Ventnor Blog

Congratulations to the Enchanted Manor in Niton which picked up the Best Guest Accommodation and Hospitality Award at the IW Chamber of Commerce Awards on Friday night.

Maggie and Ric tells us that that their fairy tale weddings are increasing in popularity and they already have many booked in for next year.

We hope that they continue to go from strength to strength and praise them for their efforts.

With yet another award under their belts, looks like it’s paying off.

One of our favourite manor houses in the South, The Enchanted Manor has some treats planned for this Halloween.

On 31st October, they will be hosting a Haunted House Party at the Manor with “quizzes, games and ghost stories, followed by a supper of Graveyard Goulash, spooky spuds and witches brew”.

As is usual on the Wight, dressing up for the event is compulsory - in true enchanted stylee dress code is strictly witches, wizards, fairies and enchanted characters.

(more…)

Following the news last week that Niton’s Enchanted Manor has just been nominated by the AA for UK Best Funky B&B, we popped down to meet Ric Hilton and have a look around the place.

Owners Ric and his wife Maggie, have done an amazing job at the manor, transforming it into an extremely magical and enchanting place to visit.
(more…)

Just heard on IW Radio of the mystery oil spill that has affected wildlife between Grange Chine and St Catherine’s Point.

According to the IW County Press, the Environment Agency, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the IW Council have been working together to find out the extent of the pollution and the source. As of yesterday, around 60 birds had died and some were being cleaned and cared for at the RSPCA centre in Sandford. (more…)

A fantastic night of good old folk music in the cosy setting of the Buddle Inn is planned for early next month.

On stage will be folk rock band, Smoke and Mirrors (featuring Brian Sharpe on guitar).

Regulars on the Island music circuit, Smoke and Mirrors have a loyal following across the Island and should attract good numbers to this pre-Christmas charity gig.

Other musicians supporting include Allan Ramsdale-Capper (folk singer from the Buddle), and the wonderful Brad and friends. (more…)

If you haven’t been down (or up) to Ventnor Library recently, you won’t have seen the new exhibition.

It’s a very extensive exhibition that covers the history of St. Catherine’s Lighthouse and its predecessors.

Michael Walter, the curator of the lighthouse has done a tremendous amount of work pulling together the history of the workings of the lighthouse and it sounds like a very interesting exhibition.

Well worth checking out and if it makes an impression on you, why not write a review of it for the Blog?

[image courtesy of Isle of Wight Historic Postcards]

We caught up with Danny Vokins at his Bembridge pad near the start of last week and got the lowdown from him as to how he caught his now-world famous 14ft, 500 pound Thresher shark, just off St Catherine’s Point.

A highly amiable chap, he was a joy to interview, given his huge enthusiasm for the subject.

He’s dedicated a large chunk of his life to catching and caring for sharks - 35 years. He’s very particular about the sharks not being killed when they’re caught, in fact it was his insistence on this, that cost him the official record for the largest shark caught in UK waters.

He also got Bembridge Shark fishing club to change their rules, by insisting that the shark not be killed to be counted.

His preference is to catch the shark, bring it alongside the boat and tag it.

His shark exploits have been covered all over the UK media, including The Sun, Daily Express as well as the local press.

When we spoke about it, he and his wife (Sue) told me that he was complete knackered for two days after the catch - pretty reasonable when you think it took him two and a quarter hours to catch it!

It’s clear that Danny doesn’t just have the skills to snagging sharks, but has the abilities in the photo department too.

You can stay up to date with his fishing exploits by following the updates on his Site, VoFish.