TRAVEL - THE ISLE OF WIGHT - AN ISLE WITHIN AN ISLE

You don't have to go abroad to get away from England. How about an island with a temperate climate, cheap accommodation and superb fish & chips? If you haven't already guessed, I'm talking about the Isle of Wight.

If it's not your first choice for a motoring holiday break this year, then that's not surprising. The island, pitched just off Portsmouth and Southampton, tends to be lumped in with Eastbourne and Bournemouth as a retirement haven, good only for pensioners and the bucket and spade brigade.

Which is a pity in one way, because the place is so much more than that. But good in another because large chunks of Wight still remain undiscovered. Michael Palin once spent six weeks here living in a houseboat at Bembridge making a BBC TV series and still didn't manage to fit everything in.



It's also a place in which you need your own transport as I remember from my childhood days. The buses were great when they came but sometimes it could be a long wait. It's no place, of course, to go if you've a need for speed - there's hardly a dual carriageway on the island. Still, if you like slow, meandering roads that take an age to cover even the shortest distances, you're in for a treat.



Only two ferry operators will take you there and your choice will largely be dictated by which is the most convenient port for you to sail from. Red Funnel Ferries sail from Southampton but we tried the Wight Link service from Portsmouth, possibly more convenient if you're travelling down from the Midlands or the North. For a guideline cost allow around £60 in season, though off peak, the figure could fall to not much more than £30 for a family with...