Dog Friendly Isle of Wight

As any regular readers of my blog will know we have a series of animals in our house which makes going out and about fairly difficult. Despite being an island of dog lovers don’t many places are very welcoming to our pets for day trips. However, Wightlink asked us to explore the Isle of Wight for a dog friendly trip and so last weekend we headed off just at the start of a rather windy and wet storm! I’d heard mention that Wightlink can boast of being the most dog friendly ferry company and after our trip can clearly state this is no ideal boast!

We only live an hour from the ferry terminal at Portsmouth but we arrived nice and early expecting to have to wait in the car with the dog till the ferry arrived. I braved the wet and popped in to grab a coffee only to discover a seating are full of other gorgeous pups, drinking water and dog biscuits! 

As we tumbled out the car in a flurry of arms, legs and dog leads the sun burst out! Good Omens all round. Once we were on the ferry we whisked Gus upstairs and noted that not only could he go out on the deck but there was a place inside for us all to sit in case the weather broke. It was lovely chatting to other like minded owners and discovering that many did day trips over to the island because of how easy it is to go out.

The trip was just over the half hour and very quick and efficient and as we drove straight off we headed to somewhere I’ve been desperate to see for ages! Osborne House – the holiday home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert which was given shortly after her death to the English Heritage. 

While we couldn’t explore the rooms inside with Gus we spent nearly 3 hours here going around the grounds and heading down to their private beach for a cuppa and ice cream. The boys adored seeing the play area and the fort built for the children that the youngest royal locked their governess in!

After exploring the beach and Queen Victorias bathing cart which my husband was absolutely fascinated in we decided to head around the island. There are a couple of English Heritages no least Carisbrooke castle which all allow dogs in but we headed with hot fish and chips to the stunning Compton Bay home to the footprints of the Iguanodon and many dinosaur fossils.

From the bay we decided to head away from the wind and over to Ryde again – one thing about the Isle of Wight; if the weathers bad on one side of the island you can easily head to the other side and find it totally different! – We decided to head over to the marshes at Newtown, an incredibly place reserve for bird watching. On the way we came across The Green Barn – a goat farm which has the best goats fudge I’ve ever tasted! The owners were a delight and seeing Gus trying to befriend a goat was rather fun! Having filled up on treats and coffee here we headed down to Newton and the boys were delighted by the marshes and seeing the old buildings disappearing under the marshes.

At the end of a rather long and exciting day we drove up an hour and half early to the ferry and were delighted by being waved straight on as there were places and in 5 minutes we were on our way home! So why not head over now! Remember use LUCINDA for 30% off Wightlink travel with your dog. Code valid until 31 March 2019, for 10 bookings – first come, first served. Dogs must travel with booking or discount will be forfeited and an upgrade charged at the port.

Full T&Cs: www.wightlink.co.uk/dog30