UK Tourist & Leisure Attractions - Isle of Wight

It doesn't show in this pic, but it was raining hard when we arrived at Amazon World Zoo Park in Arreton.  So it was a quick look at the species wall here and in to buy our tickets (adult: £8.75).

Inside the tropical rainforest at Amazon World it was self-paced as we made our way along the walkways meeting all sorts of endangered species.  There were frequent info boards to give us the, er, info.

On the left we see Monty - a blue and gold Macaw; on the right another exotic bird - the lesser spotted Belindarus seen in its natural habitat taking a picture.

We were fortunate to be in Amazon World's Canopy area at feeding time, and Monty certainly proved to be a messy eater (just like Mikerus really).

Here's a Sloth and these were cute guys, very slow and deliberate as they moved themselves along the vegetation upside down.  We saw one with its baby clinging tightly to mum who chewed the food before feeding it to baby.  An 'aah' moment indeed!

One Meerkat seemed to be lookout while the other had a digging frenzy below.  There's some 200 different species at Amazon World, including Marmosets (watch those guys!), Lemurs, Tamarin, Tapir, Coati, plus spiders, bats and lizards.

In a brief rain reprise we ventured outside and saw various animals including Ocelots, Penguins and...

...er, what is it?  All the creatures at Amazon World looked well cared for and it was clear their welfare was No.1 priority.  There was also a Falconry display and talk but unfortunately the wet conditions meant no flying on the day of our visit.  The Zoo Park runs an animal adoption program and is wheelchair friendly.

You may also be interested in our visit to the (fairly) nearby Monkey World in Dorset.

Mike became an endangered specie himself at the Zoo Park when he met a couple of these big birds!  OMG, it looks like he was so startled when they jumped up to chat him up it turned his hair grey!

Here's Jurassic Adventure Land at Amazon World, unsurprisingly no-one was out playing... but hang on, isn't that Mike up there with his mouth wide open?  Must be his feeding time, so off to the local...

...pub back in Wroxall for a meal.  Just look at the size of that piece of cod!  We enjoyed a magnificent meal plus a few prime pints at The Worsley that evening.

Weyhey, time for our ride on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.  The railway's HQ was here at Havenstreet and is where all the main facilities are located.

We arrived just as the steam train was chuffing into Havenstreet station from its first run of the morning along the five mile route across the Isle of Wight.

Just look at all that lovely steam from the locomotive!  At Havenstreet we observed the steam engine being filled with water before climbing aboard for...

...the ride to Smallbrook Junction, a remote station the Isle of Wight Steam Railway shares with the island's mainline.  It was odd to see an old red London tube train on the other platform below running on what remains of the original 54 miles of IOW railway.

Here's a video grab of Mike doing his bit to camera demonstrating how to lower the window by the leather strap system fitted on the preserved train carriages on the way to Wootton station at the other end of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway's line.

Back at Havenstreet station there was the interesting Carriage and Wagon Workshop and Mechanical Engineering Workshop to nose around.  Also at Havenstreet is a woodland walk, refreshment room and children's play area plus...

...the inevitable gift shop, through which is a small but fascinating museum all about the island's railway history containing many wonderful railway artefacts.  No prizes for guessing which area Mike made a beeline for and which one Belinda headed to!

The Isle of Wight Steam Railway cost £9.50 (adult).

There's plenty of appealing attractions for all tastes on the Isle of Wight for a happy holiday and we could have easily found and filled another week of visits.  But for us it was time to head back on the ferry next day after an enormously enjoyable but sometimes wet week on the island.

During our holiday planning to the Isle of Wight (and touring elsewhere in the UK) we've collected many tourism resources for the areas and places we visit - you might like to take a look if planning a trip.