Great location, beautiful peaceful grounds, lovely walks. Well stocked shop selling lovely local produce. Idyllic tea room with good food including delicious daily specials. The tea room outside garden area is a lovely space to sit and enjoy a morning coffee, afternoon cake or light lunch - the only negative (and this is not a complaint) but the tea room garden does sometimes have a bit of an issue with wasps during the summer months.

Stunning architecture, very tranquil grounds to explore. Including, interesting shop and art gallery, not forgetting the lovely pigs! Worth a visit!

Parked here in free car park to walk the coastal path into Ryde. A wonderful walk with beautiful scenery at the Abbey and along the pathways. A lovely tea room/cafe, yet to try but on the to do list, as near to the ferry terminal. Fed the pigs and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful and tranquil surroundings. Obviously very popular with the locals for dog walking, and for meeting up for a cuppa and a chin wag.

Lovely place to visit with an impressive church building. The grounds are beautiful to look at while strolling around. The kids loved the piglets. There is a visitors information area and shop with books, rosaries and other religious items to purchase. The video was a bit jumpy but gave a good and informative overview of the monastery past and present, as well as the printed displays. The produce in the farm shop is a bit expensive but good quality (beer is lovely). The cafe is also a bit steep with the baguette and sausage roll in the vegetarian ploughman's lunch being a bit pale but the coffee was very nice and my wife really liked her jacket potato. A worthwhile visit if you have a couple of hours/half day to fill.

Lovely peaceful place. Went on a gorgeous day so was perfect for walking round the grounds. Managed to observe one of the prayers as you are welcome in - thank you! Stopped into the tea rooms for hebal tea and cake - very nice! Easily accessible by bus from Ryde and Newport. But, be warned, the bus from Ryde and to Newport you have to cross the main road. Allow time to wait for traffic otherwise it's a little walk up a short Hill to the crossing. Free entry but donation boxes around to support

Everytime we visit the Isle of Wight, this is our first stop! Pig heaven! You can stroll around the grounds, visit the art shop, church, cafe and gift shop. The cafe can get extremely busy so be prepared to wait. It's a wee bit pricey too. The queue for the toilets (2), at busy times can be quite long. Unfortunately the toilets are mixed too. But the pigs! Cute. Lovely and lots of piglets too!

Interesting place. The visitors centre, had a rolling film showing a brief history of the old ministry and new one. Belgian bricks construction, remarkable design. Very popular, we visited on a wet Sunday morning and it was very busy. Cafe open, very nice Coffee, teas and cakes. Also hBe a good menu. Nearly forgot there are pigs as you enter to say hello to and you can buy pig food from the well stocked gift shop, which greatly supports so many local businesses. I can't wait to eat my honey ! Free entry, donation by card machine available on the information board.

Only stayed for an hour to see the pigs, have a quick walk around the Abbey and stretch our legs. Well worth it. You could stay longer if you wanted to, but worked well as a pit-stop between the ferry and our camp site, as it was free and really easy to find. Would recommend.

Recommend everyone to visit this hidden gem. The abbey is tranquil and beautiful. There's a silence request when inside as respect for the abbey and the monk's. The cafe offer's good food and drinks but there are plenty of places to eat a picnic. The pig's are worth a visit too. There's food in the shop if you want to feed them as they're not allowed other foodstuffs.

Quarr Abbey is a hidden gem amongst the rolling hills of the Isle of Wight. We enjoyed spending time with the pigs and feeding them. It is surrounded by fields for dog walking and those who love nature. In the grounds of the Abbey is a truly delightful farm shop, tea rooms, and a visitor centre. We spent a good 2 hours roaming around and enjoying the relative peacefulness of the Abbey.

I love it here, so peaceful. Managed to tag onto the 11 o clock tour, I'm sorry I didn't get the guides name, but he was brilliant. Really knowledgeable could answer every question. The best part of the tour is respectfully being allowed to the end of the Abbey, the bricklayers did an amazing job, it really is a work of art!

Thus place and its grounds are lovely. FREE entry (donations welcomed), lovely grounds to sit with a picnic, kids and dogs and enjoy meeting the pigs. The Abbey itself is stunning inside, we happened to visit when a service happened and the sound produced within the church was amazing. The farm shop had so much local produce and gifts in it...Great for coming home presents. The tea room was lovely also.

Lovely Abbey set in the countryside Lovely cafe serving hot and cold food. Nice givet shop selling there own chutney. And you can visit there pigs 🐖

A nice, little place with history. Saw some pigs and had some tea at the cafe which was also nice. Free parking here. You can walk around the site which is nice.

We visited the Abbey on spec as we passed a sign. It is so serene and peaceful it was delightful. You do not need long to see everything but be mindful it is a working Abbey and respect for the silence is required.

What an incredible building! The Abbey of Our Lady of Quarr is home to a small group of Benedictine monks. The abbey was designed by one of the original monks and built of Belgian brick in French, Byzantine and Moorish styles. It was completed in 1912 and lies a few hundred metres from the remains of the original twelfth-century abbey. Free to enter but donations welcomed. Definitely worth a visit.

Beautiful Tranquil and peaceful place. Amazing grounds and so interesting. The crypt is out of this world. Full of so much history.

Fantastic place to visit, for the architecture and the atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Quart Abbey is a lovely peaceful place to visit. I love being able to feed the piggies and afterwards have a lovely cuppa and a bacon sandwich in their lovely tea room.

Hovertravel is a splendid way to cross the Solent to and from the Isle of Wight. Not only does it save time, but you get the experience of travelling by hovercraft. Usually, the crossing only takes about 10 minutes. Sometimes, if there’s a lot of traffic in the waterways or harbour, the travel time can take longer. Besides saving time and getting to experience travelling by hovercraft, you actually fly on air above the sea and beach at the landing zones. This means that you always walk basically the same distance no matter what the tides are. Also, the air cushion is smooth travelling. You hardly notice the transition from land to water and water to land. The only negatives are that the hovercraft is totally enclosed like an airplane. So, you can’t go out on deck like you can on most ferries. The craft is relatively small and the seats are close together without much legroom. However, it’s not a long trip. Almost, by the time you finish watching the safety briefing, you’re already halfway across.

Absolutely fantastic way to get from mainland UK (Portsmouth) to the Isle of Wight. My partner and I did a day trip over and the Hovercraft was simple cost effective way of getting there without spending years on the ferry! Only a 10 minute crossing and it wasn’t full on the way there or the way back; absolutely would do it again. 🌟

We went from Ryde to Portsmouth. Such a nice and an easy ride. Never felt like going in water and more like travelling in a bus. Overall a good experience but I prefer taking the ferry and watch the ports by standing on the top if the weather is good

The staff are helpful on both sides. 10 minute journey time. Really reasonable fare. You can buy tickets at the terminals, but online was quick & easy. Scan on and go! It's just a very exciting thing to do & both Ryde & Southsea offer seaside fine.

A really good experience, although a little expensive. Hovercrafts were always on time, comfortable and plenty of room. Staff were pleasant and efficient. It was lovely to see and have a trip over to Southsea before returning to Ryde and there are some lovely views out at sea. There is a comfortable waiting area - although am get crowded. Small selection of sweets and snacks, toilets, and also some hovercraft related gifts.

Went on the Hoover travel for the 1st time in years as it only takes 10 mins from Southsea to Ryde, it was a bit ruff going over, it's good to see that they have done up the waiting areas and hovercraft, will use again

Excellent trip back from the Isle of Wight after the service inevitably got terminated during the storms. Lovely smooth trip with well organised and friendly crew. Easy to book online and easy to get to both the Southsea Hoverport & the Ryde Hoverport. My son loved it!

A beautiful island just off the cost of Portsmouth. When the sun is shining you could think you were outside of the UK. Will be back here again this year the hovercraft trip over is very cool experience and not expensive

It does what it says on the tin: it’s the quickest travel time to and from the isle. Things to bear in mind: it’s pricey as, the “booking” doesn’t seem to mean too much and the staff ultimately try and be helpful but the advice can change at the drop of a hat. Flight times seem to change randomly (and unexpectedly to the staff). If taking a bike, arrive well before your planned flight as the staff will sometimes insist you wait due to baggage (though others are extremely relaxed and accomodating!). Bit too much of a gamble given the ££.

Where else can you travel on a hovercraft to a beautiful island? The list stops and ends here as far as I’m aware.

The crossing English Channel with hoover is amazing ! Unique! Fast, smooth, modern!

I will be honest and own up that although I went to the Isle of Wight because a friend wanted to go there, the truth of the journey was to have the experience of travelling on the Hovercraft! It was fab and easy to book and we even found an online voucher number that gave us a further 20% off the price! We loved it on there and a very quick crossing indeed and it delivered us to Ryde Town where we had a fab time in the many shops there plus a huge and affordable meal then the excitement of yet another Hovercraft journey back to Portsmouth! It was a seamless adventure and a day to remember 😃

Great service, really nice staff quick crossing

Last night I took my first ever Hoverspeed trip to the Isle of Wight .. This man from team C (I want to say Chris?) at Hovertravel was exceptional. He gave me and my girlfriend a guided tour of their operation and previously young Josh had spent some good time talking to my girlfriend about the operation in the morning. The staff are extremely friendly and this service is the only way to travel if you don’t have a car to take to the island! It’s quick and efficient. We ended up the only ones on board coming back .. we want to say thankyou to the team. Keep up the great work.

Amazing experience, never been on a hovercraft before. Booked online (cheaper). Seamless experience, hovercraft s ran on time, quick to board and get off, staff friendly and helpful. Only 10 minutes ride across the solent.

The falconry centre is attached to Havenstreet Steam Railway. You get half price access to the centre if you have bought a ticket to the railway. The falconry centre is small, but worth the reduced entry price. You will find eagles, hawks, owls and vultures, and a reptile centre. There are free bird-of-prey flying displays in a field in the Havenstreet Railway. We were treated to a visit from a wild sea eagle and a buzzard during our display - brilliant!

We loved our time at the falconry. All the animals look so healthy and everything looked so clean and well maintained. The show was awesome and we all learnt a lot. The reptile house was the best l’ve seen. Healthy reptiles well displayed. You can pay extra to hold one or a bird of prey or walk a ferret. My 8 year old, 14 year old and husband decided upon walking a ferret which they really enjoyed. The falconry is on the same site as the steam railway. We went for the annual steam festival. The combination of both attractions made this the best day of our holiday over everything else and we did alot! Thank you to all the falconry team for all their hard work and being so nice to us! 🥰

Was absolutely excellent. Our 7 year old absolutely loved handling the birds of prey. What made the experience for us was having such a knowledgeable and passionate guide. Cole you made our day. All staff were very very friendly and made the experience very personal and would heavily recommend to anyone with a love of animals and the great outdoors. Thank you again Cole.

An amazing day on the Falconer for a Day Experience, we absolutely loved it. Made to feel very welcome by the friendly staff who were so incredibly knowledgeable. We came away buzzing with facts about all the birds we met and I feel like I have a much much better understanding about the lives of these wonderful creatures, which was the goal, as you will never get the chance to be this close up in the wild. Also impressed with the care they take of the animals, making sure they are working with their needs and not forcing them to behave unnaturally. Cannot recommend it enough.

Unfortunately the day we went the birds they fly for displays were all off site at other events. It was a little frustrating as this wasn’t communicated on the website. This said a member of staff wanting to make up for this instead allowed us to see a baby barn owl and gave us an insightful talk on them which was a lovely customer focused touch. There’s a nice variety of birds on site in the aviaries and whilst a small site it’s still worth a visit!

This place is a hidden gem and needs better advertisement!! I've been to Isle of Wight multiple times over the years and I had never heard of this before. I thoroughly enjoyed my flying experience, the team are extremely knowledgeable and ensure you have a great time flying the birds. Really impressed, will definitely return!

Clean and tidy enclosuers with lots of birds to see. 2 free flying displays per day at 11:40 & 1:40 (to steam train ticket holders) and half price admission to the enclosuers if you have been on a train ride.

My overwhelming impression was how inappropriate it was to have adult and young (one looked very young) birds of prey tethered to plinths with no space to fly. A child who was with me used the word cruel and we couldn't find any information to explain why it wasn't. It could be that the birds were waiting to be picked for the flying show and, to be fair, they didn't look stressed except perhaps for one that seemed to be trying to flap and fly. Falcons in small aviaries cited opposite owls in small aviaries didn't suggest great planning (owls hunt falcons so perhaps this caused stress for the falcons although these falcons were big). The indoor reptile house was okay with the Mantis the star of the show. The skunks seemed content as did the ferrets although I didn't want to pay £5 to walk a ferret in order to get closer. Maybe the birds have a much better and safer life and better care than they would have in the wild. They all looked beautiful with healthy and immaculately shiny feathers. But there needs to be more information on display and more active explanation as to why large birds of prey - and some of the owls are huge - are kept in fairly small aviaries and why this is okay if it is okay. And they really need to get their act together with the tortoises. A decent substrate and information on tortoise diet and how the keepers try to meet dietary needs would be good. The bird of prey flying show was impressive. The birds on display to get to fly and are majestic to watch. The staff clearly work hard and care about the animals but at the end of the fifteen minute visit I had more questions than answers including questions about the ethics of big birds living in small aviaries.

Fantastic little friendly independent bird of prey centre. Staff are super knowledgeable and I have a new found love of vultures after the display with Ringo. Well priced and there are different bird of prey experiences to match all budgets from holding a bird to a full days experience. A nice visit to include if you are using the steam train also. You won't be disappointed

Thank you Charlotte and Mike for our One Hour Falconry Experience. We learnt so much in a short space of time with all of your facts and knowledge. You both had a great sense of humour which made it even more memorable and we can’t wait to come back again! Also we really appreciated you squeezing us in last minute, and loved watching the public displays before and after our private experience. Your birds are clearly well looked after, and seeing each of them fly was just incredible. Thanks for a great day out.

BRILLIENT day out.... Treated hubby to a birds of prey experience.... You not only get to meet the birds up close you get to fly them and learn so much about each bird of prey❤️. Truly amazing, beautiful birds with the individual personality... Plenty of time to take some amazing photographs up close AND in flight... A fantastic day out. Owls oin the forest stage. Ferret walking. Birds if prey show on main field where the birds fly right past you AMAZING for adults and to capture and educate your children... Highlight the red kites flying to music... A sight of beauty. Very friendly staff and affordable gift shop too. Don't forget to say hello to the Skunks x Thank you for some perfect memories on our Honeymoon... Coal you made it very personal for us both and look forward to posting pictures on our return home x

Absolutely phenomenal. Luke was excellent and really took care of us in our bird of prey session. His knowledge and attention to detail was impressive. Cole knew her stuff too, and took care in the handling sessions, sharing amazing detail. Their passion really shone through. Really recommend what Sam and team are doing. They were all so friendly and attentive.

Great to visit for a quick stop. Sample the local produce and relax at the caffe. A very friendly and knowledgeable lady at the till makes the experience more memorable

Produce good; facilities and tour not as high a standard as other independent wineries/distilleries I have been to in the past. The apple juice they produce is fantastic though!

Good beach but not as beautiful as other. Good for family with children. Plenty of food and others stores near by at walking distance. Lots of parking options Train station close by Bus stop close by Ryde Pier at walking distance. Other amusement like Bowling 🎳 and funfair is also close by in case weather turns to otherwise. Restaurants are also close by.

Stunning sandy beach. Spent a blinder of an afternoon here yesterday with family, had an ice cream too and the children just had a blast!

Best time we spent with kids. Clean, clear water and no tide beach with lots of kids activities and restaurants.

The beach was ok , cold wind was blowing so needed a jacket to keep warm. Cant compare with the beach in Mombasa.

Ryde Beach, located on the northern coast of the Isle of Wight, is a charming seaside destination that offers something for everyone. With its expansive sandy shores and panoramic views of the Solent, it's an ideal spot for sunbathing, picnicking, or simply taking leisurely strolls along the water's edge. The beach's gentle slope makes it perfect for families with young children, who can safely paddle in the calm waters. Adventurous souls can try their hand at various water sports, including windsurfing and sailing, or explore the nearby rock pools teeming with marine life. Facilities such as cafes, restaurants, and ice cream stands line the promenade, ensuring visitors are well-fed and refreshed throughout the day. Ryde Beach's proximity to the town center means it's easily accessible by foot, car, or public transport, making it a popular choice for both locals and tourists alike. Whether you're seeking relaxation, recreation, or simply a scenic escape by the sea, Ryde Beach delivers a quintessential British seaside experience that's bound to leave you feeling rejuvenated and inspired.

Beautiful sandy beach, when the tyde goes out you can walk for miles. Great arcade along the front by the harbour, 2p machines are perfect for small children as they have steps and they're easy to win prizes.

Amazing when the tide is out, but be careful, don’t get stuck on a sand bank when it comes back in. This beach is sandy and well looked after but it can get very busy in holiday periods. Toilets, bar, food and amusements very close to the beach, lots of parking from Ryde all the way to Appley.

The water is so clear here. This is one of few beaches that are dog friendly all year round. Not much up that end. The dog had fun in his section of the beach. It was his holiday as well.

Lovely to just sit and look across to the mainland. Like to sit in the car and read a book whilst gazing across the water. Beautiful.

Peaceful stretch of pebbles and sand. Lots of dogwalkers. Good breezy stroll with plenty of eateries

The kids loved the place, it was nice & they had lots of activities. They did not want to go home & the activities were not expensive, tokens relatively cheap as well. It was really nice

Beautiful beach. Full of sand and so many shells. My children really enjoyed playing in the sand and collecting shells. Be careful of the tide though, as it comes in quick. We were a little stranded and my partner had to carry us all through the water 🤣 definitely making memories here. Definitely the best beach I have ever been to and I am a big beach lover.

Classic beach with vibrant seafront. Great for kids as very shallow, though near the ferry it goes out miles. Best to head a little further east.

A great beach, especially if you have a dog. We took the hovercraft over from Portsmouth as a treat for the kids. Spent a few hours on the seafront and had lunch by the tower. Dogs can go on the beach once you pass the tower. Our dog loved it! Running around, playing with the other dogs there and trying to drink sea water. The kids enjoyed finding loads of shells. Some great ice cream parlours too. Shame the boating lake was closed due to covid.

Lovely sandy beach, easy access from Hovertravel, just 5 mins walk. Bars, pub and cafe on the way. Dogs not allowed since May to end of September