Isle of Wight

4 days in Isle of Wight was all that we needed to discover the whole Island. I mainly picked Isle of Wight become Mahi's love for dinosaurs. So what did we do once we arrived on the Isle? Yep - straight to a dinosaur museum . Dinosaur Isle is located in Sundown which was easily reachable by bus. We took a 3-day bus pass to get us around and hopped on a bus that landed us right at the doorstep of the museum. Dinosaur Isle was great. On top of all like the life sized dinosaurs, they were plenty of of activities to do. They were the usual fossil huntings but also colouring activities, puzzles and  an interactive way to learn the prehistoric times.  Approximately 2-3 hours was spent there as Mahi kept running back and forth reading everything and making sure of all the information he read was correct. The gift shop was extensive, and my kids who can't decide anything in a small shop, were truly confused as to what to buy. So that took another 30mins to get them out. The museum was on the beach so despite it being windy, the kids wanted to 'dip their toes' in the sea but yes, they were properly swimming in that freezing sea. Once they were satisfied that they were completely frozen, we headed to our airbnb not far away from the seaside. We needed our rest after an eventful 1st day on the island.

The next day we headed to Newquay, where we are going to stay for the rest of our trip. Everything was easy to reach from Newquay. Heres what we packed in less than  week:

1. Blackgang Chine - a wonderful amusement park not too far from Vintner, in the South of the Isle! It was a beautiful day too and there were so many zones to visit including a fairy, sea and dinosaur zones. It was truly a beautiful place that I can't put into words how amazing the place was for me and the kids. There were lots of cafes dotted around to relax too and the views were stunning.

2. Robin Hill -  this is the twin park of Blackgang Chine but in Newport. You can buy combined tickets. This one is also an amusement park more suited for older kids as it has more fun stuff like a suspended nets, huge slides, roaming animals and rides.
3. The Needles - the most popular tourist attraction in all of Isle of Wight. The weather wasn't great so we didn't do a boat ride or took the chair lift next to the Needles but the kids did paddle in the water. My kids are demented to have swam in these cold waters. The Needles looked more beautiful in person than in photos.
4. Dinosaur Expedition CIC - what better way for a future palaeontologist to shadow an actual palaeontologist while they work. So that's what I did. I contacted the manager who kindly agreed to my plan, picked us up from Newquay and drive us down to first, a fossil hunt. They run family guided tours on the seaside hunting fossils.  The whole morning, we were out there looking at actual cast of dinosaur footprints and some gems. We didn't come across any fossils but Mahi was totally engrossed and fascinated but what we were discovering that he didn't want to leave. We then headed to the little museum where actual fossils found during the hunts are placed. There were more activities. Mahi was just in his element. it was a tiny museum but the amount of knowledge Mahi absorbed, made him more determined to become a palaeontologist.
5. West Wight Alpacas - who would have thought that I, me who doesn't like animals, would actually walk an alpaca around for 1hr without being scared?!!! And that's exactly what I did. I didn't freak out and my alpaca was very well behaved. Mahi's one was the naughty one but he managed him well! We had such a great fun learning about alpacas and llamas.

This is how we spent our time in Isle of Wight.