Isle of wight - rainy day ideas

[treadonthecracks]

Camping in the Isle of Wight for half term.

Wondering if anyone has an rainy day out ideas.

DC range from 3 - 12.

Dinosaur Isle in Sandown. Next to the zoo. All inside, really friendly staff, great hands on stuff for kids.

Guess where we went at Easter in the rain...

We went to IoW last summer and we were really lucky with the weather.

We went to Walzing Waters on the one rainy day - kids thought it was great, adults were bored and time warped back into the 70s! I definitely wouldn't go again! Also disappointing was the Zoo. Thought it was very run down and the animal enclosures were tiny, especially the lions who were pacing up and down :(

It is worth investing in waterproofs - trousers and coats and having rainy days out. My DCs love being on the beach in the rain, and it breaks up the holiday... not to mention the stress of finding indoor activities!

Have a lovely time :)

Fort Victoria in Yarmouth. There's a miniature train shed and a planetarium. We whizzed around Dinosaur Isle in a v short period of time. You can get weekly tickets to Robin Hill, Godshill Model Village - and pop in & out.

Amazon world - super, loved it!!!

Used to live in Cowes, so might be able to help.

Try Monkey Haven/World outside Newport.

Appley Beach in Ryde is nice. Good surf at Compton Beach if kids like that. Or try a bit of old-fashioned crabbing!

Chessell Pottery - decorate own plates/bowls etc - plus they do yummy cream teas.

Swimming pools in Newport, Ryde & Sandown. Cinema in Newport. I think there may be an indoor soft play place in Newport too - "Jolly Rogers Plaice", although name may have recently changed.

Lots of excellent off-road cycle tracks. Bike hire guy (there is only one main one) will drop bikes off to you & come to your rescue if you get a puncture/fed up!

If you need retail therapy, head to Cowes. White Stuff, Joules, Fat Face etc there. Added bonus of yummy sailors if you happen to be there on Sat evenings...

UKSA in Cowes runs sailing courses if kids are into that.

Hope that helps. It's a lovely place - like stepping back in time.

Steam railway is good. Also Bembridge lifeboat station is open most days.

Please do Google all the info and print it out before you go. The Isle of Wight have decided in their wisdom to close down all the Tourist Information Centres, so unless you have info provided where you are staying, or a computer and wi-fi access, you may find it difficult to access information once there. We found this last year.

Thank you all - I have printed out this thread to pack!

Some of those sound good enough for a sunny day.

Not long to half term now...

I'd say avoid Dinosaur Isle in a rainy day in half term. We tried this once and the queue was horrendous. You couldn't get in the door - it was massively over crowded.

Calbourne Mill also has a 7 day ticket (with all of these places go on day 1&2!) - there's not much there but the tea shop has a lego table that keeps the kids busy for ages and they do a great cream tea.

Are the Waltzing Waters at Ryde any good?

We have a long leisurly lunch in here a. They have a fab beer garden (if the rain stops) and a maze. Its really child friendly and a nice place to eat with the kids. Very family orientated.

I can also recommend the toy museum. Small but cheap. Will only pass an hour at the most but is quite lovely and my DD was fascinated by the 1970s Sindy display!!! www.lilliputmuseum.org.uk/index.html

We usually go for a drive in the rain and stop off at random places for a little wander around the shops etc. This is how we found both these places. Being campers as well we sometimes take a drive to see what the other campsites in the area are like incase we intend to return in the future. After the space and huge pitches we are used to at www.ninham-holidays.co.uk/ we havn't yet swapped sites, but its always good to know what else is available.

You may find this website useful www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/search.php?county=Isle-of-Wight

We love Blackgang Chine and Robin Hill - both doable on a wet day but much better on a dry day.

Ooops missed my link to the pub!!

www.childfriendly.co.uk/family-pubs/england/isle-of-wight/godshill/the-griffin/

Chessell pottery is lovely but pretty pricey. The absolute best cream tea though.

Butterfly World was a huge disappointment for us, although we went in Oct half term so probably not the best time for butterflies.

Thank you all. Feeling less nervous about a wet week now

Sandown Pier. Took drenched boys there last summer and it's got lots of cheap rides and machines, huge soft play and great crazy golf all inside.

Butterfly world wasn't great but the fountains part made it worth it. Note you can't walk there from the steam train despite appearances as there is no footpath and speeding lorries, but the lovely bus driver refused to charge us.

Shanklin Chine looks stunning in the rain, so dress for it, start at the top, and enjoy the best cream tea on the island.

Bit late with this one, but some ideas from www.isleofwightguru.co.uk/rainy-day-activities-on-the-isle-of-wight.html

Some of these have been mentioned already

• Sandown Pier
• Ryde 10 pin bowling
• Ryde Ice Rink
• Newport/Ryde Cinema
• Newport Quay Arts Centre
• Newport, Lake, Shanklin has indoor play
• Ryde's Waltzing Waters
• Brading or Newport Roman Villa
• Chessell Pottery Plate Painting
• Fort Victoria (Model trains, aquarium, planetarium, shipwreck museum)
• Butterfly and Fountain World
• Dinosaur Isle
• Amazon World
• Owl and Monkey Haven
• Lilliput Toy Museum
• Swimming pools in Newport/West Wight