While much of IOW seems focused on leisure activities and the entertainment of visitors, the ancient roots of island life come sharply into focus at the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Brading. The 12th-century stone church was proudly built on the site of the first baptisms recorded on Wight, in 687.

Next door to the church is the Old Rectory Mansion; dating from 1220, it is the oldest house on the island. Its oak timbers are two centuries older, though, as it was built out of an earlier Anglo-Saxon house; below are evidences of Roman occupation. Quite anachronistically, the Old Rectory is now part of Brading The Experience, a waxworks museum that has grown to feature a taxidermy Animal World, a Chamber of Horrors and the island's largest collection of vintage wheeled vehicles. This is something to do if it rains.

On the east coast of the island, Sandown is the original Victorian seaside resort, replete with the obligatory tatty amusement pier stretching into the water. Large holiday hotels and guest houses of every description line the broad curve of beach and spill up the cliff sides of the busy commercial district. The town needs a coat of paint.

Just to the south, the town of Shanklin is a smaller version of seaside sameness, a little more quaint and picturesque, perched atop 100-foot sandy cliffs facing the morning sun. Shanklin Old Village grew up around Shanklin Chine, one of a number of precipitate gorges carved into the east and south coasts of the island. "Chine" is one of those local words, used to describe deep ravines created over the eons by water cutting into the soft limestone. Shanklin Chine provides a naturally protected, lush environment for rare plants, thick with trees and undergrowth and a cascading waterfall. It's as close to a tropical rain forest as Britain gets.

Shanklin Chine was perhaps the island's first tourist attraction, with Jane Austen and John Keats among the visitors who have sung its praises. In earlier centuries, it provided a haven for smugglers and wreckers operating along the south coast. I took dinner one evening at an 18th-century stone pub at the head of the chine. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow described it during his stay in 1868 as "the lovely little thatch-roof Crab Inn, all covered in ivy and extremely desirable." He could use the same words today.

South of Shanklin, the bustling coast gets quieter. On the southeast corner, Ventnor provides a more sedate alternative for those seeking seaside fun. The beachfront is broader, decorated with flowers. A blue plaque on one house notes that Ivan Turgenev spent some time here in 1860, working on his masterpiece Fathers and Sons. To the west of town, Ventnor's Botanic Gardens offer free admission to 22 acres of woodland and gardens full of flowers and plants that will grow nowhere else in Britain – a palm garden and a colorful Mediterranean terrace. The gardens are wonderful for a short stroll, or longer if you are really into the flora.

A little farther west, Blackgang Chine is one of the island's best known attractions. An amusement park with traditional rides and entertainments, Blackgang Chine was opened in 1843—making it Britain's oldest theme park. Unless you are traveling with children, though, you'll drive past.

The southern coast of the island, though, lacks the busy-ness and population of the northern and eastern coasts. There are open vistas of farmland, small chines disguising rivulets trickling down to deserted beaches, and white chalk cliffs rising at the western end at Freshwater Bay. From there, Tennyson Downs stretches across the western end of Wight to Alum Bay. Named for the great Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the downs were home to the author for 39 years. His house, Farringford, is now a popular hotel. Many of the prominent writers of his age visited here, and here Tennyson wrote many of his best-known works.

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