We catch the 10.00 hr ferry to Fishbourne and arrive at Carisbrooke Castle at 11.00 hrs (approx.). Carisbrooke Castle is sited on a hill near Newport, in the middle of the Isle of Wight. In 1100 Carisbrooke was granted to Richard de Redvers and over the next two hundred years his descendants turned Carisbrooke into a mighty motte-and-bailey castle. The last Redvers resident was Countess Isabella de Fortibus, who carried out an extensive building programme at the castle. Shortly before she died in 1293 she agreed to sell the castle to King Edward I, and the castle remained a crown property for many years.

The castle remained the official residence of the governor of the Isle of Wight until the death of the last resident governor, Princess Beatrice, in 1944. Since then it has been managed as an ancient monument. It is home to the Carisbrooke Castle Museum and, rather unusually, a team of donkeys that are used to demonstrate the treadwheel in the 16th century wellhouse.

In the afternoon we visit The Needles Park, where the world famous coloured sand cliffs overlook the Isle of Wight’s most famous landmark – The Needles Rocks and Lighthouse. The park offers a range of attractions including the spectacular chairlift to the beach and Alum Bay Glass.