Seaside Decline: Britain's Forgotten Paradise Island 🇬🇧
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- Опубліковано 23 вер 2024
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I was shocked to discover crumbling and rotting grand hotels and a waning tourism industry on the once thriving Isle of Wight. From the Victorian era until the only 20 or so years ago, the Island was a booming south coast holiday favourite for Brits. Now parts of the island are a decaying shadow of their former selves. There are scarce employment opportunities for young locals and a significant problem with homeless people squatting in the abandoned hotels. Join me as I discover and meet the locals.
A big thanks to Oli for inviting me and showing me around where he grew up.
#britain #streetinterview #isleofwight #decline #seaside
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How's about doing a tour of the isle of man, it would be much appreciated.
@@johncooke9964 good call
I presume all the earnings from this sponsor will go towards the homeless people that have appeared in your videos, without whom you'd have zero content to make money on youtube from?
@@dude9038 A puerile comment.
It's only a decay to Humans -- For Nature it's Reclaiming ... Just my opinion !
Happy to have been a local guide for this, saw a comment saying I look like Michael Moore's twin brother, i've heard that before!
You are super chill. 👍
Nice calm guide
Thank you 👏
Howdy neighbour, I live two doors up from you! Small world! Great guiding, thanks!😄
You gave Wendall some much needed balance..good format..
I’m from Australia, went to uk in the 90s. Went to IOW for a visit, Shanklin was one of the tidiest, clean places l had been to. Ended up staying for a month in holiday season. Sandown was buzzing with holiday makers, the whole island was so picturesque, the drive along the south coastal road to the east to west coast to freshwater and the needles was stunning.
Speechless after watching this.
Why would anyone go to an abandoned Island and pay £150+ to do so.
When you can go to the likes of Bournemouth or Southampton which are wealthy and have lots to do, and not have to pay a £150+ tax to do so???
The Islanders want to be left alone, in their squalid expensive little bit of land. It’s a place where most people go to die, let’s face it.
Nothing going on there…and any young people staying there have NO AMBITION.
No wonder the only people under 40 he can find to speak to are crackheads
@lukebignell7846 are you on drugs or just drunk ?
@@lukebignell7846, I went to Southampton once it’s got about as much charm as Chernobyl.
IOW has got a few rundown places but it also has loads of areas of natural beauty.
It is expensive to travel to but once there what ever the weather is worth it.
@@jameshodgkins559I’m positive that former residents of Chernobyl could rightly take offence at being compared to Southampton!
@@lukebignell7846 I'm from Cornwall and holidayed on the IOW but drove back and stopped off at some coastal places.
You're right about Bournemouth but Southampton was pretty dull and quite run down and lacks a beach or any features of note.
Hi, my wife and I spent a week and walked the 65 mile coastal path 5 years ago. We stayed at B&Ds and pubs along the route. The coast is amazing, as are the people I met. The food was generally good and at times exellent. We left our car in portsmouth and can't recall how much the ferry cost. The decline of sandown and some areas of Shanklin were a shock to us, as I had spent holidays there as a child. It is still a beautiful Island, I would recommend any walkers to do the coastal walk or sections of it. The decline and the social problems are replicated across the Uk and is such a complicated issue we need to get a grip of, but politicians over 30 years have failed.
It is the most expensive ferry crossing in the world. Ridiculous. My sister lived there and it was absurd visiting.
😡
House prices on IOW have gone up massively since covid times
@@sandhurstwolves3956 which is crazy because it doesn’t look popular like the isle of Manhattan where property after Covid has increased 5 fold
Hi what is the price of a ferry ride? I’m trying to compare to where I live.
@Scram673 place to retire to I suppose
Im 45 English teacher from Germany. I visited the island aged 17-18 and I liked the island immensely. It’s such a beautiful place.
Trust me it still is there UA-camrs go searching for the things for their own narrow narative to monetise their channel. He will have purposly missed out all the nice places I am sure you visited on your trip.
Walk with me Tim on tube just done a recent video on Isle of Wight , this guy has just shown all the rundown parts and that’s it
Sandown is run down in places. However, the rest of the Island is beautiful, there are loads of great places to eat, and the people are the friendliest I have ever come across.
liverpool as best people in uk
Yep agree I was there in July last year. Everywhere really nice but Sandown was run down.
I use to take my wife and kids to Sandown holiday camp in the mid 90s , it was a bit untidy then
but it was cheap and the kids loved it. Haven’t been back since then but a lot of the little sea side
places in the UK are going down hill
Did you know a best friend of the late June Brown ( EastEnders Dot Cotton) lives on that Island, i agree friendliest people ever and a beautiful island!
I live on the Isle of Wight, I'm 21 years old and I have to say I love it. Admittedly I am privileged to have a house and I have managed to find a good job after graduating Uni, however I did my degree on the Island and had some great opportunities. Sandown and Ryde are the most run down areas for sure, and like most areas in the UK have a problem with too many people being homeless and not getting the support they need. The West Wight, Totland Bay, Yarmouth, Freshwater Bay, Wootton Creek, Alum Bay, are some of the most gorgeous places, I would never take for granted having those places right on my doorstep.
That Squatter at the Ocean Hotel I'm part gardener part Security....😂😂😂
Sceptical 🤔
South-facing, nobody bothering them, they could grow all sort of "exotic" plants
Probably means he smokes pot and is always down to fight intruders.
@@darren_anscombe They do. Especially West Wight. The first methamphetamine factory was discovered in Ryde. Infamous & notoriously known as a place that supplies/supplied A lot of drug trades. Look at Jamie Green etc.
Lol
My wife and I have been going to the Isle of wight for over 25 years, have had many happy times with the kids growing up, Sandown beach is one of the best on the island but it is sad to see that most of the buildings facing it are so run down. There are lots of beautiful villages and coastal views around the Island, and is great for wildlife and people cycling or walking. I hope that the Island gets some much needed investment before its too late.
I live in Estonia, a brit. They have many islands one of which is Hiiumaa. It is a 90 minute ferry journey it costs a fiver.
We are being ripped off 💀
I took a ferry from Corfu to Albania, it took 40 mins and cost 15£ I booked is last min too.
@@ltrots2030 They would have to pay me to take a ferry to Albania.
@@WendallExploresWell and truly we are i don’t call it the Ununited Kingdom of Hell for no reason.
Well somebody’s got to keep the boys supplied with money…
The slow demolition of The West 😞 Such a shame
The West is fine ,is the UK mate
@@corneliuscornia3189no its all of the west
Implosion
The Remainers wanted to carry on Lording it over the Brexiters..
Entitled people destroyed the country..
Definitely all of the West. We are being replaced. It is not even subtle anymore, it is overt and happening very rapidly. That is how they will remove the inherent rights of Europe's populations... replace them with "asylum seekers" who have no inherent rights and will happily roll up their sleeves for a place to live and something to eat.
I went to the Isle of Wight for many years, always to Stonewood camp in St Helens, with the St John ambulance. Truly I'm heartbroken to see what has become of a place I love so much. Now I go to Quarr Abbey and stay with the monks as a tranquil retreat from life in general.
Watch out for the pervy guest master - he likes young boys
Watch out for the purr-vy Guest Master - he particularly enjoys ogling young boys / men
Watch out for the Guest Master - he particularly likes young bois / younger men
@@rumdo5617 I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer.
@@maverickhistorian6488 what are you talking about? I know because I’ve stayed there myself. If you wish to remain in denial, that’s fine - but don’t have a go at me for telling the truth. Good day to you.
You did not spend enough time here,you should have gone to yarmouth,cowes and some of the small villages with chocolate box charm that we have plenty of and more history than you can shake a stick at,yes there are buildings that have been left to rot and the pandemic really did not help,but what you saw really was a small dot of bad in 144 square miles of amazing island,so glad you told people to visit at the end buddy
Yes, well said! Totally agree with you. There ARE problems but that is symptomatic of many areas. Big businesses have loaded the ferry companies with debt and the prices are horrendous at peak periods. The areas shown are some what selective and represent a tiny part of the whole picture. The closing comments and most of views here are far more to the point!
Watching from Australia, find it totally unbelievable these beautiful buildings are empty and run down. Great work Wendall!
As a kid I grew up in Portsmouth in the 60s, We used to take the Hovercraft over there, it was beautiful and slow paced.
Another excellent report and having grown up in Slough and now living on the island, it is very interesting to get an outsiders view on different places. Ferry prices are a good example of 'Rip Off Britain' and I believe the islanders should be much more vocal against the ferry companies. It is a lovely safe place to live and the positives far outway the negatives.
There is a lot I miss about the Island but I left after five years living there and came back to Cheshire. I can now cycle and motorbike to my hearts content in wide open spaces. The Island is far too restrictive, I was going round in circles.
" Oh I think I will go over to Seaview...not been for a week"😉🤔
The ferry/hovercraft companies have strangled tourism to the island and it is dying as a consequence. Saying that, a group of us are going back in September as we had such a great time there last year, although we're traveling by train and going as foot passengers on the ferry. Even so, the cost is extortionate.
The hovercraft is a rare experience in itself. Must be one of the only hovercraft services left anywhere.
The really needs to subsidise the ferry crossing to encourage more tourists to the island ,it’s like the uk pub industry,people will not pay for over priced drinks and travel
I think the same business happened with the IOM
They got rid of the Hover
The ferry doesn’t seem to do regular trips , and it’s expensive.
Of course my memory isn’t too good, I could be wrong about that .
I have a feeling that the IOM don’t like being bombarded with tourists.
@@neil-nx3ei I want to the IoM the other year. It's quiet very quiet. Even in July. The financial industry keeps it alive. House prices are mad. I booked the ferry ages in advance and it was very reasonable. Unlike the IoW one. 🤣 Pisses it down a lot though. Except Ramsey. Ramsey was better. ☀️
I lived in London and Oxford for many years and traveled the UK a lot. After a good friend of mine and my Mother moved to the IOW I found myself visiting them very often. Then post COVID I decided to buy a house and rise my son somewhere safe with nature on the doorstep and IOW fit perfectly. At start I wasn’t keen on moving to Sandown as it does look run down in places, but living here for 3 years I can say it was a good choice and it looks like Sandown will become aesthetically better in upcoming years. There are really nice towns such as Bembridge, Seaview and Yarmouth where only those who can afford a house there live. Island is offering plenty and most people don’t need to do trips to the mainland
So sad to see the decline of a beautiful island with so much history for a lot of people.
Had many a holiday in shanklin and Sandown.from the early 70s when i was a toddler and the places were heaving to nowdays, a lot less busy. But the island has charm and a great pace of life. Sandown council really need to get the derelict hotels sorted.,and ferry crossing need to be a lot more affordable.
Should have built the bridge years ago
Tunneling is easily possible..that would fill the island and make it a success again..it would start a realtors bonanza..instead of spending money on London .Spend it on the “Wight tunnel”and while they’re at it get rid of smart motorways and build a motorway to Aberystwyth.
Was just there a couple of weeks ago. Walked from Shanklin to Ventnor along the coastal path. Absolutely stunning and didn't see any decay at all apart from the cliffs falling into the sea. Infact it was extremely affluent around certain parts and plenty of tourists out enjoying the sunshine. Didn't bother with Sandown though.
Used to love going on holiday back in the late 80s/early 90s to the Isle of Wight as a kid.
Wandering around Shanklin, Blackgang Chine.
I expect it still is, but that ferry crossing was the most expensive in the world at some point.
Same old story with this country, getting stitched up on prices.
Big rip off
Gareth Icke also talks about how expensive the ticket prices are, and that it's such a short distance, he's actually swum to the mainland before
Blackgang chine was my favourite as a kid.
I took an EF language course in 1999. My host family lived in a semi-detached house just outside of Ryde. The family lived on the father's income (Tesco) and whatever they could get for hosting teenagers such as myself. It was a modest home but nothing essential was missing so I figured that that was pretty normal. Actual poverty you could see in the housing estates nearby.
The pier, the pavilion, the beach, the arcade, and the high street were very busy. We spent all of our time there.
Visiting IOW is like going back in time a bit, but not in a bad way. Like most of the UK, it has declined over the last 10-15 years but there are way worse places. The ferry prices are a joke, but if you can be flexible about what times you travel to/from the island, you can save some money. You can get tickets from Southampton for less than £15 each way if you don't have a vehicle
I was born on IOW and i had to move to get work .Sandown has gone downhill but other parts are still nice. Ryde on a night out is decent.
The ferry companies have taken out loans to pay back owner companies, who are also paying back loans, to other companies who, in turn, own them, paying back loans to the ultimate owners, all the way to China.
That's why the ferries are so outrageously expensive.
The Isle of Wight is still a beautiful island to visit, with above- average days of sunshine. Like many of the UK's coastal communities that used to rely on tourism, it is suffering from a lack of investment. Some parts of the island, like Cowes and Bembridge are affluent whereas other places are pretty shoddy. Like anywhere in coastal UK. But, really. It's the ferry prices that are killing the opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to risk investing in these empty hotels, phew! What could they do? Retirement villages?
Probably.
That’s a good idea. If the council with fund senior housing you could have a real “Villages” situation there. Just try not to bring in private investors because they will leave you high and dry.
This applies to the whole of Britain. Overpriced and neglected
Wendall you nailed it on the head, £30 return for a 8 minute trip on the hovercraft, by foot! It needs sorting fast to bring back tourism and connections!
Used to work as a waiter in the Ocean back in the day. Joined the royal marines, worked in london and now work in saudi but kept my house on the island. Love going back there. Lovely place in the summer. Down the front for a couple of Britney's 😎
Once the old school has passed i fear more for the islands future,the tourism is hanging on to what was.
Such a beautiful place naturally & sad to see it's decline.
It’s your government turning to capitalism
Went to the isle of wight 2 years ago ...was shocked at the demise Sandown and Shanklin,esp the the Ocean view hotel ...met a jeweller just up the road from the hotel ...east ender who told me the story about the hotel ....as a ted i saw he was selling copies of the ingersol 1940,s watch bought for a tenner ...still best timekeeper i got!!
I live in Sandown, but I'm originally from Birmingham. Moved here when I was ten, and I'm now fifty two. It's such a shame to see the Island decline the way it has over the years. I've met Oli before, but for the life of me, I can't remember where.
I loved my childhood hols in the 70s and early 80s at Sandown, Sandown even had a little zoo, the Island was lovely, we loved going to Black Gang Chine and Alum Bay
The Zoo is still there, it's now called the Wildheart Sanctuary.
I live in Portsmouth and love going to the island but the ferry prices now make it very difficult to afford going there. I hope at some point they will bring these down as it would definitely bring more people to the island.
Maybe the local businesses should chip in and organise a subsidised ferry service. Fix the fare at half of whatever the other one charges.
Wonderful memories of the Island for me as I first visited in the late 1940s, as a child. My future wife & I had our first holiday together during 1963 at Totland Bay, superb walks from there, along the Warren to Alum Bay, Freshwater & Tennison Down. Always loved Shanklin & we did that for a couple of years until marriage.
Later took our four children on the ferry from Portsmouth Harbour. In all it was two & a half hours by train, ferry etc but always worth it.
The Island tours from Ryde were quite magical. There are long stories I will not bore you with & of course with the passage of life I have not been over for some considerable years.
I guess time marches on & I am really sad to see that lovely place looking the worse for wear. In fact pretty heart breaking remembering it's vitality those years ago but that can not diminish it's natural charm.
I went to Prague last week and my return flight plus 2 nights in a 4* hotel was less than the cost of that ferry to the Isle of Wight. It’s just so expensive to holiday in the UK and with other countries in Europe that have more reliable weather etc it’s hard to see the situation improving. The situation becomes even more dire if you intend on getting to your destination by train too.
I do agree
Good memories of shanklin,1977,my teenage years...good fun to be had back then🎉
I absolutely love the chine …
Another excellent insightful video keep up the good work dude.
I lived on the island 2005-08 in Ryde and in Sandown. Loved every day of it! Worked in supermarkets,so I was ok. The decline in Sandown high street was already going on back then, but the island is a paradise! The ferry prices was always a rip off. The bus fares aswell. The council is not supporting tourism enough and are not supporting the locals much. I can imagine there’s no prospects for young people. The poor summers lately probably hasn’t helped tourism either.
The reason there is no bridge or tunnel to the Isle of Wight from the mainland is to do with money.
So that's why the ferry service can charge what they bloody like.
But yet the government can spend £80 million on drawings for a garden bridge over the Thames or £37 billion on track and trace. What didn't work even ,and up-to-date, nobody has been held accountable for it.
But they ,CAN'T . pay for a bridge over to the island.😡🏴
They have not built a permanent crossing due to corruption. The IOW local council in do corrupt you couldn’t afford to build a permanent crossing. How much money would have to pay the ferry company too? They are coining it in, and building a permanent crossing puts them out of business
@@sharonformella9433
I do understand what people are saying about the Isle of Wight. But what I'm saying is this government can waste money on other projects?
So why don't they spend it on Making the Isle of Wight more accessible.
Steve marsh, the UA-camr from Scotland got a ferry from the Isle of Skye to the outer hebrides for £44 one way .
And that is a lot further than Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight , I know. 🏴
I suspect many islanders don’t want a bridge. It would bring more people and spoil the unique atmosphere of the place.
Govt can send £ Billions to Ukraine and other countries but cannot spend £ millions on UK infrastructure
I visited the IoW a few years back & absolutely loved it.
Can't quite get over the price of that crossing though - incredible
I remember going into the ocean Hotel in late September 1996. They had massive roaring fireplaces. It was so grand very elegant, mega thick carpets , crystal chandeliers. Beautiful.
I visited the Isle of Wight for a few days in August 2016, and I loved it. I walked some long sections of the coastal paths and I also took a trip with the steam train from Smallbrook Junction via Havenstreet to Wootton. I also visited the Needles and did some fossil hunting on the beach in Sanddown 😊 I loved my stay there and would really like to visit again some time. But it is really sad with the empty and decaying hotels. The IOW is a lovely place for a holiday.
I knew a few people who moved from the West Midlands to live on I.O.W when they were in their early 20s. They nearly all ended up in a bad way through either drugs or alcohol. There's a massive drug problem there. The place has a very dark side to it.
I'm the fella with the bad haircut in the vid and I will say that drugs and young delinquents are a problem, when I met Wendall on the pier I could smell weed lol
@@olifromsolly6007I haven't been to the island for quite a few years. I used to attend the Bank Holiday scooter rally in August and would meet up with my old friends who moved there. They didn't paint a happy picture of the place. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful place. It just has that dark side to it. Probably the same as a lot of other seaside towns. I really this video Olly, thanks for contacting Wendall.
Great video Wendall 👍😁😎 the problem with the island it is Lawless and the Ferry fares are the most expensive per mile in the world. Drugs are everywhere and the Council charge one of the most expensive Council taxes in the country and the island is eve charging people 50 pence to use toilets in Sandown.
I had one of the best holidays ever staying in Sandown years ago. It was a very reasonable coach holiday, all inclusive food and evening entertainment. We also had arranged coach trips all around the island included. One of the coach trips was cancelled so we had a boat trip through Portsmouth harbour instead. I fell in love with the island. So sad watching this video
I live on the Isle of Wight and used to work in drug and alcohol services here and I can tell you that the drug problems over here are no worse than anywhere else in the UK. People who turn to drugs/alcohol are usually self medicating for other issues in their lives and would turn to these wherever they live. To paint the Isle of Wight as in the way that you have is totally incorrect.
You would have thought with the advent of remote working the IOW would become a popular place to relocate and live a slower lifestyle, that ferry price must be holding the island back from exploiting it.
I agree with you about the ferry prices. We considered taking our family Holiday on the Island as it looks beautiful, but the cost of the ferry put us off. Which is a shame.
I was born and grew up in bembridge and went to high school in sandown. Always grew up wanting to travel so did so after leaving school but returned to the island 15 years later and have used it as my uk base for the last eight years. The ferry costs and the service reliability are a joke creating a difficult obstacle when it comes to employment and earning opportunities. Salaries on the island are generally lower than on the mainland. If the commute was more affordable and reliable it would benefit the economy on the island and make it easier for enterprising individuals. One thing I’ve noticed about the UK since seeing different parts of the world is that it is by far the best at extracting money from people at every opportunity possible. The county council here aren’t even worth discussing in any serious way. They’ve always been a joke.
The difference is what the county councils etc have to pay to support people here with the level of dependencies compared to elsewhere. Every person in that film had a disability or suffered from a condition. It is a tsunami of people with problems real or otherwise, and it is the councils who are expected to pickup the pieces. Elsewhere in the world people are more self-sufficient and do not expect handouts as a matter of course. So it is NOT the councils it is the individuals until people take responsibility for their own actions and don't always expect the authorities to sort their lives out we are in a circle of decline. The irony always is despite getting the most they are always the quickest to complain that they get no help. The man or woman who gets up at 7:00 in the morning goes out for 8+ hours to work 5-6 days a week pays their council tax and never claims a penny andjust gets on with it, but who is the sap really?
I was born on the IOW in 1981 and my parents had to move in 88 because of the lack of work. So lack of employment opportunties is nothing new but when I see Ryde and some of Newport and Sandown particularly you can see the massive difference. I think some mainland councils have turfed out problem families to the Island but lack of employment and opportunities has caused more homelessness. The Island is no longer safe. I have my mums side still living there and the problems are worse then highlighted in this video. This is only a snapshot. Its so sad. My elderly aunt who has lived in Ventnor all her life asks me to donate to the local foodbank instead of normal gifts because so many families are living in extreme poverty. You were spot on with the cost of any ferry route affecting tourism. Its the most expensive waterway in the world. Successive MPs have done nothing to help the Island over so many years. The Island will always be my home no matter how bad life is down there but unless I win the lottery there's no hope of ever moving back there but now I'm disabled I don't get to visit as much as I used too. The Island is not really disabled friendly. Its so sad to see sych a beautiful Island go down the pan. Governments and the council there have only increased extreme poverty there. If you've plenty of money you can still find your spot of paradise. I'm glad you've brought a spotlight to the Island.
How do you hope ""to inspire people to come here"" when all you show is derelict buildings and flea-bitten squatters?
You are right. I have heard that per mile the IOW ferries are the most costly in the world.
I lived on the Isle of Wight from birth (1960) to age 14 (migrated to New Zealand) and watching this depresses you to think of the transformation.
My memories of my origins where hugely different and I feel VERY lucky to have been brought up there compared to a lot of other places in the world at the time.
It was hugely dependant on tourism, but also had big businesses like Ronson's, the lighter people, before Bic came along and some electronics companies.
I should not really watch things like this as it spoils my pleasant memories as a kid.
Wow, that ferry was really expensive!
I spent a week in Shanklin in August 2020. It was the height of the pandemic when overseas travel was banned. It was absolutely bursting with visitors.
All the hotels were fully booked. Those owners who left hotels vacant and rotting during that time can really have no excuse.
You are showing a small part of the Island which doesn't represent the whole Island. There are beautiful places to visit such as Osbourne House where Queen Victoria lived and died. She loved the Island and spent a lot of time with her family and entertained many important people. There is so much more to see and do. The countryside is amazing and Cowes famous for incredible Yachts which race around the Island competing with huge beautiful Yachts from all over the World. I could go on with so many more interesting places to visit but it would take forever. The countryside walks with views overlooking the sea are beautiful. Just get there and see for yourself. 🎉🎉🎉🎉❤
They buy these places to demolish them and build flats, the council turn down the planning applications so the developers leave the places to rot so that eventually demolition is the only option. Either that or mysterious fires break out - it has happened loads of times. There seems to be nothing the council can do to stop it, it's a tragedy, it's driven by pure greed.
Have been to the IOW a few times but can't believe how expensive the ferry now is, I doubt if it was a third of the cost the last time I visited.
You mention the ferries but remember, Southern Vectis has a bus monopoly and the prices have always been much more expensive than Southampton or Portsmouth, despite the same parent company having a monopoly in Southampton now too. At one point you could get a weekly ticket on the two main routes in Southampton that was less than a day rider for the Isle of Wight.
Never seen someone so enthusiastic about a suitcase
Got my butt kicked by the raiders junior team when I was like 16. I lost all credit as a Canadian that day. Miss that Island a lot - very nice people. I can't believe they closed that rink - it had the best ice in the whole South of England.
Raiders are a hockey team? Is it comparable to Junior B in Canada?
@@finnmcginn9931 In age? Yes, in skill quality omg no.
Scattered my dad's ashes on the island love the place
You are absolutely spot on about the tourism industry being dead on the Isle of Wight because of ferry prices, I moved from there 6 years ago and have seen the decline because of the greedy company’s in wightlink and red funnel, it’s absolute robbery
Me and my parents went to Isle of Wight 2 years ago, we went as part of a coach tour, we stopped in Sandown, hotel was average , we did the island tour , liked Ryde
I like listening to Noddy Holder when he sings..
Slade was a great band back the days !
Another masterpiece Wendall, well done!
🙌
@@WendallExplores Your welcome to visit and explore Newfoundland. I think you'd love it here and not want to leave.
I grew up in the Cotswolds and left UK for Ontario in 91, moved to the far East of the New World 25 months ago with no regrets (apart from the weather😹)
Travel from Portsmouth after 6pm on the sundowner….its much cheaper..
How much?
@@mjh5437 is your internet not working ? Portsmouth “Sundowner” after 6 pm….i dont know if they still do it but it worked for me just some time ago…i went Ryde,Sandown ,the Needles and returned via Great Yarmouth…lovely jubbly..
A bit of a one-dimensional view of the IoW, concentrating on the few run-down areas, all on the south-east side, this video won't represent most Islanders' and Visitors' impression of the Island. While you mention in passing that there is beauty there, you don't spend any time showing it, preferring to show the negative aspects. Perhaps, for the sake of balance a follow-up video could explore all the picturesque villages, pubs, businesses, beaches and the vibrancy of the Island's capital, Newport. Ferry fares are costly, yes, but at least it helps to avoid gridlock on the roads that blights the mainland! (If you do this follow-up, please avoid the obsequious tones of AlanTitchmarsh in his recent series on the IoW!)
Good afternoon, Gentlemen !
Thankyou so much for the lovely video on the IOW! The IOW is a very special place for me ❤️
My Grandmother & G/Grandmother were born in Freshwater. A lot of my ancestors are buried In Freshwater churchyard !!
I have a cousin/2x2nd cousins who were living in Ventnor( the last I heard) but sadly have never wanted to keep in touch.😢 One of my 2nd cousins is my Goddaughter !
That's how life goes. Poeople will forge and travel there own life's pathways in different directions.
The dereliction / decay of closed down buildings /businesses is so sad to see. Renovations don't come cheap nowadays so it becomes an uphill battle to maintain what is already a struggling
My Mum & I last visited ( sadly Passed beginning of 2016😢) in 2013. It was surreal but lovely to be back for a holiday we had. We were limited because of my Dear Mum's limited mobility. We had a really lovely time.
We went to Freshwater church. Nearby was a house where my Mum was evacuated to during the war.
The sea air was amaZing too! The food was amaZing & awesome too. The people of the Island are so lovely❤️My Twin brother and I use to come to the IOW with our parents & Grandparents on my Mum's side, as children. We had a wail of a time-)
My son(iL) father lives on the Island too!! I believe it's Newport! Keep these videos going, Gents. It's lovely being kept in touch with the ISLAND🙏❤️
Take Care . Keep Safe &Well❤️
Another banger video 👏🏻
Cheers 🙏
Lived on the Island for 12 years (Sandown/Shanklin)and left because employment was around 10K more a year on the mainland. I loved it there and miss it all the time.
Two good things about the Isle of Wight. Beautifull nature and David Icke.
Respect for what you tackled here, was a useful insight overall.
Appreciate your works.
Regards
Loved going to the IOW as a child. Went back as an adult and hated it. Felt like a time warp, couldn't get anywhere without a sodding 20 mile detour due to the chain ferry being closed. My husband went over on his bike and nearly got killed by some dickhead who rammed him off his bike on a roundabout. My husband was left with life changing injuries and the driver got off scot free. So yeah, neither of us like the IOW.
It would be interesting to see the island when the Isle of Wight Festival is on. I have never attended the festival, but I imagine the town could be buzzing then. I'm not sure if the festival is isolated from the towns. Maybe you should do a follow up then.
It's held in Newport and yes v busy
It is held in newport in medina way, the roads get choc-a-bloc. Sadly we don't have the bestival anymore which was held at robin hill, a bit of a bliw to the island economy.
We had wanted to visit the Isle of Wight for years coming from the North West UK so we spent 10 nights at the Premier Inn in Sandown early summer 2024.
During our stay we travelled throughout the island.
The ferry crossing cost us over £230 return from Portsmouth for two persons and our car.
The hotel was OK and in an excellent location on the seafront in Sandown but cost us over £700 excluding all meals.
In Sandown you pay to park even on the street promenade and even overnight.
A well known presenter did a series of TV programs earier this year before our visit making Sandown in particular and the island as a whole look very nice - we now know the camera angles were very carefully chosen.
There are some nice areas on the island if you can navigate the road closures to get to them.
It is very much as the person in this video says - people will only visit once, having been lulled by the imaginitive publicity and carefully chosen camera angles.
Severely dissapointed is an understatement.
Done my STCW license in Cowes last summer , spoke to few locals they said no prospects for young people , it feels like upper English class retirement island
You are spot on about the ferry costs being the primary cause. I live 15 minutes from one of the ferry ports but never go. Its over 30 quid for a day trip as a foot passenger. In august i am flying to the south of france for £70. Ive considered weekend trips there for a break with the missus but gone elsewhere because the ferry cost with a car makes it not viable when the accommodation costs are similar.
The government are responsible for leaving the island stranded, beholden to private ferry companies that will extract every last penny they can until there is nothing left to go there for at all. Sadly that place is in the death throes because of it.
On a positive note it doesnt have to be like that and it can change. Holidays abroad have doubled so theyre no longer quite as competitive. Still cheaper, but not ridiculously so. There is still massive demand. Just go to a picturesque town in cornwall and see the demand overspilling. Weve literally given up trying to stop places before because theres nowhere to park -- its full. There is a lot of demand for nice places to go at decent prices.
The government needs to lead the initiative, but these places also need to modernise and adapt, not just give up and build flats. There is no offering out of season at all. The accommodation on offer is often dated and decaying. The food is always chips and burgers and grease. Try something nice. Try a few cocktail bars on the front. Live music. The uk is the king of world foods, yet it completely bypasses these places. When an attraction is available at all its always priced at the highest rate the market will bear at the very peak of season, then sits near empty for 11 months of the year. Maximising revenue means maximising usage of your facilities all year not just 6 weeks.
There is hope. There is opportunity. It simply needs someone to lead it.
Its actually quite sunny on that island , probably why a lot of homeless / unemployed move from up north plus less violent crime..same applies to much of the south coast , Hastings ,Boscombe etc .. gotta be better for mental health too
You started off in Ryde and found one derelict building which I think due to its age (1930s) has proven very difficult/expensive to renovate, as it has been that way for decades. Then got very fixated on Sandown tried to say the Ocean Hotel had been derelict for 15 years turns out it was only 2017. Most others areas Lymington (where you must have started) Freshwater, Bembridge, Newport, Ventor, Cowes and East and West don't have any notable derelict buildiings, funnily enough they don't feature for a balanced approach as clearly they don't fit your preconceived and narrow narrative. As for Shanklin the centre and waterfront the comment on how dead it was the weather didn't look great when you were wandering around and it has broadly been abysmal for most of April/May. Also I have just comeback from Malta and there are literally hundreds of old derelict buildings all over a very busy island and on Gozo awaiting renovation/rescue does it put people off going, no as most know these things go in cycles and there no UA-camrs going around pointing out the obvious.
There are prices of £170 on the ferry for a return over bank holiday monday.
I wonder why no one goes there anymore for holiday?
Love the IOW, we went there last year and the weather was glorious. Beautiful place.
Luv that tight knit community vibe.
They all even share the one tooth to eat with.
😂😂😂
Really funny. Judgement.
i used to go to the Isle of Wight for holidays every year when i was younger with my parents for about 15 years and i loved it but it got so expensive on the ferries that we stopped going because we could go to spain for far cheaper on a plane
Cheap packages to Spain and the cost of living in UK generally have put pay to domestic destinations like the Isle of Wight and seaside towns on the mainland. Sad 😢
Seaview is like being in Spain not far from ryde absolutely beautiful. If you want to enjoy isle of wight as it is incredible avoid ryde and the other central towns. The rest of the island is beautiful!
Far too many on the South coast who don't want to work for a living but believe they have the right to a home for free when others work really hard to enjoy their life there.
It's people like this that bring down areas and have a negative impact on tourism.
Still visit after many decades but have witnessed the decline first hand and saddened that it's heritage slowly being eroded by the lazy self entitled drug abusers.
The truth and the whole truth never a pretty picture.
It seems like 3 decades of infiltration in the uk have turned us into a type of soviet state
These beautiful Art Deco buildings will eventually bite the dust and be replaced with soulless flats .
Soviet bloc style probably
Olly was a lovely cohost, it worked well. Chill guy.
I was only looking at stays in the Isle of Wight last week and after seeing your video, I fancy visiting the place even more now.
There is a serious issue of neglect for this lovely isle, there obviously are people struggling to make ends meet there. But you can see the community spirit is lovely there despite the issues.
Wonderful comment, you will be welcomed with open arms 🙏
@@WendallExplores thank you mate 👍🏻
Just come back from iow after a weeks holiday, loved every minute, friendly people, lovely places to visit, had a lovely time.
For the love of god don't ever visit during Cowes week in August.
You'll encounter some of the world's most insufferable snobs the UK has to offer.
Fake Yachty types all walking around wearing deck shoes/plimsolls and pink jumpers wrapped around the shoulders 1980s style.
I put up with it 3 years on the run when I was crewing and vowed never again.
Went cycling on the IoW back in about 1990 with a group of about 15 friends. The ferry was steep even then: so much so that we left the cars in Portsmouth, and took only a single vehicle to carry our tents and baggage.
The gentile decline has now become entropy, with nothing changing but nature reclaiming its own. Fair play to Ollie, you gave him a good workout with all that walking with no complaint from him. Seeing the old geezer in the hotel garden had an almost surreal quality to it, like something from the brush of Salvador Dali. I didn't think the hovercraft still ran, I went on it with my folks way back in the '60's, although time has a habit of blurring the memories and I could be wrong on the timeline. Watching your videos gives me a weird past/present/future feeling - getting old does that to you. Cheers Wendall, looking forward to your next adventure.
Oli here! I used to live in Ryde and would pass by the Royal York on my walks but never once saw someone exit the building. It was a great moment we managed to capture.
Shame to see such dereliction. Props to Olly for inviting you and being such a genial host.
It's criminal that we've got so many places that are being left to go to wrack and ruin like this. We could be throwing a bit of money into redeveloping areas like this, but it's apparently easier to keep everything centralised and ignore the rest of the UK. Infuriating! Cheers for another great video 👍🏻
Been watching your videos for a while now and it's interesting to see you visit my hometown. The decay in town is a shame but the beaches are great and still a lot of scenery to take in.
Used to love going as a kid was a cracking place in the 90s
We love the island but last time I got a quote for the ferry it was over 300 quid. We went on a cruise instead. Have been there numerous times, first time was 1981, absolutely adore the island but the councils have a hell of a lot to answer for in allowing so many grand old hotels to be destroyed by developers. It's where the rot has set in.
Recently, I bought a camper van and wanted to take it out asap, so of course my first point of call was the British isles. Wight, Scilly, both cost around 2-3x more than the ferry to Normandy. The one over to Ireland was roughly 5x more expensive than to France. Guess I won’t be visiting the isles any time soon :/
They should do up houses and rent them for 5 pound a week 😂😂😂
Because we are homeless innit !!!!
What ???
Seriously what is wrong with people. That’s why millions are coming from third world countries because British people think that’s what the UK government should do.
The cost of the ferry was so expensive! We got a mid week break so we got there Sunday afternoon and found everything was closed until Wednesday!
Really sad to see the islands decline. Me and my family have been quite a few times as we live in Dorset and catch the Lymington to Yarmouth ferry. We love the island but as you said at the start of the video, £141 for a return ticket for us and the car, is absolutely insane. This is THE exact reason we don't come now. For a day trip, that cost is ridiculous, and that's before spending any money when you are there. It's a real shame, but I think anyone paying that must have more money than sense, in my opinion, but I do miss going too
Holidaying in large hotels is not what is wanted these days on the Isle of Wight. Cottages and self catering is more the trend. I agree the dereliction of once glamourous hotels is sad, however, the main attraction of the island is its natural beauty. I've just returned from a holiday there and it was wonderful to walk along the beautiful beaches and coastal paths and being able to take the family dog with us. We discovered the stunning botanic gardens at Ventnor this time too. There are many great places to eat and I highly recommend the Bandstand restaurant in Sandown (away from the rundown centre). It is still a fabulous place where the people are great and so welcoming.
My family went on a summer holiday to the IOW in 2019 and we have been going back every year since 2021. Great local beer and gin, a steam railway, nice donkey sanctuary, great pies..... we love it.
Wendall looking like a member of Goldie Lookin Chain in this episode.