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| Newport, Isle of Wight: ‘The apparently ordinary on Wight is rarely that.’ Photograph: Alamy |
hat’s going for it? There are ups and downs to living on a small island. The ups? You have to really want to live on one, so spots like the Isle of Wight attract the intrepid and the eccentric. Like Queen Victoria, who came here to escape the hordes so she could play “normal life” at Osborne, her suburban house on steroids. The apparently ordinary on Wight is rarely that. Take its capital, Newport. On the face of it, this is a humdrum town of Prezzos and Carphone Warehouses, where the height of civic excitement is the opening this year of the new Asda. But its quaint alleys hide jewels like Robert Thompson’s new restaurant, the fabulous Quay arts centre (how many galleries hold kids events by Rob da Bank?) and the Isle of Wight Postal Museum, a collection of paraphernalia accumulated by one Wight eccentric, including “the infamous Rhyl station bracket box”. Be still, my beating heart.
The case against Problems peculiar to islands, such as the cost and effort to get there, impact on local economics and services. See Newport’s loss of Bestival to Dorset this year, though the Isle of Wight festival still reigns.
Well connected? A decent bus network, and trains from Ryde to Shanklin. Driving: most places are 20-40 mins away, but the roads clog in summer. Ferries: on foot from Ryde to Southsea (10 mins), Ryde to Portsmouth (22 mins), and West Cowes to Southampton (25 mins); by car from Yarmouth to Lymington (40 mins), Fishbourne to Portsmouth (45 mins), and East Cowes to Southampton (1hr).
Schools Primaries: Carisbrooke CofE, Hunnyhill, Summerfields, Barton are all “good”, says Ofsted. Secondaries: Christ the King is best, rated “good”.
Hang out at… Thompson’s, the latest venture from Wight’s gastro king, Robert Thompson.
Where to buy Newport, being farthest from the sea, is the most affordable spot (and the sea is never that far away). It has a typical market town layout, with Victorians and Edwardians embracing the centre, and nice suburbans south and west, heading out of town. The prettiest area is the historic Carisbrooke, near the castle, around Castle Street, Carisbrooke Road and Carisbrooke High Street. Detacheds and town houses, £200,000-£800,000. Semis, £150,000-£300,000. Terraces and cottages, £120,000-£350,000. Flats, £70,000-£200,000. Rentals: a one-bedroom flat, £400-£525pcm; a three-bedroom house, £700-£1,000pcm.
Bargain of the week A four-bedroom Georgian town house in the town centre, £154,950, with marvins.co.uk.
From the streets
John Rhodes “The Quay arts centre is a hive of activity for all things artistic, crafty and musical, with a terrific cafe/restaurant/theatre at its hub.”
Fiona Sims “Newport is a bustling market town with an ace bakery and cafe called the Island Bakers. Worst bits: confusing road layout and too many shops needing a makeover.”
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jan/27/lets-move-newport-isle-of-wight
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