In AD 686, it became the last part of the British Isles to convert to Christianity, almost a century after the rest of Great Britain. The island is also one of the richest fossil locations for dinosaurs in Europe. The Isle of Wight Festival was revived in 2002 to critical acclaim, headliners in 2006 were Coldplay, Foo Fighters and The Prodigy. It is home to the Isle of Wight Festival, which, in 1970, was one of the largest rock music events ever held, with estimates reaching 600,000 attendees, overtaking the record set at Woodstock a year earlier. Its maritime history encompasses boat building and sail making through to the manufacture of flying boats and the world's first hovercraft.

It possesses a rich history including its own brief status as a vassal kingdom in the fifteenth century, home to poet Alfred Lord Tennyson and Queen Victoria's much loved summer residence and final home Osborne House. Colloquially, it is known as 'The Island' by its residents. Popular from Victorian times as a holiday resort, the Isle of Wight is known for its natural beauty and as home to the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes, a town that hosts a world famous annual regatta.

The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire. Related subjects: Geography of Great Britain Isle of WightĬeremonial & Non-metropolitan/ Unitary county

Isale of wight