Ventnor is a lovely seaside resort that was established in Victorian times as a health and tourist resort due to its sunny microclimate and sheltered south coast location. Today it’s lost none of its charm and provides a good choice for a cottage break by the sea.
The island’s microclimate has allowed a number of subtropical plants to thrive in the area and the Ventnor Botanic Garden, located on the former site of the Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest (not many people know that), is particularly noteworthy for those interested in flora.
Britain’s largest colony of the common wall lizard lives on Ventnor’s town walls (not many people know that either) and a special habitat has been established for the lizard in the Botanic Garden. The Cascade Gardens, from the early 1900s, is a beautiful garden with a waterfall that ends as a paddling pool on the seafront.
Other attractions include Ventnor Park, with its aviary, bandstand, stream and putting green, Ventnor Brewery, and RAF Ventnor. In town the many antique and bric-a-brac shops in the main shopping area have become a tourist attraction in their own right.
The town’s location on unstable underlying clay and a geological fault known as the Graben is the subject of displays at the Isle of Wright Coastal Visitors Centre, but don’t worry visitors will be safe! ‘The Landslip’ is a nearby Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Ventnor is located on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path, and it is a beautiful place for which to find a leisurely walk or cycle tracks. Annual events include the Ventnor Fringe Festival and the Ventnor Carnival, each August.
There are many beautiful Ventnor holiday cottages. Book one today and experience its unique atmosphere for yourself.