Isle of Wight: The Seaside Town of Cowes

There is something almost other worldly about visiting seaside towns outside of the summer months but that is just what we did on a rainy afternoon during our trip to the Isle of Wight in March.  We’d been blessed with some gorgeous weather on our arrival in the Isle of Wight and on the day we took a ride on the Isle of Wight steam railway and we certainly hadn’t let the weather dampen our visit to Carisbrooke Castle but that was about to be put to the test!

Cowes, Isle of Wight

Stephen could not have parked further away if he’d tried and we had quite a walk into the little seaside town of Cowes.  I immediately liked the old-town look of the place that was maintained even thought some of the buildings were quite new.

Cowes, Isle of Wight

We took a walk along the promenade.  The sea and sky were similar shades of steel grey and it was a really windy and chilly day. 

Cowes, Isle of WightCowes, Isle of Wight Cowes, Isle of WightCowes, Isle of Wight

We found a pebble beach which I found quite intriguing.  It looks like quite a struggle between nature and humanity as people have obviously been trying to control the drift!  Stephen thought he’d be romantic and picked up a shell for me.  It was pretty bashed up and scratched but I guess that is what you get with a pebble beach.  I think I might just prefer the sandy beaches in South Africa with their shiny shells!

Cowes, Isle of Wight  

Cowes, Isle of WightCowes, Isle of Wight 

There was a lot of lovely Art Deco architecture and Victorian features and I imagine that Cowes was quite the place to be back in Victorian times or in the interbellum period.

Cowes, Isle of WightCowes, Isle of Wight

I found this forlorn looking chap sitting on a bench after a visit to a public convenience and we decided it was definitely time for something warm to drink.  We went to Chocs Away for a cup of hot chocolate.  It was literally a cup of melted chocolate and it was absolutely divine.  Yum. 

Cowes, Isle of Wight Cowes, Isle of Wight

Cowes, Isle of Wight Cowes, Isle of Wight

After that, we walked back through Cowes.  It really is a picturesque little town and must be really pretty and vibrant in the summer months.

21 comments on "Isle of Wight: The Seaside Town of Cowes"
  1. There used to be a joke

    "what comes out of Cow(e)s black and steamy", the riposte being "The Isle of Wight ferry", but that was in the old days!

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  2. aww... such a quaint town, am falling in love by your photos :D

    happy new year.

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  3. Those are wonderful pictures. Thanks.

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  4. One of these days I'm definitely going to visit the Isle of Wight and I'm definitely going to do it during the Winter months when it isn't overrun with tourists! Looks like great place to escape from London...

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  5. Great photos. I imagine that "discovering" beach culture in the Victorian era must have been fabulous for travellers to the Isle of Wight. Super beaches, lovely architecture, icecream in cones... I love it still :)

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  6. I think the beach is definitely better in the off-season. No crowds, better birds, and scenic weather!

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  7. the British seaside out of season has a certain damp charm. Funnily enough the only thing I can think re Cowes is the joke already alluded to.

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  8. Hi Emm, it's been years since i been to the Isle Of Wight, the last time was on the hovercraft from Southsea.

    Do they still use the old London Underground trains? although they must have new ones by now lol

    Great photos i enjoyed them, hope you had a good Christmas :-)

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  9. Such lovely photos. I especially like the first one and the one next to the view point photo.

    Hope you're having the loveliest holidays!

    Many thanks for your patience, and for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comment. Come visit again tomorrow!

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  10. Great photos, Emm.
    Love them all, especially the second one.
    You certainly have the eye for catching interesting angles.
    The town is so pretty!

    My warmest wishes for the holidays. :)

    Big hugs!
    B xx

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  11. Such a charming town. I love the feel and romantic essence of the buildings and streets. Just the steam train ride alone to the Isle would be amazing.

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  12. For a small town, there seems to be lots to see. Do cars go in both directions on those narrow streets? Thank you for the tour!

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  13. Charming place. I rather like visiting these towns when it isn't high season.

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  14. Hi Emm! Ah, those grey skies...

    Have a Happy and Successful New Year!! Wish you all the best!!
    Horus and Sobek wait for you at Kom Ombo. Enjoy!

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  15. i always love the sweet little seaside towns too. the shops are so pretty there compared to the usual commercial ones we get in wolverhampton.

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  16. I like how you included photos along with your adventure. It made it really interesting.

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  17. Hi Emm!
    Great to see some picture without snow.. looks like a nice place to visit and your picture is beautiful.

    Thanks for your comment. Lekkert is norwegian and means delicious, I think..or nice, good:-)

    Wish you a happy and blesse new year!

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  18. looks like a fabulous place to stroll around. i hope to visit Isle of Wight someday. thanks for sharing your experience. best wishes for 2011.

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  19. Cowes look like quite a picturesque little town. It looks like you made the most of a gray day. Chocs Away sounds wonderful. A whole cup of melted chocolate, yum!

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  20. @ Nikos: Heh. The ferry is quite sterile and extremely boring these days!!!

    @ Lily: Cowes wasn't the most thrilling place I've visited but the Isle of Wight was stunning!

    @ Diplo Daddy: My pleasure!

    @ William: I'd certainly recommend late March ot early April. I can't imagine it would be much fun in the absolute off-season.

    @ Hels: Definitely, and Cowes really does still have an air of that Victorian era.

    @ Kathy: I think any place is better outside of school holidays but some towns in UK are ghost towns in off-season!

    @ David: I had never, ever heard of Cowes before visiting. The easter part of the island seemed much nicer.

    @ Steve: Nope, they still use old Underground trains! They certainly didn;t look very new to me!

    @ Joy: Thank you! My favourite was the old boat launch.

    @ Betty: Thank you! I do try to think more about my photos these days.

    @ Lauren: The Isle of Wight is fab and there was so much that we didn;t get to see, like the old bus museum.

    @ AVCr8teur: Many of the roads were reserved for pedestrians only but yeah, many roads in the UK are horrible and narrow like that and reserved for two-way traffic.

    @ Mo: I appreciated the lack of tourists, that is for sure.

    @ Tina: They had some lovely boutiques too. You would have loved them.

    @ flutietootie: Yeah, I enjoy my little photo tours!

    @ Spiderdama: Thnakfully we only get snow for a small portion of our winters! I don't think London could handle the chaos of much more snow!

    @ Life Ramblings: Yeah, I definitely recommend the Isle of Wight if you ever come to the UK.

    @ Clueless in Boston: Ha! I can still taste that chocolate!

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  21. Woah!
    These pictures look very familiar. That's because I just come from there a few weeks ago.

    In the first pic, I recognise the orange-painted shopfront which is a car and bike hire place. That road is pretty steep. In fact, the whole island has plenty of slopes. Good or not good if you're on a bike.

    In the last few pictures, I recognise the High Street of Cowes with its narrow roads. I had a lot of trouble finding that hire shop and I was criss-crossing the High Street in search of it.

    Isle of Wight is a beautiful place but I wouldn't be brave enough to visit it in winter. I've been there 3 times but they were all during spring or summer.

    If you don't mind me dropping a link, here are the best things I recommend to do there:
    http://www.travel-directory101.com/10-things-to-do-on-the-isle-of-wight/

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