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Just a short journey from the south coast of England there is a small island so different it could belong to another world. Time has genuinely stood still in the Isle of Wight because there are no high-rise blocks of flats, industrial areas, motorways or traffic jams, and it’s also one of the richest dinosaur locations in Europe. More than 20 different species have been identified and many of their remains are regularly found on its beaches.

The gateway to the island is the elegant hillside town of Ryde, and it definitely lives up to its slogan of “easy to reach, hard to equal, impossible to forget”.

It is an old fashioned seaside town with 6km of wide golden sands, an 800m pier, elegant Georgian architecture and two long streets (High Street and Union Street) packed with shops and old-fashioned arcades.

Ryde became one of the most important centres of the island when Queen Victoria built Osbourne House there as a summer residence just a few kilometres along the coast.

With its splendid state rooms and wonderful views across the Solent, this is open to the public and gives an intimate look into the queen’s life. Thanks to Victoria, the crowned heads of Europe became regular visitors and the architecture grew in grandeur and importance.

The Isle of Wight also has other royal connections. Carisbrook Castle, 800 years old, is a prison and King Charles I is its most famous prisoner.

After many attempts to escape and many coded messages smuggled out to friends, all intercepted by the guards, he eventually went from there to his execution.

Two of his children were also imprisoned in the same cell at a later date. Princess Elizabeth died from a cold, but the boy prince was set free two years later.

According to its residents, the Isle of Wight still holds the same position today as it held in its Victorian heyday. The carnival to mark Queen Victoria’s Jubilee is still held and is the oldest in the country, and its grand finale marks the end of the holiday season.

It also has a regatta, an arts parade and is the centre of a scooter rally, insisted by locals to be the largest in the world – and it probably is because more than 5 000 scooters and their riders arrive to compete every August bank holiday weekend, then finish with a mass ride around the island. It is also the venue for hundreds of vintage cars and motorcycles for an annual charity event.

Travelling and sightseeing is easy even for visitors without their own transport. The 108km Wight Way goes round the island, pre-World War II tube trains travel from Ryde to Shanklin, and a steam railway runs for 8km along the old Ryde to Newport line, now restored to its original condition. There is also a bus service and many footpaths.

One of the most popular is along the cliff path from Ryde seafront to Shanklin and Sandown. Both towns are situated at the bottom of a cliff and have a series of zigzag steps and a lift to the beach below.

Whereas Shanklin is quieter – a traditional “old” village specialising in cream teas and little in the way of amusement – Sandown is more family orientated with its long stretch of sand and beach activities and its proximity to the dinosaur museum.

The 18km stretch of coast between Sandown and Compton, known as the Wealdon Outcrop, is one of the richest sources of dinosaur fossils in Europe. The remains of more than 20 species have been found there, and there are many replica and life-sized models in its Dinosaur Museum, the first museum of its kind in Europe and constructed in the shape of a giant pterosaur.

Godshill, between Shanklin and Newport, is supposedly one of the most picturesque villages in England and is full of thatched cottages and country gardens. It also has a medieval church on a hill – hence its name Godshill. But, in spite of giving the impression of belonging to another century, it is forward-looking enough to have an eye to tourism and has built a toy museum and an art gallery.

The famous Needles, known as one of the seven natural wonders of southern England, are a series of pure white chalk stacks protruding from the sea at the extreme western point of the island at Alum Bay.

Short, squat and bearing no resemblance to a needle, they have proved so dangerous to shipping that a light house has had to be built. There is a Victorian fort at the top of the cliff that has been vital in both world wars, and this is where Marconi set up the world’s first radio station.

Cowes is an attractive, small town and a famous yachting centre where Cowes Week, one of the biggest sporting events in the world, is held each year from July 31 to August 7.

Yarmouth, one of the island’s oldest towns, is full of history and has a castle built by Henry VIII in the 16th century to protect it from raids by the French. More than 200 years later, this is where the Victorians built a long wooden pier next to it. Ventnor, nestling among the hills, was the most popular “tourist” town at that time and was where Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield.

The Isle of Wight is so near to England, so different and so simple, easy and fast to get to that it should never be missed. Hovercrafts run from Southsea to Ryde, taking about 10 minutes, and from Southampton to Ryde, taking 20 minutes. A Hoverbus link is available from Portsmouth and Southsea stations. A catamaran also runs from Portsmouth to Tyde for foot passengers. - The Tribune