afield the more rural West Wight is worth a trip. If your kids have marvelled at the Iguandon in the Natural History museum, it was discovered on the beaches of the South West Coast, and at low tide a genuine dinosaur's footprint can be found at Compton Beach (one of the best sandy beaches in the Island). For those with a head for heights, the walk from Freshwater Bay to the Needles over Tennyson (as in Alfred Lord) Down should not be missed. And for castle buffs, Carisbrooke, where Charles I was imprisoned immediately prior to his execution, has one of the best preserved Norman keeps in the country. Facts and Figures: Sailing Schools Skandia Life Cowes Week: 01983 295744 Carisbrooke Castle
Renting a holiday home ... In my opinion, the criteria for a good holiday house is simple:
in the country with no road noise; something of interest to everyone
locally, be it a beach, farm or town, and the furnishing that
are not too in your face (apricots and frills are a no no). My
husband (even in mid-summer) will only stay in properties that
have an open fire (closet pyromaniac, he denies it), which does
limit our options. And, lastly, rather fussily I know, but cotton
sheets have got to be pretty high on the list. We have been staying at Landmark Trust properties for years. What's unusual about the Trust is that it owns all the properties itself rather than acting as an agent. It is a charitable trust, with Prince Charles as its patron, that takes abandoned and bequeathed properties of architectural or historical interest and restores them back to their original splendour. Each property has been chosen for revival because it is remarkable in some way. Our most memorable stays have included one New Year's Eve in Culloden Tower in Yorkshire, running up and down the spiral staircases to get from room to room - we set off fireworks in the amazing grounds overlooking Richmond. We have also stayed in converted farms with acres of land and ancient (at least sixteenth century) manor house and cosy cottages. They are not cheap, but you can look forward to your holiday knowing you'll like the place. Properties are available for rental for weekends (Friday 4pm until Monday 11am) or whole weeks. Landmark
Trust First published in angels and urchins, Summer 2002
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