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	words DEBBIE BRUCE    images ISLE OF WIGHT TOURISM BOARD Known to Britain as England in Miniature, the island separated from its country by a narrow straight called the Solent is 380 square kilometres of lush landscapes and staggering natural beauty. The Isle of Wight, as beautiful as it is resilient, has seen many changes since AD43 when a Roman general named Vespasian crossed the Solent and settled there during the Claudian invasion of Britain. In the following centuries, the little island patiently endured invasions by Vikings, tyrannical kings and visits from William the Conqueror and Henry VIII. Things finally settled into a peaceful tranquility around the mid-1800s, when Queen Victoria built her much-loved summer retreat, Osborne House. Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson also called the Isle of Wight home, and Charles Dickens wrote most of David Copperfield on the island. Yet despite such a rich history that firmly entrenches the island in the annals of history, the Isle of Wight has also managed to embrace modern times easily. The island is home to the world’s first radio station, the world centre for earthquake study, an annual rock festival that rivals Woodstock and was the testing grounds for the Black Arrow and Black Knight Space rockets. When you first approach the sandy shores of the Isle of Wight, words like ‘sleepy’ and ‘quaint’ inevitably come to mind. But upon closer inspection, the Victorian style houses and hilly topography liken it more to a less urbanized San Francisco. Establishments with names like The Cod Father (a fish and chips shop) and Hoppy Daze (a beer store) suggest that the island doesn’t take itself too seriously. Palm trees, orchids and cherry blossom trees swollen with vibrant flowers dot the landscape, while variegated holly and wisteria dripping from the suburban house fronts deliver a delicious assault to the senses. Roaming the island is not difficult, given the over 320 kilometres of cycling routes, as well as the popular Isle of Wight Walking Festival (www.isleofwightwalkingfestival.co.uk). Now in its twelfth year, the festival that takes place in May and October provides a unique perspective of the island with ghost walks to a haunted lighthouse, family treasure hunts and coastal hikes. Or, for those looking for that special someone, the Walking Festival’s popular Speed Dating Walk is not to be passed up. During the three-hour tour, single people spend a short amount of time together before moving on to another person.  Participants are armed with scorecards and an open mind and after the last ‘yes’ or ‘no’ has been ticked beside each name, organizers put any matches in touch with each other at the end of the night. There must be something in that Solent water because three marriages have already taken place over the years as result of the Speed Dating Walk. Your introduction to the efficiency of public transportation on the Isle of Wight begins even before you’ve left the mainland.  Passenger and vehicle ferries, boats, planes and even a hovercraft are always on hand to whisk visitors across the Solent to their desired destination. Once on the island, your choice of car, train, van, scooter and bicycle rentals are at your disposal. But there’s no better way to fully appreciate the island’s beauty and majesty than to take advantage of the elaborate bus route that webs its way throughout every crevice of the island. As the double-decker vehicle clings precariously to the side of the incredibly narrow roads, every curve brings with it a new sensory delight. The town of Godshill boasts exquisitely picturesque villages, fragrant country gardens and traditional teashops. East and West Cowes, divided by the River Medina, is best known for the oldest and largest sailing regatta in the world, and is home to the regal Osborne House. Newport is where the shopaholic can scratch their retail itch, offering tourists major chain stores, theatres, galleries, a farmer’s market and a multiplex. For a slower pace, check out Sandown or Shanklin, two seaside resorts know for their beautiful thatched cottages and delicious restaurants. And at the end of the day wind down in the Mediterranean inspired town of Ventnor, where the crescent-shaped beach sparkling at the foot of a gaping stone cliff takes your breath away. With such epic views, it’s not hard to believe that tourism is the largest industry on the Isle of Wight. A recent tourism campaign called Just Add Water relied heavily on online marketing, encouraging promotion of the island via user-generated videos and photos in conjunction with online advertisements (www.visitwight.co.uk). The campaign to raise visibility seems to be paying off, as the island recently tied with Torbay for winning the most Quality Coast Awards (given to beaches across Britain for achieving high standards of management) and local business owners have seen a rise in sales. “Tourists are our bread and butter and there’s been a huge change in business thanks to online sales,” says Michael Baker, owner of the Dorset Hotel. There’s also another perspective on wanting more people to visit the island. “Of course we rely on the tourists,” agreed June Mullineaux, owner of The Enchanted Cavern gift shop in Ryde, “but I look at it as the more people that know about the Island and come to it, the more we get to share with the world what a special place it is. There’s something wonderful that happens when you step off the ferry,” she added. “You feel like you’ve stepped back 20 years. The pace isn’t so much slow, as it is relaxed. It’s a beautiful place to live.” The beauty of the island is undeniable, but a scenic backdrop is only appreciated when you’re doing entertaining things in front of it. The Isle of Wight has a smorgasbord of interesting and unique activities to suit every taste. Where else can you roam through an interactive dinosaur museum after a quick visit to a garlic farm, linger in one of the oldest vineyards in Britain after dining on freshly cooked local produce, only to top off the afternoon with a world-famous rock festival with 50,000 of your closest friends (www.isleofwightfestival.com) Getting around, exploring and being entertained may be effortless, but conversing with the locals may be a whole other cup of afternoon tea. It can be difficult enough for a western ear to decipher words wrapped tightly around a British tongue, but the quirky local lingo can prove particularly tricky to navigate. Luckily a popular tourist souvenir is the aptly, if not awkwardly, titled Dictionary of Isle of Wight Dialect and of Provincialisms Used on the Island. This is an essential tool if a Grockle (visitor) wants to jee (get on well together) with an Overner (a mainlander who has settled on the island) and not cag (insult) a Caulkhead (an islander whose parents and grandparents were born on the island) with yoppul (useless talk). That’s easy for them to say. “The diversity of the people, attractions and landscapes makes the island very special,” says leader of the Isle of Wight Council, David Pugh. “We have subtropical botanic gardens, rugged coastlines, amusement parks, stately homes and historical military sites. But something which I reckon might be of interest to laid-back Canadians, as you seem to love the outdoors as much as we do, is a unique adventure we offer known as recreational tree climbing.”  Intrigued? Pugh went on to explain about The Goodleaf Tree Climbing Adventure sessions (www.goodleaf.co.uk), where one can climb high in the branches of an historic oak tree with the assistance of a harness and some rope, then rest in the canopy and take in the view before abseiling to the ground. And if extreme tree climbing, angling, golf, horseback riding, shopping, and just plain lazing around aren’t enough to entice you, Councillor Pugh included a personal invitation to Canadians to check out what the island has to offer. “Come on out to the Isle of Wight where we may speak a bit differently here, but we love the outdoors as much as you do.  We’re a lot smaller than Canada, but we’ve got it all packed in and you’re guaranteed a very friendly welcome.” For more information on the Isle of Wight, including accommodations, town guides, places to go and upcoming events, visit www.iwight.com and click on the Just Visiting tab at the top. GL	ABOVE Ventnor harbour