Our Snooty Holiday to the Isle of Wight!

Hello, everyone! We really adore taking our greyhound, Niko, along with us on little holidays, as I know many of you enjoy doing. For us, one positive game-changer that came out of the pandemic was the sudden popularity of a staycation. Our family trips to beautiful locations in the UK have meant that we have been able to make fabulous memories with our noodlehorse and enjoy places that we may not have considered before. In October, we travelled to the Isle of Wight with Niko and we would thoroughly recommend it for a snooty vacation! Read on to find out why…

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To begin our journey, we had an easy two-hour drive from Essex to Portsmouth, with Niko snuggled in his hammock on our back seats. We booked priority boarding for the car ferry, as we really were not sure how our slightly nervous pooch would cope with the ferry aspect – new experiences can still really overwhelm him. However, this element of the trip could not have been simpler! We drove on to the ferry, walked up to the top deck with Niko and then spent the next 30-40 minutes enjoying the glorious sea air and watching the waves. The journey was smooth and there were lots of other pooches out on the deck, all on their leads of course. Also, there was a cosier inside area specifically for dog owners too, in case you preferred to wait inside. Before we knew it, we were back in our car and arriving on Isle of Wight soil!

We began our holiday with an immediate visit to Osborne House, the former residence of Queen Victoria. Not only was this gorgeously stunning, but Niko was allowed to explore all of the grounds, gardens and seafront areas with us, provided he was obviously kept on his lead. Myself and my husband took it in turns exploring inside the house, which did not take too long, and the cafe provided outdoor seating for dog owners. Niko loved stretching his long legs after the drive and looked very regal indeed as he paraded the grounds. He even made a friend – he was mesmerised by a greyhound statue featured outside the house!

The following day, we decided to explore the stunning Carisbrooke Castle, which dates back to the 12th century, as we had heard it was dog-friendly. Well, we had a wonderful day indeed, as he was allowed to roam in all outer areas of the castle. Lucky Niko was even allowed to climb the castle ramparts and could majestically look over the kingdom; something that he appeared to rather enjoy!

Next, we drove on over to the divine Tennyson Downs (personally, my favourite area of the Isle of Wight). We parked up in a nearby car park and completed the walk to the top of the cliffs, right up to Lord Alfred Tennyson’s monument. The views from this point are magical and we met lots of other dog owners along the way. The beauty of this walk is also that there are many different starting points, depending on your preference of walking intensity. For us, we did not want to completely tire Niko out after our castle visit, so we chose the car park about half way along the journey. One stumbling block for our sweet snoot, which I imagine might be more of a Niko-quirk, was that he rather hilariously panics around kissing gates. No matter! His brave and valiant father rescued our poor needlenose, carrying him over the gate. Phew!

Later that evening, following a few hours of chill-time back at our dog-friendly Air BnB, we visited Shanklin Chine for a little bit of exploration. This is a picturesque, historic gorge, dating back to the early 19th century, which leads to Shanklin’s beach and esplanade. It features a mystical walk, illuminated at night time, and pooches are allowed to come along. It was so enchanting and not too busy in the evening. Niko definitely enjoyed all the new sights and sniffs!

Okay, so on our final day we had the most awesome adventure – we rode on the Isle of Wight’s Steam Railway! We were thrilled to discover that well-behaved dogs are welcome on the journey too, which lasts for about 50 minutes in total (with stops along the way) and we even decided to book a first-class ticket, so we could have a carriage to ourselves. After all, we appreciate that Niko is not exactly the teeniest dog! He absolutely was fascinated by the views as we rode on our journey and this was definitely a highlight of our trip!

Next, we visited the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary, where well-behaved dogs on lead are welcomed. It turns out that many of their volunteers happened to be sighthound enthusiasts, so Niko was honestly living his best life with the attention. However, he did become a little shell-shocked when one particular donkey decided to bray really loudly right next to him – my husband and I could not stop laughing, but Niko was not amused!

Finally, before our holiday came to an end, we decided to visit the seafront in Ryde. There was a beautiful moment where I caught Niko sunning his snoot in the late afternoon sun as he leaned on me, looking so utterly peaceful and relaxed. My heart melted as I realised just how much his personality has evolved and his confidence has grown since being adopted two years ago. I truly do believe that staycation experiences like this have helped him on his way…

So, if you are thinking of taking your gorgeous greyhound with you on a lovely staycation but you are not quite sure where to travel to, then we would undoubtedly recommend the Isle of Wight! Very dog-friendly attractions, considerable amounts of lead etiquette and lots of dog lovers wanting to say “hello”! This is a beautiful area in the summertime, but also equally stunning out-of-season (and, we found, much less busy – perfect if you have a slightly nervous hound).

I hope these words may be helpful to you or someone you know. Additionally, if you have a special location that you find to be pawfect for pooches and would like to share this, please feel free to get in touch by contacting us through our Contact Page or scrolling down below, where you can leave a comment or follow us!

Until next time…

Love and snoot kisses,

Berry x