The picturesque Isle of Wight is a place of exciting contrasts. It is one of the top five sunniest places in the UK, yet at high tide becomes one of its smallest counties. It offers around 60 miles of stunning beaches with seafront promenades, rock pools, multi-coloured cliffs and the famous Needles – gigantic white chalk rocks striding out into the sea, crowned by a nineteenth-century lighthouse. The Isle of Wight is also known as ‘Dinosaur Island’ for the twenty-five or so different dinosaur species that once roamed here.
Yet the Island has a darker side: a king once took refuge here from his enemies and numerous notorious criminals have been imprisoned at HMP Isle of Wight. The island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, one of only seven in the UK. It is also a place of elegant castles and monuments, with much Roman and ancient history. You can follow Queen Victoria’s Island trail to some places of outstanding beauty, and walk through the centuries with Charles Darwin, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Barnes Wallis, J. M. W. Turner and even Granny Norah and Lot’s wife! While here, be sure to go off-track to catch sight of the island’s exquisite red squirrels and white-tailed eagles.
Whether your passion is to delve into tales of ships and smugglers, walk with dinosaurs, plunge into literature, discover wildlife, nature trails and coastal paths or simply wonder at spectacular sunsets, the ‘enchanted isle’ will be an ongoing journey of discovery.
Xylophone Fence
The xylophone musical fence installed along the seafront at Small Hope Beach, Shanklin, was created in 2006 as a fun and artistic installation, part of the Island 2000 Trust (now Natural Enterprise). It was made from pine and cut into various lengths by its creator Daniel Roberts, to produce the notes needed to play Oh I do like to be beside the Seaside when played like a regular xylophone.
It took weeks of painstaking hollowing-out the back of each piece with a sander to produce the final tuning. Sadly, a cliff fall ended the days of the xylophone fence on the seafront, but during its lifetime it brought happiness and entertainment to hundreds of people enjoying a day out. It also supported Gift to Nature, a wildlife and conservation charity, via a donation box on the seafront.
Daniel also installed fun xylophone fences in nurseries at Sandown and on the mainland. The Sandown nursery’s xylophone fence had a close shave on delivery when he fitted it with wheels and towed it behind his bicycle along the Cowes to Sandown cycle path. After becoming wedged in a set of gates, a friend with a large van came to the rescue in the early hours. Daniel is also the founder of the island’s National Poo Museum. Despite its somewhat bizarre name, the museum uses interesting facts and gentle humour to bring to light new findings from insect, animal and human droppings, leading to a better understanding of the science of gut bacteria.
Daniel’s famous xylophone fence appeared on TV’s You’ve Been Framed.
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