Isle of Wight

OSBORNE HOUSE

It is located in the north of the Isle of Wight. It was built for the Queen Victoria and Albert in 1847 and was their holiday home. The works were managed by Thomas  Cubitt.  He built two Italianate towers which look over the Solent sea.  Next to the house there are 140 hectars of French garden. The interior of the house is richly decorated with marble sculptures, portraits, and frescoes.  Queen Victoria’s role as Empress of India is celebrated in the banqueting room where there are many symbols from India.    The royal children learnt domestic tasks and cooking in a wooden Swiss cottage located in the garden where you can also see red squirrels (écureuils). After the death of the Queen Victoria, the house was transformed into museum.

The Needles  ( Aiguilles)

 Originally, there were four rocks – you can see the gap (espace) very clearly, like a missing tooth. The name the Needles comes from the fourth rock which was needle-shaped.

The Needles Old Battery is a Victorian fort built in 1862 and used in the 1st and 2nd World Wars. There are two original guns on the Parade Ground and an underground  tunnel  leads to a searchlight emplacement with dramatic views over the Needles rocks.  Nearby you can see the New Battery where British rockets were tested in conditions of great secrecy.