Isle of Wight | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 50°40′N 1°16′W / 50.667°N 1.267°W | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | South East |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| UK Parliament | |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Lord Lieutenant | Susan Sheldon[2] |
| High Sheriff | Graham Biss (2024/25) |
| Area | 380 km2 (150 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 46th of 48 |
| Population (2022)[3] | 140,794 |
| • Rank | 46th of 48 |
| Density | 371/km2 (960/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Council | Isle of Wight Council |
| Control | No overall control |
| Admin HQ | Newport |
| Area | 380 km2 (150 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 90th of 296 |
| Population (2022)[5] | 140,794 |
| • Rank | 162nd of 296 |
| Density | 371/km2 (960/sq mi) |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-IOW |
| GSS code | E06000046 |
| ITL | UKJ34 |
| Website | iow |
The Isle of Wight (/waɪt/ WYTE) is an island, English county and unitary authority in the English Channel, 2 to 5 miles (3 to 8 kilometres) off the coast of Hampshire, across the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island in England. Referred to as "The Island" by residents,[6] the Isle of Wight has resorts that have been popular holiday destinations since Victorian times. It is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland, and chines. The island is historically part of Hampshire.[7] The island is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. With a land area of 380 km2 (150 sq mi), it is about half the size of Singapore.
The island has been home to the poets Algernon Charles Swinburne and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Queen Victoria built her summer residence and final home, Osborne House, at East Cowes on the Isle. It has a maritime and industrial tradition of boat-building, sail-making, the manufacture of flying boats, hovercraft, and Britain's space rockets. The island hosts annual music festivals, including the Isle of Wight Festival, which in 1970 was the largest rock music event ever held.[8] It has well-conserved wildlife and some of Europe's richest cliffs and quarries of dinosaur fossils.
The island has played an essential part in the defence of the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth and has been near the front line of conflicts through the ages, having faced the Spanish Armada and weathered the Battle of Britain. Being rural for most of its history, its Victorian fashionability and the growing affordability of holidays led to significant urban development during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The island was historically a part of Hampshire, but became a separate administrative county in 1890. It had continued to share the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire until 1974, when it was made a ceremonial county in its own right. The island no longer has administrative links to Hampshire. However, the two counties continue to share their police force and fire and rescue service, and the island's Anglican churches belong to the Diocese of Portsmouth (originally Winchester). A combined local authority with Portsmouth and Southampton was considered[9] as part of a regional devolution package but was subsequently rejected by the UK government in 2018.[10]
The quickest public transport link to the mainland is the hovercraft (Hovertravel) from Ryde to Southsea. Three vehicle ferries and two catamaran services cross the Solent to Southampton, Lymington, and Portsmouth via the island's largest ferry operator, Wightlink, and the island's second-largest ferry company, Red Funnel. Tourism is the largest industry on the island.
- ^ @Cmdr_hadfield (30 March 2013). "There may never be a clearer picture of the Isle of Wight from space" (Tweet). Retrieved 22 August 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Queen appoints new Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Mid-2022 population estimates by Lieutenancy areas (as at 1997) for England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Isle of Wight Local Authority (E06000046)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Ewens, Hannah (28 September 2018). "Home Coming: The Isle of Wight". Vice. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Isle of Wight". Britannica. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ "Isle of Wight Festival history". Redfunnel.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 November 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^ "Portsmouth agrees to launch Solent Combined Authority bid". BBC News. BBC. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "Combined Solent Authority plans scrapped by Westminster". Hampshire Chronicle. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2023.