Kids Love Yurts

Start close to quarters with a trip to Carisbrooke Castle (10 minutes’ drive): Charles I was kept prisoner in the dark Norman dungeon there and they now host regular jousting events. Queen Victoria's holiday place, Osborne House (15 minutes), has a private beach, playgrounds and trails... and kids should have a hoot poring over the vast collection of curios and oddities amassed by their royal counterparts. There’s a walking path round the entire island, or you could opt for a family-friendly stretch on the Hamsted Heritage Coast from spots like Newtown, 20 minutes away. The salt marshes attract oystercatchers and redshanks, and fossil-hunters have a ball on the beaches around Bouldnor (25 minutes). For the most wild of wildlife it’s a 10-minute trip to meet the rescued marmosets, lemurs and gibbons at Monkey Haven and around the same for the exotic menagerie of Amazon World Zoo Even if geology’s never got your pulse racing, you’ll be impressed by the Needles, a set of rock formations off the headland, 40 minutes away, along with the chairlift swinging you between cliffs and sea and the multicoloured alum sand. Ask for beach recommendations and you’ll get a dozen answers: Ventnor, 25 minutes away often scores high for its gently sloping sand and shingle bay, for rockpooling and recreating the Victorian experience in hired replica bathing machines.